Botany by Meghan Shimek

Rare Device is proud to present Botany by Meghan Shimek at our plant store. Botany is an exploration of beginnings, growth, connections, and reconnecting with the world.

Show Dates: Friday, May 20 to Sunday, July 17, 2022
Artist Reception: Friday, May 20, 2022 6-8pm

Where: At our plant store, 505 Divisadero St. 

Pom Pom Workshop: June 9, 2022 6pm & 7pm. 

Be the first to sign up for Meghan's Pom Pom Workshop. Join our newsletter for first dibs on a reservation.

Artist Statement:
Botany is an exploration of beginnings, growth, connections and emergence in the world. This work coincides with Spring, the world beginning to feel like it is opening up and blooming again after two years of a hibernation period.

Over the last two years all of us have changed, the way we see the world and explore who we are. Bringing this work into Rare Device's plant store is an opportunity to think about our own individual history. I have been thinking about the connection that both plants and wool have in human history, how much they mean to us and our ancestors. Plants can grow for years, and you can propagate and create new growth, much like us. Wool is one of the oldest materials that creates warmth, comfort, and can last hundreds of years. These two materials have been with us forever, but are forever changing. However, they give us a grounded stability that we can rely on. In this time of great change, we have sought out stability, comfort, and through it, growth. These pieces represent how to connect our old lives with the new.


About the Artist:
Based in Oakland, California, fiber artist Meghan Shimek creates large scale woven wall hangings and sculptures. Her engaging work is ethereal, whimsical and delicate, but rooted in the warm, earthy materials she uses. Exploring organic movement, Shimek's weaving style allows the fibers to fall into an indeterminate pattern that reveals the beauty and vulnerability of her materials.

Shimek was raised in Michigan and studied history and nutrition before discovering her true passion in weaving. Since dedicating herself fully to fiber work, she has studied tapestry and Navajo weaving, rigid heddle and floor loom weaving. Shimek developed her own signature weaving style over several years as she explored how art can be used to express grief and heal after personal loss. Today, Shimek exhibits her work, creates commissions, and teaches weaving workshops across the world.