Libby Raab is an architect and artist based in the San Francisco Bay Area. Along with her custom residential projects, she works with photo and paper weaving as an exploration of colors, textures, and pattern. Libby believes that like architecture, weaving is a form of spatial expression and material experimentation. Her work explores the intersection of geometry, digital technology, and nature. By hand weaving original photos that have been digitally altered, Libby aims to create a dialogue between tradition and innovation, organic and synthetic textures, reality and illusion.
Weaving is an act of integration, but the artist's paper weaves explore disintegration. The warp and weft symbolize the past and present, coming together to create something new that feels intentionally worn and faded—a simultaneous process of making and unmaking. Using custom patterns inspired by ancient weaves and influenced by a contemporary aesthetic, these paper weaves serve as an effort to compress time, bringing their future selves into present existence.
The building blocks of these weaves are original photographs of patterns found in nature. Some images are “degraded” through the addition of color gradients to mimic sun fading, while others are exaggerated through successive screenshotting and computer “aliasing” to generate new digital textures, evoking the impression of a previously woven fabric. To further accelerate “visual decay” and the passage of time, the artist intentionally erodes portions of the weave. In other areas, the addition of paper raffia represents a scarring over of past wounds that have self-healed.
Libby holds a BA in Psychology from DePauw University and a BArch from Boston Architectural College. She has been practicing architecture for over 25 years and established Libby Raab Architecture (LRA) in 2015. Just as Libby believes that good residential architecture is connected, personal and intimate, she also strives to find the personal connections in her artwork. In our increasingly digital world, it is often the analog, handmade work that draws a viewer in and helps them conceptually connect with a piece of art.