“Twenty years ago, in Tokyo, I stepped into a freshly cut, monumental bamboo installation created by Hiroshi Teshigahara. In that moment I experienced a palpable elevation, the sense of deep order and connection present in a sanctuary or sacred place. In the intervening years, the character of bamboo continued to resonate. I studied ikebana for 15 years and took art classes on a regular basis. Bamboo captivated me. I wanted to understand why it held this meaning in my life. Today I find myself immersed in bamboo. To the amazement of family and friends, bamboo lures me into the studio for long days of cutting, taping, measuring, drilling, threading, designing, arranging, problem-solving. the repeating hand-eye rhythm of gluing or connecting the crosscut bamboo pieces absorbs and mesmerizes me. I am in the flow. This is my meditation. The work is a giant puzzle; I crave the process of assembling the pattern. I become the process of assembling the pattern.”

Crumpacker holds a BA from Scripps College and a Master of Arts in Liberal Studies from Reed College as well as a teaching credential from University of California, Berkeley. She is a member of the first graduating class of the MFA program in Applied Craft and Design from Oregon College of Art and Craft + Pacific Northwest College of Art.