Once a staple of a toy craze, rubber loom bands have found a striking second life in the hands of artist Hannah Buechler. Her framed, wall-mounted works initially read like expressionist canvases—gestural, color-forward, and painterly—yet up close they resolve into thousands of tiny bands forming a tactile relief. Drawing on an interest in fabrics and the mark-making of the Impressionists, Buechler pivots the humble loop into a vivid language of texture and tone.
Process and materials
Buechler pushes the boundaries of textiles with found and recycled materials, often probing the interplay between natural and synthetic media. Working over a felt template that doubles as the substrate, she loops bands onto small tufts of colorful wool roving. These soft, pliable segments can be curved and nestled together to shape any form, then assembled almost like a puzzle. The result maintains a textile’s flexibility, but once framed and hung, it assumes the visual presence of a painting.
What appears to be brushwork is in fact meticulously constructed relief: densely packed bands rise from the surface in vibrant fields of color, summoning the immediacy of paint while retaining the tactility of fiber.
Selected works
- The Space Between (2024), loom bands, wool, and felt, framed, 77 x 72.5 x 2 inches. Photo by Spencer Higgins.
- Warm Foothills (2025), loom bands, wool, and felt, framed, 32 x 36 inches. Photo by Spencer Higgins.
- Frozen Realm (2025), loom bands, wool, and felt, framed, 74 x 47.85 x 2 inches. Photo by Spencer Higgins.
- Fountains (2025), rubber loom bands, wool, and felt, framed, 48 x 44.5 x 2 inches. Photo by Spencer Higgins.
- Black Sheep (2025), loom bands, wool, and felt, framed, 26.75 x 19.75 inches. Photo by Spencer Higgins.
- Dont Push (2025), loom bands, wool, and felt, framed, 52.5 x 34.5 x 2 inches. Photo by Spencer Higgins.
From the toy box to the gallery wall, Buechler transforms an everyday material into an expressive surface with surprising depth. More of Buechlers work can be found on Instagram.
