Weaving Is Performance Art For This Boulder Fiber Artist + Dancer

In her Boulder studio, artist Julie Rothschild sits surrounded by her free-form woven textiles.

After spending most of her life as a modern dancer, Julie Rothschild took her first weaving class on a whim some five years ago and felt an immediate déja-vu as she strung her loom. “It was like I was setting up a dance floor: creating a grid and laying the foundation for what I could choreograph on top, picturing the patterns, rhythms and interactions,” says the Boulder-based fiber artist. “My imagination took off.”

In keeping with her love of improvisation, Rothschild maintains a balance of freedom and constraint in her works—and it may come as no surprise that among her creative touchstones are fiber innovators such as Anni Albers and Ruth Asawa, as well as boundary-pushing dancer Pina Bausch. Though Rothschild does weave functional objects such as rugs, she is most expressive when making free-form textiles, be they wall hangings that transition from tightly knit to loose and rambling; thick, nubby shoulder wraps; or tangled bundles of carefully composed thread. In lieu of conventional yarns, Rothschild often reaches for Japanese fibers such as gima (a flat, linen-like cotton with a papery feel), bamboo and hemp.

Though Rothschild does weave functional objects such as rugs, she is most expressive when making free-form wallhangings.

Though Rothschild does weave functional objects such as rugs, she is most expressive when making free-form wallhangings.

The artist favors asymmetry and a kind of kinetic energy over neat compositions.

The artist favors asymmetry and a kind of kinetic energy over neat compositions.

Smaller experimental pieces tacked up in her studio serve as inspiration.

Smaller experimental pieces tacked up in her studio serve as inspiration.

Her larger pieces transition from tightly knit to loose and rambling.

Her larger pieces transition from tightly knit to loose and rambling.

Recent manipulations of steel into sculptures express similar material choreographies, expanding on the artist's ability to see dance vocabulary everywhere.

Recent manipulations of steel into sculptures express similar material choreographies, expanding on the artist's ability to see dance vocabulary everywhere.

Through a happy accident, steel is now part of her repertoire too. When a weaving session at the Penland School of Craft got canceled, Rothschild pivoted to a metal-working workshop and was instantly enthralled. She started cutting pieces out of 16-gauge steel, and bending them into sculptures. “Ultimately, all my work is about movement and tension,” she shares—a philosophy that is reflected in her recent solo show, “Body at Work,” at Boulder’s Bus Stop gallery. Rothschild’s description of her process suggests an intimate pas-de-deux with her material: “I lay a piece of the metal on a bench and then I kind of sit on it while simultaneously pulling it in and rolling my body to exert the necessary force. It’s almost like holding a dance partner.”

Whether weaving or manipulating metal, Rothschild favors asymmetry and a kind of kinetic energy over neat compositions. “All my years of dancing and anatomical study inform my approach,” she explains. “Not every work has a clear pattern, a clean edge or a tidy ending. We all have these unresolved strands in our lives and it feels very real to let some of those raw edges show.”

PHOTOS: JULIA VANDENOEVER