Coccolithophores

This piece is inspired by some of the smallest organisms in the ocean. Coccolithophores are microscopic plankton that build intricate shells from calcium carbonate. When they die, those shells sink to the ocean floor, carrying carbon with them and quietly helping regulate our planet’s climate. Over time, their accumulated remains form white limestone, simply chalk.

I am moved by the humility of these organisms. Though nearly invisible, their collective labor shapes landscapes and stabilizes the atmosphere. In their second act, they become chalk, a material long used in education and art.  It feels right to honor this material through digital jacquard weaving, a process that joins one of our oldest textile traditions with contemporary technology. In this work, the lineage from ocean life to human mark making becomes material and tactile through woven structure.

Coccolithophores (2025)