The inaugural show of the Midwest Fiber Art Alliance has begun at the Jewish Community Center Gallery in Omaha, NE. The exhibit will hang until August 4th. I have three pieces in this, my first, show. There are a total of nine artists exhibiting work in the show. We hope to make this show an annual event in the Midwest.
This year our theme is about Nebraska shown in a squared format. 1' x 1', 2' x 2' and 3' x 3'. Each of the artist's works centers on this theme.
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| Foundling |
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| Weeds? |
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| Here It Comes |
My work was done beginning with fabric that was "snow dyed". Snow dyeing is a process where dye concentrates are added to cloth over 6" of snow. The fabrics were treated with a mordant that allows the
slow melting of the snow to form "crystal" patterns on the cloth. After reviewing photographs in black and white of the resulting patterns, I use a technique from the children's game of finding cloud animals. I visualize scenes and sketch them on the cloth with a sewing machine. Pastels are used to enhance and shade the completed scene.
This series was a real change from what I have done previously. Surface design techinques are my first love and I rarely use commercial fabrics in my work. I hope that the work is as well received by the viewers at the show as it was by the groups attending the artist's reception last weekend. I know I had so much fun explaining my work. Perhaps some workshops will come out of the show.
