When Mary Giles received the James Renwick Alliance Master of the Meidum Award in Fiber in 2013, she spoke of her process and her sources of inspiration for her works: “I have always been influenced by place and especially the natural world in those places. In the early 80’s, having taken up scuba diving, I did a series based on sea life called ‘walking tentacles.’ Later, during many trips to New Mexico, I discovered mesa forms as well as Native American kivas and petroglyphs.”