Margaret Timbrell

Margaret at work in the studio (L) and with studio assistants Rhone and Spanky (R)

Margaret Timbrell creates intricate textile and fiber art using skillful needle work. She

uses a timeless and traditional medium, turning it into conceptual needlework, and

explores contemporary culture, including technology, parenthood, and fragility. She

often uses wordplay as part of the tableau of her work. She is also an illustrator, using

traditional drawing media.

For this month’s feature, Margaret shares insights into her work through a short Q&A.

First, tell us how Margaret shaped herself, how did you first become interested in art?

In Kindergarten, I remember my art teacher complimenting me on a dragon I made from tearing out paper and I’ve wanted to be an artist ever since then.

What are the main ideas or themes that you want to communicate through your work?

Needlework is a very labor intensive process. I spend a lot of time with each piece, dwelling on what the work means. And I’m a big consumer of culture: TV, music, internet. This leads to

falling down rabbit holes analyzing the oddities of our world. So I end up integrating these

observations into my work.

Can you describe your creative process?

My creative process is constant. I move from knitting sweaters, to watercoloring in my

sketchbook, to making art in my studio. Ideas often germinate in these various creative outputs, then I sketch them, and finally, I make the piece.

I’m always impressed with how you juggle so many roles, working, being a mother and making cool art. How do you do it? And from your experience, how do you see the situation of women in the art world?

Ha! I feel like I drop a fair amount of the balls I’m juggling, so thank you for saying that.

Embracing failure is a part of my art practice—and probably my life, too. I’m not a perfectionist juggler, which means I can keep many things moving, even if some fall along the way.

Becoming a mother gave me both focus and urgency in my art. One beautiful thing about

needlework is that for centuries women have made it with their children in the room. I carry on that tradition— my twins are frequently in my studio, and they’re a big influence on my art.

As for women in the art world—the situation is tough, because the situation of women in the

world is tough. The art world isn’t an exception. That said, women get the most done and live the longest, so maybe it’s just a waiting game? But we’ve already been waiting too long. Ask me again when we’ve had multiple female Presidents and half of Fortune 500 CEOs are women.

Fiber and textile art is fascinating….How would you further describe your work?

Right now I’m making large scale tapestries using a variety of rug tufting and needlework

techniques. But I like to think that there are some deeper conceptual elements that reference culture and community.

What artists have inspired you?

I love Medieval art — especially the Unicorn tapestries — both the ones at the Cloisters in NY and The Dame & The Unicorn at the Musée Cluny. I’m a big fan of the quotidian process of On Kawara with his date paintings and Lisa Yuskavage was my painting teacher at NYU so I think often about her color theory.

What are you working on?

I’ve just hung canvas for a very large, 10’x10’ tapestry that will be seagulls in the trash in a blue and green palette. I really like urban wildlife and lately I’ve been trying to capture the change that we witness in San Francisco, focusing especially on birds.

For a deeper look at Margaret’s practice, check out her website and Instagram.