When Katrina Sánchez Stanfield describes the themes behind her unique fiber artwork, she uses words like “joy,” “comfort,” and “healing.” Those concepts are illuminated by the vibrant colors and soft textures she uses. Her pieces are like a plushies for the eyes, and in some cases, the hands too. Her patrons are often encouraged to touch her work.
She weaves together knitted noodles that are reminiscent of potholders children make, only on a grander scale. Sánchez, whose family emigrated from Panama when she was 2 years old, never made loom potholders but can appreciate the fun of doing it.
“I love being able to knit or crochet on the couch in front of the TV," she says. "That's the best way I unwind. My work is about sharing that sense of comfort and sense of home because we all have a connection to fiber art. We all wear clothing. We all were given baby blankets. We soften hard spaces with textiles, whether through cushions or curtains. It's an essential part of who we are as humans.”
Sánchez's greatest influences are her grandmother, who embroidered everything from tablecloths to dolls, and her great grandmother, who crocheted sheets and pillowcases using fine white cotton thread. Her mom taught her to crochet at age 10 so she could make a blanket for her baby brother.
Sánchez went to UNC Charlotte thinking she wanted to be an art teacher, but the fiber arts studio piqued her interest and she switched majors.
“What my family would have considered a craft evolved into expressing thoughts and concepts in a more contemporary way through artwork,” she says.
Sánchez first made an oversized knitted noodle with fiberfill of recycled water bottles to create a chain link pattern for an undergraduate project. She also focused on the concept of mending by weaving intricate and beautiful patterns into holes in vintage Levi jeans. During a residency at Goodyear Arts, she combined the two create designs that would fill gallery space.
The sentiment behind her work changed too.
“I used to make work that was more confrontational,” she says. “It didn’t matter to me whether they felt beautiful or not. I realized I wanted to make work that actually added joy and healing. I felt like that’s something we could all use.”
Sánchez, whose work was featured recently at the Art Fair Tokyo, the oldest in Asia, wants to broaden her exposure with more mural painting.
“Access to art is really essential, so I'm also excited to develop that part of my practice more," she says.
Sánchez's art has been on exhibit from Boston to Los Angeles, and that's also where she says she sells most of it — outside of Charlotte. She participated in the McColl Center's inaugural collecting club called The Contemporaries to help make art more accessible to local buyers.
“Sometimes I think people may feel timid about reaching out to artists or art spaces," she says. "The purpose was to bring people in and engage them.”
Sánchez created 25 pieces, one for each collector, and hosted a knitting workshop at the Milestone Club.
“The yarn kept getting passed around from person to person,” she says. “It was a great way for people to get to know each other and talk to me.”