Masked Response

California Fibers last met in person in January, like many art groups, constrained by shelter-in-place and quarantine requirements. We met online in April, our normal meeting day and time, but in little boxes on the screen, some muted, some distracted, some challenged by technology, all glad to see and hear our group. We talked about art and our upcoming exhibits and whether they might even happen, until one member, Lydia Tjioe Hall, suggested we create an online exhibit in our isolation, a response to having to wear a mask, especially as fiber artists. So many other people were unearthing ancient sewing machines and using up all the elastic, or searching through their stash for appropriate materials. It seemed appropriate for each of us to reach deeply into our chosen medium and fashion a response to being masked and in quarantine.

And here they are…

Charlotte Bird, I’d Rather Be Somewhere Calm

Doshi, Ebb and Flow; Silk Organza, Arashi Shibori, Acid Dye

Timeless ebb and flow,

Endless waves of change,

Eternal depth of the sea.

Susan Henry

Polly Jacobs Giacchina, Wire, salvaged metal, and felt

Chari Myers, Covid-19 UV Blaster Periwinkle; wet felted, merino wool, viscose, silk gauze, lights

and Covid-19 UV Blaster Red; wet felted, merino wool, viscose, silk gauze, lights

Kathy Nida, COVID Mask; window screen, wool and cotton embroidery thread

Aneesa Shami, Credit: El Naddaha (deconstructed knit mask) by Aneesa Shami, for Planet City, Director Liam Young, Costume Design Ane Crabtree.

Cameron Taylor-Brown, Unraveled, an antisocial fabric mask; woven, layered and stitched, linen and rayon, 6” h x 7” w

This mask is inspired by a commentator who said that our chaotic national response to Covid is “unraveling our social fabric. “ One could also say that the fault lines of our culture are now unmasked for all to see – even as our citizenry is directed to “mask up.” Unraveled is cobbled together from pieces of handwoven textile, folded and stitched haphazardly, with threads in disarray. And it doesn’t fit well - not much protection would be gained from this mask.

Lydia Tjioe Hall, Face Mask No. 1

and Sneeze

Peggy Wiedemann

We're Working...

No matter your job situation, if you work in fiber, odds are you have created in non-ideal conditions, whether in the middle of the night after your day job, or while small children are napping, or with limited materials because for whatever reason, what you want is not available. As we continue to shelter in place, California Fibers’ members are still making, some in response to our call for art in our group to make masks in our chosen medium, and some to just make. This post focuses on some masks from the past, masks in progress, and what to do with the remnants of masks.

Lydia Tjioe-Hall has made masks in the past. Here are some of those…

Respirator no.1; bronze, steel wire, kozo paper; 11"x 24"x 10"

Respirator no.2; copper- electroplated, wool,silk, ash; 12" x 22"x 9"

respirator no.2 on the body

Ujjayi- Breathing with Sound; steel wire, copper- electroplated, silk, thread; 4'x 9'x4'

Peggy Wiedemann has started a mask for our upcoming online exhibit…

And further along…

This is where you remind yourself that your stash is a plus!

And lastly, Debby Weiss has completed her pieces from mask leftovers…

Here’s a closeup.

Stay tuned for more work in progress, plus reflections on the 50th anniversary of California Fibers’ existence!

Upcoming Project and Works in Progress

While many of our shows are canceled or postponed, most of us are still making work. California Fibers’ members recently met (via video, of course, the new reality), and enjoyed seeing each others’ faces, but also came up with an idea for a group show, online, responding to what is surrounding us. Member Lydia Tjioe-Hall suggested we all work within our personal medium to create something mask-like that was a response to our new reality, whether it's what it feels like to wear a mask, or to NEED to wear a mask, or about the changes in our daily routines due to COVID-19 and Shelter-in-Place orders.

Member Debby Weiss has been making masks and using her leftovers to create art pieces. She has made over 600 masks from scrap fabric.

The piece below is made of scraps from her mask-making activities.

Member Michael F. Rohde has made work related to masks in the past. The piece below is Asora, from a photo he took in Papua New Guinea, during festival time. The Asora group creates masks constructed of mud that cover their entire head. They are often called Mud Men. Rohde comments that this might be the best way to go to the grocery store at the moment.

He has been weaving some large pieces lately from photos of walls he took last Fall in Oaxaca, Mexico. The current tapestry needed 165 colors, all dyed by Rohde himself.

Member Kathy Nida is currently working on a large COVID-19 quilt, as she processes the overwhelming input of virus-related news and manages online teaching. She has finished the drawing and tracing stages, seen here.

And is now spending hours cutting out fusible pattern pieces for the next stage, the fun one with all the fabric and colors.

Stay tuned for more work in progress and updates on the online mask exhibit.

A Closer Look at the Beatrice Wood Center for the Arts in Ojai, CA

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..."