Born and raised on the island of O’ahu, Noelani Jones, meaning “heavenly mist,” (she/they) is a community-building Fiber Artist passionate about strengthening communities and individuals with art and an appreciation for the natural world. She graduated from Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts in 2017 with her BFA in Craft and Material Studies with a concentration in Fibers. Known as the “Weaver Beaver,” a play on words addressing the history of weaving in the Western world being considered “women’s work.” There is merit to following in the footsteps of those who came before us and keeping the craft alive and remembered.
Jones has attended Penland School of Craft, John C Campbell Folk School in North Carolina, and Marshfield School of Weaving in Vermont. Her work has been exhibited at galleries and museums in Virginia, North Carolina, Maryland, Chicago, IL, and many other alternative, DIY spaces throughout the United States including Vermont. Additionally, Jones is a recipient of a 2024 Artist Development Grant from the Vermont Arts Council. She has been an artist-in-residence at the Annmarie Sculpture Garden, MD, Vermont Studio Center, and most recently returning to the Sable Project, VT.
As a community-building artist, Jones believes anything can be a thread and every thread has a story. Currently, she lives in the backwoods of Washington, Vermont, truly known as Abenaki lands. Jones works at Cedar Circle Farm and Education Center as the seasonal baker bringing in-season, fresh baked goods for the farm stand and Hello Café daily in Thetford, VT, and is an artist instructor at SafeArt in Chelsea, VT. She also spends time each week as a Director of Social Media at the Weavers Guild of Greater Baltimore, bringing weavers, spinners, and the community together since 1948.
I am a community-building Fiber Artist passionate about strengthening individuals and communities with art and an appreciation for the natural world. My work highlights our dependence on nature and restoring a relationship with the land through seasonal, land-based crafts of natural dyeing and handweaving. Growing up on the island of O’ahu, Hawai’i being surrounded by such a beautiful eco-system, shaped me and my art making and has made me very aware of my impact on the planet as well as my footprint as a weaver. My current practice is centered on creating site-specific installations of handwoven cloth with natural materials and functional works of art. By accessing my kuleana, a Hawai’ian value of responsibility to the land, it is my purpose to be a good steward and malama, a Hawai’ian idea about taking care of the earth and community. I aim for a continual practice of ethically foraging & cultivating plants from the land for dye, slowly weaving by hand on a foot-powered loom, and making with all second-hand, recycled, or scrap natural fibers. The land feeds me and my weaving and dyeing practices. This work explores connections with the land through colors derived from site-specific place for dye and connecting woven threads.
-Noelani Jones