This 6ft by 4ft giant hysterical tufted hand is made from acrylic yarn. She has wrapped around her finger the cord to a vintage vacuum. She is part of a series of work titled: Monsters in Bloom, a collection of rugs refusing to be walked on. This body of work was created during graduate school at The Art Institute of Chicago in 2026.

This work explodes notions of domesticity by gianting and mythologizing stories that have been silenced for too long. Exploring historical and contemporary gestures of “hysteria,” a man-made artifice used to undermine, devalue, and decenter women’s voices, agency, and power.

for sale

She’s, “too sensitive” is made from acrylic tufted yarn. She is 10ft by 8ft in size. Created in 2025 during Graduate school at The Art Institute of Chicago.

This is from a body of work titled: Monsters In Bloom. The collection of rugs refuse to be walked on-climbing walls, erupting pile heights, and amplifying the echoing generational silencing of women.

A devised film created by Jen LaMastra, Kali Quinn, and Meg Massalone.

A review by Catherine F Norgren, Professor, Theatre and Dance The University of Buffalo:

"I have watched it three times. As always, you have taught me something. I always struggle in VI with time and motion as an element - and often ignore it with the excuse that theatre is a time-based art form, thus we deal with it 'naturally' and inevitably.

Maybe because the virtual/video world has become prominently 'only' and maybe because 'adjusting' is ubiquitous, your 8 minutes and 56 seconds of film have made me think about reality, fantasy, myths of origin, and the possibilities of using color, gesture, texture - and sound - to investigate the relativity of time and motion. HALVE compresses time, collages it, and makes it stretch and bend. Things that make you go "hmmm".

You have also taught me, reminded me, how very much I care about process, the compiling of ideas. I have been using the metaphor of an iceberg - as the work necessary in a design - and realize that even though I tell students nobody sees the 8 tenths of work under the surface, that is what interests me most. I am so glad to know even some of the stories behind the making of HALVE!"

One thousand four hundred and sixty five days of wishing, and hoping, and manifesting change.  An autobiographical snapshot of a grieving woman in search of hope. 

MATERIALS:
Eggshells
1000 embroidered origami cranes
Muslin
Glass bottles
Origami lucky stars

SPECIAL THANKS
Chandra Glaeseman (plaster casting master), Cyan Bott, Celeste Sipes (Radish Underground), Kollodi Norton, Emmalene Capece, Kellie Kane, Kristin Olson, Jan Schatz, and Cindy Black.
 

Life size sculpture cast in plastic, and tissues folded into origami cranes. It was displayed in the SHE collection, shown in the group show, “Power Positions: a dismantling of phallacies.”

Created in conjunction to 2016 film, I am the explosion of a thousand cranes in flight. Premiering at 2016 Beady Little Eyes Puppet Slam in Portland OR. Supported by RACC.

Asked Every Guy I Ever Dated, 2025

Materials: Acrylic yarn, vintage childrens books

Size: 7ft by 6ft

Asked Every Guy I Ever Dated repurposes the classic children’s book Are You My Mother? into a large-scale crocheted quilt that disrupts nostalgia and maternal narrative through acts of quiet aggression and feminist refusal. Each book has been sawed open, its contents hollowed out and replaced with bold refusals: “No,” “Bitch please,” “Sike.” What once told a story of longing and attachment now delivers exasperation, boundary-setting, and refusal.

for sale

Fabricated into bright yellow granny squares, the piece mimics a giant baby blanket. By embedding subversive language into a traditionally “sweet” form, the work exposes the invisible labor of politeness, caretaking, and being asked—again and again—to perform softness.

This is a protest built in yarn and repetition, using the language of craft to reject the roles women are conditioned to play.

For one month, 14 Little Free Libraries in Portland Oregon, were transformed into Little Galleries.  Lil Bear Magic was a yarn bombed fiber mushroom house filled weekly with 120 total little crochet bears.  Gallery viewers were encouraged to:

Take a bear.  Take it on an adventure and Tag it.  #lilbearmagic

MATERIALS

Acrylic yarn
Poly stuffing
Safety eyes
Felt
Instagram

Produced by Erinn Katheryn and Jen LaMastra. 

Special thanks:  Participating artists, library owners, and individual donors

Info to come...

Crayon Man

MATERIALS USED: Used Crayons, plastic grocery bag, hot glue, and packing tape. The crayons came from SCRAP. ~80 to 100 hours.

CREDITS: Modeled by Corey Ravens. Photo courtey of Jen LaMastra

ACCOLADES: This image has been on the cover of Sustainable Life, in The Portland Tribune, on several blogs, in Portland Monthly, and was circulating image on the Junk to Funk website.

Chastity Blinds

MATERIALS USED: Mini blinds, bicycle tire tubes, old trunk locks, used window hinges. *collected from Freecycle, seven corners bike shop, rebuilding center and hippo hardware. 500 hours to create.

CREDITS: Modeled by Emily Alexander. Photos courtesy of The Photographers and Junk to funk.

ACCOLADES: Won first prize and the peoples choice award at Junk to Funk. 2009 Display at Portland International Airport for 6 months and SCRAP’S gallery for 1 month. Featured on Dusty Couture and Brooklyn Bee and Fashion Club.

Miss Reverb Fever

MATERIALS USED: Unusable CDs and DVDs, human hair, old curtains and demin jeans dress, guitar strings, spiral notebook springs. The CDs were collected from SCRAP and from an elementary school’s computer lab.

CREDITS: Modeled by Jen LaMastra. Photos courtesy of Corey Ravens.

ACCOLADES: This jacket has been on Display at several eco-events hosted by Junk to Funk, and on display at Montavilla sewing center for a teens fashion camp taught by Jen. Published in Portland Monthly and the Brooklyn Bee, as well as been on several blogs including Green Wala. Interviewed on Portland’s T.V. program Sustainable Today.

Vitamin Water Bottle Dress

MATERIALS USED: 200 Used Vitamin Water Zero Bottles and Labels. Glow, Rhythm, Squeezed, Revitalize. Packing Tape. Thread, 30 Led’s, solder, Glow in the dark paint, clear vinyl and hot glue.

CREDITS: Modeled by Natalie M. Morris, Makeup by Katherine Sealy, Lighting/circuitry design by Mark Keppinger, Photos courtesy of Brian Adrian Koch.

THANKS: Virginia LaForte, Lindsey Newkirk, Tim Gunn/Brian Adrian Koch, Traci Price, Jessica Kimmet, Erinn McGarry, Sylvia, Emily Alexander, and Mark Keppinger.

An exploration in Victorian Breakdancing 1000 hours/6 months to create.

MATERIALS USED

Mini blinds, used curtains.  Window Screening, Soda can/Beer tabs, mini blinds. Bicycle Tire tubes, recycled gold wire.

CREDITS

Modeled by Erin McGarry (bike tubes), Linda Okereke (mini blinds), Makeup by Claudine Ebel. Photos by Kellie Kane. Jewelry by Betsy and Iya. and Isaac Watson.