Bio
Parrish Kirchoff received her BFA in Textile and Fashion Design from the Maine College Of Art and Design in 2024. Born and raised on the southern border of Maine; by two artists/art teachers, schlepped in and out of art museums as a child, Parrish was raised to make. Her practice involves making textile and garment pieces in ways that create three-dimensional forms using a combination of embroidery, knitting, quilting, and a variety of surface design techniques to add interest to the material and final outcome.
Statement
Often what is not inherently visible are the individual importances within each piece. My work reflects ideas surrounding my lived experiences. I am inspired by what many consider to be taboo & in some instances grotesque. These are things that are usually normal. Bodily functioning, interpersonal relationships, mental struggles. My goal is to help inspire greater understanding within those who have not experienced these specific normal life occurrences.
Having worked with textile materials as my main medium for the past five years my hand is increasingly important to my work. It’s expressive, creates flaws to work around and brings personality to the final product. Due to the nature of garment-making, planning is somewhat essential. I don’t like being restricted to a plan. However, I allow constraints to work with problem solving throughout the process and boundaries of a material within my vision of the outcome.