Photos courtesy of Textile Center
Debbie Johnson’s twisting basket of Red Cedar and Alaskan Yellow Cedar bark; Jane Obern’s gourd with beaded, feathered buckskin; Ivonne Yáñez’s wall hanging of silk, wool, and clay; and Wen Redmond’s collage of paper, silk organza, text, cheese cloth, book pages, flower petals, and paint; are just four of the works being displayed in this year’s members exhibition, “A Common Thread,” on view at the Textile Center in Minneapolis through Oct. 14.
The exhibition is now in its 23rd year. More than 166 artworks adorn the walls. Handcrafted table runners, quilts, wall art, wall hangings, baskets, sculpture, handbags and totes, rugs, fiber paintings, and clothing demonstrate the incredible breadth of innovation among the center’s members. The methods span stitching, quilting, knitting, weaving, crochet, sewing, dyeing, felting, hand construction, basketry, sculpture, and mixed media. And the media? Expect wire, thread, driftwood, bark, beeswax, beads, clay, mosquito netting, Japanese Boro cloth, wool, mirrors, glass crystals, seed beads, and used dryer sheets.
You can view the exhibition online here.
This year’s exhibition is among the largest in history, says Tracy Krumm, director for artistic advancement, with entries from new members and an expanded variety of work with which visitors can engage. As always, the exhibition includes pieces by artists working in fiber for decades. The juxtaposition of emerging and established artists illustrates another way in which visitors can explore the world of fiber art and craft through time, sensibility, and aesthetic.
Whether abstract or representational, humorous or poignant, rustic or refined, filled with iconography or geometric in design, the work just might inspire viewers to try their own hand at fiber art by taking a class at the center.
