My name is James Maddox. I grew up in San Francisco, a city shaped by layers of history, culture, and constantly changing landscapes. Growing up there taught me to appreciate the many perspectives that can exist within one place, as well as the diversity of terrains found throughout San Francisco and California, from coastlines and forests to mountains, deserts, and urban spaces.

I created Patina as a way to explore the world through material. I am interested in how materials and surfaces can hold traces of place, history, movement, and time, and how experimenting with them can become a way of understanding the spaces around us. Through embroidery, textiles, print, and material experimentation, I use making as both a form of research and a way of expressing ideas that can be difficult to communicate through words alone.

For me, Patina is proof over time. It is an exploration of how landscapes, objects, and people are continually shaped by what surrounds them and how those layers can become visible through material.