California Fibers has a new show opening this weekend at the Beatrice Wood Center for the Arts in Ojai, California. The opening reception is Saturday, January 18, from 2-4 PM.
This exhibition coincides with and celebrates the 50th anniversary of the founding of California Fibers, a group that supports artistic growth and professional advancement for contemporary Southern California artists working in fiber media. All works in the exhibition address the theme “a closer look”, as interpreted by each artist, from imagery and inspiration to materials and processes.
“The work in this exhibition features contemporary art utilizing media and processes rooted in the earliest forms of human endeavor,” says Kevin Wallace, Director of the Center. “There are cutting-edge works in weaving, basketry, sculpture, quilting, embroidery, felting, surface design, knitting, crochet, wearables, and mixed media.” California Fibers: A Closer Look features diverse works created by eighteen members of California Fibers: Linda Anderson, Olivia Batchelder, Charlotte Bird, Marilyn Chaffee, Doshi, Polly Jacobs Giacchina, Lydia Tjioe Hall, Susan Henry, Chari Myers, Serge Nepomnin, Kathy Nida, Carol Nilsen, Liz Oliver, Michael Rohde, Rebecca Smith, Cameron Taylor-Brown, Debby Weiss and Peggy Wiedemann. California Fibers: A Closer Look continues through February 29, 2020. Many of the artists will be present at the opening reception on January 18 from 2-4 PM. Other events include a workshop by Polly Jacobs Giacchina on February 8. Details and registration are available at www.beatricewood.com.
Beatrice Wood Center for the Arts is open to the public Friday, Saturday, and Sunday from 11 AM – 5 PM, and is located at 8585 Ojai-Santa Paula Road in Ojai, CA.
Although the show is documented below, as those of us in the fiber arts can tell you, the work is always much more amazing in person, so stop on by to see the exhibit.
Chari Myers, The Last Season, handmade, vacuumed abaca paper, Procion MX dyes, foliage, wax
Michael F. Rohde, Gonwerlish Sonnet, handwoven tapestry: silk and natural dyes
“My piece in the exhibit is a smaller version from a series of imagined language tapestries. The larger ones are nearly seven feet tall, and address very large themes. Gonwerlish Sonnet is a mere 17” on the side, and considers a more intimate use of language - smaller and more carefully considered use of words. Not only is the language imagined, but so is the name of the language.”
Charlotte Bird, Microbes 5, hand-dyed and commercial cotton, polyester thread, hand-dyed perle cotton thread
“I have always been fascinated by the microscope, as much for the shapes and forms of the creatures and plants visible, as for the science. Big and small microbes form the foundations of ecosystems and therefore life on earth.”
Kathy Nida, Climate Goddess, commercial and hand-dyed cottons
“Decoding the details of our current climate crisis, wishing there were someone in charge who cared enough to fix it.”
Kathy Nida, Sweet Delicious, commercial and hand-dyed cottons
“A closer look at love and its components.”
Peggy Wiedemann, Totem, pine needles, Irish waxed linen, old wooden toy parts
“The outside and the inside of the piece are not alike. You need to step up and take a closer look to see the difference.”
Peggy Wiedemann, The Tribe, cloth, Pakistani grass, India rag cordage, Irish waxed linen, old metal and wood objects
Linda Anderson, In the Old Way, cotton fabrics, Jacquard textile paints, bamboo batting, polyester thread
Cameron Taylor-Brown, Reflections/Giverny #2, linen yarns, silk and cotton fabric, wood, and paint; weaving, photographic transfer, embroidery
“Reflections/Giverny #2 takes a close look at the interplay between an image of one particular tree and its watery reflection, from a photograph taken in early spring at Monet’s garden. The original image has been abstracted and placed in repeat, inviting the viewer to explore the delicate patterning this creates. “
Polly Jacobs Giacchina, Grown Wild, date palm, steel cable, wire, and jute
“My work Grown Wild allows for a more intimate, up close look into my fiber art wall sculpture. The viewer is allowed to see inside the sculpture. Just a little surprise.”
Polly Jacobs Giacchina, Land There, wool, linen, burlap, wire, and salvaged metal
"Land There is an overview, map-like, fiber wall hanging. The viewer can decipher terrain and topography.”
Doshi, The Old Pond a Frog Leaps In, silk organza, acid dye, discharge, bomaki shibori
“The old pond
A frog leaps in.
Sound of the water
Look again.”
Liz Oliver, Wing, shibori-dyed silk habotai, acid dye and discharge
Debby Weiss, 657 Main St., fabric, yarn, thread, and steel
“A glimpse from above and through the fence, wondering just where it all begins and ends.”
Debby Weiss, Blush, fabric and thread
Rebecca Smith, Contexture, mixed fibers, seed beads, wire
Lydia Tjioe Hall, Spaghettification, cloth-covered wire
Lydia Tjioe Hall, Listening, copper, enamel, cloth-covered wire
Marilyn McKenzie Chaffee, Firefall II, cottons, pieced, appliqued, painted, stippled, machine- and hand-quilted, French knots
Olivia Batchelder, Vanishing Landscapes: Desert, wood box, agave husk, colored pencil
“It is at the edges where one first notices a particular form as being different from another form. Continuing the glance, likenesses merge in wondrous similarity and differences are celebrated.”
Serge Nepomnin, Laughing Sisters (three orange-red poppies), 100% silk charmeuse (painting stretched over a canvas), Jacquard Red-Label dyes, Jacquard gutta, Jacquard Resistad
Look closer!
“There are three
Happy little sisters,
Bowing their heads laughing,
Tickled by the sun.
Carol Nilsen, Centrifuge, silks, linens, metallics
Susan Henry, Lion’s Mane Jellyfish, alpaca, angora, linen, mohair, qiviut, hand-dyed, knit
"Last summer I saw an unusual jellyfish, one I've never seen before, with a deep red bell transitioning to violet ruffles and a creamy white bloom of trailing tentacles. It was a beautiful, dangerous creature and I couldn't forget it. This unexpected inspiration from nature certainly deserved a closer look..."