Twine with my Mingles

PROJECT:

Art Installation | Design + Build

LOCATION:

Nashville International Airport

DESCRIPTION:

Spanning 8 feet high and 177 feet long, our handwoven tapestry is a tribute to Tennessee’s craft legacy and a celebration of Nashville’s vibrant present moment. Inspired by 18th and 19th-century coverlet patterns created by domestic weavers across the state, we reimagined traditional motifs using a novel material: Tyvek wristbands. Collected by fans of all artforms as keepsakes, they are at once signs of entry into significant spaces and mementos of being part of the show. These ephemeral tokens are joined into a lasting symbol of one of Nashville’s essential values: bringing people together.

Our tapestry reflects the timeless spirit of homemaking and hospitality embedded in craft. In earlier times, a weaver’s unique pattern variation mirrored their resources, tools, and personal aesthetics. We respond to this tradition by adding bold color, grand scale, and modern yet humble materials. Titled Twine with my Mingles, the work honors the transformative nature of folk process, akin to how the Carter Family unknowingly reshaped lyrics by joining memory and improvisation, like a game of telephone. Like them, like the city their artistry helped build, we aim to take what’s old, make it new, and keep it true. Ultimately, coverlets are a showing of Southern Hospitality, a statement of trust. We want to show you our best; we’re bringing out our best china for you. It’s an object that is quite literally woven together with deep meaning each time in a new way and always with care. It says, here’s something we made to welcome you to our home.

Engineering Steric Design

Fabrication MESA

Architecture Fentress Studios