Musclestomach v.2, 2021.
Ribbon and wool yarn.
30 × 5 × 3 inches
$800
By Katie Shulman @katie.shulman
Artist Statement:
Musclestomach v.2 is from a body of work called Skin to Skin, made in 2021. The sculptures are deflated, the bones of my basket bodies removed, only the skin, the outer layer of my previous sculptural work, remains. This skin became a new kind of armature, one that provided a slack surface to build upon. I knitted my skin/armature out of ribbon and then stitched a simple over, under pattern of yarn that covered its entire surface. The stitches provided the grounding for a new surface design: an intuitive crochet pattern that attached to the surface of the knitted form.
This body of work was made as I laid in repose. Materials encountered my entire reclining body. The work rested, its skin to my skin, creeping down to my toes as rows of knitting multiplied.
The body is a formal and conceptual touchstone for all of my work, which comes together through an intuitive and process-based working rhythm. As I was building Musclestomach, I could break my process-induced trance by asking myself: I am making? What am I making? The answer: something present, full, flexible, fatty, rigid, irregular, a body in and of itself.
I consider Musclestomach v.2 and the other Skin to Skin sculptures to be my most abject work: a knitting sat upon my body as I made it. When I finished, we disconnected and it became its own independent body part.
BIO: Katie Shulman is an artist, organizer, arts administrator and educator. She lives, makes art and builds community in Detroit, Michigan. Her current studio work considers the postpartum body, which she explores through fiber-based processes and material manipulation. In 2022, Katie founded Fiber Club*, a network of artists and creative practitioners working in Southeast Michigan. Over the past three years, she has worked hard to resource the community of over 600 makers in the Detroit-metro area. Some of Fiber Club*'s achievements include two large-scale, inclusive exhibitions for Detroit Month of Design, programmatic collaborations with The Shepherd, The University of Michigan Gifts of Art Program, Buffalo Prescott and Ferndale Public Library. She is passionate and hyper-focused on creating inclusive opportunities for creative people that strengthen community ties, and create space for experimentation and risk-taking. She is currently collaborating with educator and ceramicist, Jessica Edgar on a large-scale cross medium collaborative show that will take place during NCECA in Detroit in 2026.
Musclestomach v.2, 2021.
Ribbon and wool yarn.
30 × 5 × 3 inches
$800
By Katie Shulman @katie.shulman
Artist Statement:
Musclestomach v.2 is from a body of work called Skin to Skin, made in 2021. The sculptures are deflated, the bones of my basket bodies removed, only the skin, the outer layer of my previous sculptural work, remains. This skin became a new kind of armature, one that provided a slack surface to build upon. I knitted my skin/armature out of ribbon and then stitched a simple over, under pattern of yarn that covered its entire surface. The stitches provided the grounding for a new surface design: an intuitive crochet pattern that attached to the surface of the knitted form.
This body of work was made as I laid in repose. Materials encountered my entire reclining body. The work rested, its skin to my skin, creeping down to my toes as rows of knitting multiplied.
The body is a formal and conceptual touchstone for all of my work, which comes together through an intuitive and process-based working rhythm. As I was building Musclestomach, I could break my process-induced trance by asking myself: I am making? What am I making? The answer: something present, full, flexible, fatty, rigid, irregular, a body in and of itself.
I consider Musclestomach v.2 and the other Skin to Skin sculptures to be my most abject work: a knitting sat upon my body as I made it. When I finished, we disconnected and it became its own independent body part.
BIO: Katie Shulman is an artist, organizer, arts administrator and educator. She lives, makes art and builds community in Detroit, Michigan. Her current studio work considers the postpartum body, which she explores through fiber-based processes and material manipulation. In 2022, Katie founded Fiber Club*, a network of artists and creative practitioners working in Southeast Michigan. Over the past three years, she has worked hard to resource the community of over 600 makers in the Detroit-metro area. Some of Fiber Club*'s achievements include two large-scale, inclusive exhibitions for Detroit Month of Design, programmatic collaborations with The Shepherd, The University of Michigan Gifts of Art Program, Buffalo Prescott and Ferndale Public Library. She is passionate and hyper-focused on creating inclusive opportunities for creative people that strengthen community ties, and create space for experimentation and risk-taking. She is currently collaborating with educator and ceramicist, Jessica Edgar on a large-scale cross medium collaborative show that will take place during NCECA in Detroit in 2026.
