Artist Spotlight: Hannah Goff’s Textural Floral Art
Artist Interview: Kate Schultz
Hannah Goff is a Lexington, North Carolina based artist and designer working through the lens of interiors with a thoughtful perspective. She creates sewn fabric paintings, custom lighting and art objects for the home. These elements, when combined, create a cohesive textural narrative throughout the domestic space. She draws inspiration from the intersecting histories of abstract painting, quilting and furniture design. The relationship between art and everyday life is at the center of her work, informing the continually evolving exploration of materiality and atmosphere in the domestic space. All fabric pieces are made using re-purposed and discarded fabrics and clothing. Each piece is unique.
Enjoy the interview with our friend and fellow SCAD and NYC alum: Lexington, NC artist Hannah Goff.
Click through the images to shop Hannah’s work
photography courtesy of the artist and Hadley Henry Photography
HM: Can you share a bit about your journey to becoming an artist in Lexington, North Carolina?
HG: I studied textiles and fashion design in college and always thought of myself as a designer, a maker of usable or wearable objects, something with an end use. I am grateful for my time and education at SCAD because I had some wonderful professors who, even though we were studying fashion design, taught us to think with a more artistic approach. After school I worked in New York as a print/textile designer for women's apparel for various corporate companies. After living through covid in NYC and being so confined I knew I needed a change, so I moved back home to NC and now live in the same town I grew up in. Now I have more time to make art and ceramics which is a really important aspect of my life.
One of the major draws to moving back to NC was the fact that there is much more access to green spaces especially in your own back yard. A big goal of mine was owning my own home, which became a reality 2 years after i moved back in 2024. My house has a small front and back yard which is perfect for me since I live alone. When I work I like to sit close by a window and I can see the birds and squirrels in the neighborhood and in the spring and summer all of the plants in bloom. It’s refreshing after living in NY for ten years to be able to open your front door and step out onto grass.
Goff in her home studio. Photo by Hadley Henry
HM: How do flowers and the natural world influence your creative practice and how/why do they show up in your work?
HG: Flowers are the subject matter that tie both of my artistic practices together. For my ceramics I mostly stick to making flower vases and in my textile collage work I do most often like to depict flower arrangements and still life. I think moving back to NC shifted my focus to florals and nature inspired themes because they were much more prominent in my every day life.
HM: Do you garden? Tell us about your gardening experience, the ups and downs, and what you have learned from gardening.
HG: I would say I try. I took a few Master Gardener classes through NC State when I moved back because I really did not know any of the basics, but I was very curious to learn about growing flowers and vegetables. I am trying to add flowers around my house slowly but with so many options and the fact that my available land is pretty small I have a lot of choice paralysis. I have been starting flowers from seed the past couple of years with mild success. I am slowly learning, gardening takes a lot of observation, patience and time.
HM: What is your favorite flower variety, or two or three, and why?
HG: Right now I am loving dandelions, I love seeing big patches of them in overgrown fields or in my own front yard when its been a while since the grass has been cut. I think my favorite flowers have to be dahlias. I love the variety and the longevity of their bloom season, they just keep coming from early summer to October. I have been trying to grow them from seed, hopefully this season I will get a few plants to survive. Other than dahlias I just love any hardy perennial flower that is easy to grow and looks good in a cottage garden: salvia, coneflowers, peonies, catmint etc.
HM: How does sustainability influence your work as a handmade fiber and ceramic artist in North Carolina?
HG: As long as I can remember I have always been interested in using materials that already exist. These textiles and objects have past lives that interest me and character in the worn spots on a pair of pants or bleach stain on a shirt. I like the thrill of the hunt at the estate sale or in the Goodwill bins, you never know what treasures you will find and sometimes it’s like you are letting a higher power dictate what you will make your next work from. Before I moved back to NC I had never been to the Goodwill bins and now they are my favorite resource for used textiles.
HM: What role does tactile art play in creating memorable, immersive environments for art collectors, interior designers, and businesses?
HG: I love texture, visual and physical. I have not studied interior design, however I do think there is a general concept where mixing of textures is key to have depth and atmosphere in a space. Having art or art objects with various visual and physical textures really adds to a room something you cannot achieve with furniture alone. We need art to express our personality, just like we need jewelry to accessorize an outfit. I do not think a room would be complete without some thoughtfully chosen art on the walls and the more the better!
HM: Where can your artwork be purchased in Lexington, NC and beyond?
HG: I currently sell work locally in Winston-Salem, NC at Visual Index and I am participating in a show called "Bloom" with Lark and Key Gallery in Charlotte, NC.
You can also find my work at Rude Haus.
For artwork and vases follow @hannah_goff_ @hannahgoff_ceramics and for florals follow @heathermeadowfloral