Women Fiber Artists’ Challenge

Hello again!

Yep, you may be noticing a trend with my posts. I feature lots of women. I do happen to know some fine male artists and maybe I’ll highlight some of them in the future. In the meantime, I’m fascinated by the women here in the Twin Cities and the work they’re producing. They inspire me to keep pushing my own horizons a bit further, for which I’m grateful.

On Saturday I saw “Serendipity,” the current art show at the Burnsville Performing Arts Center. They have a lovely gallery space with tall walls which the Fiber Artists Study Group was determined to fill. They made a pledge that they’d each create a piece that was 108 inches for this exhibit. For those of you without a calculator, that’s 9 ft high! A definite challenge.

I’ve known Joan Kloiber, of the Fiber Artists Study Group, for almost two years and have been very interested in the nature of their group because of its success. They manage to meet every week, which is almost unheard of these days, and each meeting lasts three hours! Most of the members have been participating for over a decade. Obviously they’re doing something right.

I met Ms Kloiber when several of the protegees of the WARM Mentor Program decided to extend the learning experience by meeting regularly. As a result, eight of us gather in each other’s homes every two weeks to talk about art, the process of creating it, our lives and goals. It’s been a stabilizing influence in my life, giving me something to look forward to when none of my projects seemed to go as planned. I was relieved last summer to find that the other seven wanted to continue meeting after our program ended.

Over the course of several conversations with Ms Kloiber, she shared with me the unique challenge of female fiber artists. Because they work with fabric, they are continually evaluated, by the arts community as well as by the public, as crafts people, not artists.

"Atmospheric Invasion," by Joan Kloiber

I’m curious. Does this piece seem to you to be something you’d casually throw on top of your bed? It is fabric and stitching and applique. But I believe the similarity ends there. This image is from a postcard Ms Kloiber produced. On the back she states “When looking at this quilt I hope the viewer will think about the impact of the “invasion” of electronics into our various atmospheres: ecological, social, educational, etc.”

Most of the other pieces in “Serendipity,” are likewise making statements about the environment, women’s roles, cultures, families, and an appreciation of nature. The fact that they use fabric as their medium is secondary. The messages they are attempting to convey trumps the familiarity of cloth.

I’m surprised that this is still an issue that these women face every time they apply for a show. There are three-dimensional pieces in this exhibit that belie the fiber they’re constructed from. There are technical marvels that make you wish you could watch the piece during construction. There are flights of fancy unusual enough to make you forget you’re looking at anything related to fiber. Of the 59 works, 47 are of a smaller, less overwhelming size.

For the show, Elna Goodspeed created a haunting series about trees including “Sunset,” “Summer Solstice,” and “October.” Dawn Carlson Conn reinvented a rainbow for “Hidden Wholeness” and “The Liminal,” rich blues and greens, with the help of satin thread. Kathleen Smith added beads to wool felt and silk for “Beautiful Blues” and actual shells to “In the Crevice of the Waves.” Linda Davis called forth stunning colors and organic shapes in her series “Halfway Between Shibori and Jackson Pollack.” You can see most of these on the Fiber Artists Study Group website by clicking on this link. The images don’t capture much of the texture or dimensionality, but the colors are glorious!

Yet I haven’t mentioned Cyndi Kaye Meier, Dina O’Sullivan, Joan Parsons, Tricia Spitzmueller, Doris Staub Petrie, Susan Stein or Karen Wallach. There’s an amazing breadth of accomplishment in one room at the Burnsville Performing Arts Center right now (through the beginning of Jan). Click on Meet the Artists section on their website to learn more about each of them.

Art engages our emotions and our minds. People need art to make sense of their place in the scheme of things and in order to access lasting pleasure. It’s also an effective way to comment on the problems society sometimes produces. “Serendipity” is a visual interpretation of a tactile medium. It’s also a challenge successfully met.

Thanks for visiting! —Chris