Ice Age Migrants

by Manca Ahlin

This large-scale lacework piece illustrates a mother and baby Columbian mammoth, a species once indigenous to this area. The artist depicted the pair using a technique called bobbin lace, which traditionally involves braiding and twisting strands of thread wound on small bobbins used to manage them. Here, the artist used computer aided design and two types of rope to create pieces similar to life-size. Layering of the lace pieces and the resulting shadows create dimension and depth. Less than three miles from the airport you can find Waco Mammoth National Monument, the location of the nation’s only known nursery herd of Pleistocene Epoch (Ice Age) Columbian mammoths.

Meet Manca Ahlin

Manca Ahlin grew up in Slovenia, and now lives and works in New York City. As a child, she learned traditional arts and crafts techniques from her family and through formal training; she later studied product design and architecture and pursued a professional career in those fields. Ahlin utilizes her wide-ranging skills and experience to create site-specific works that respond to existing environments, combining traditional bobbin lace techniques with contemporary tools and unexpected materials. Ahlin has installed site-specific work across the United States and Europe, including at the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh, Etsy headquarters, and the Božidar Jakac Art Museum in Slovenia.