Bethany Barry
Woven Stories
Cotton fabric, paper, weaving (11"H x 14"W)
Color, fabric and patterns create stories- the movement of people through the world, across continents, climate and water. Some stories stand out, with others subtle or invisible. What are the stories unseen, and untold? What about the spaces inbetween? Each story is in the eye of the beholder - how do you read them?
Cari Clement
Surviving Covid Coat, 2021
Wool yarn, metallic thread, beads (54"H x 46"W x 1"D)
I’ve been knitting for over 60 years, made it both my passion and my business for over 50, but during the winter of 2021, I broke my personal boundaries when I was able to look at knitting as an artistic statement. With all the negativity, fear, isolation and depression as a result of Covid19, I wanted to break away from those feelings and express what people did to keep occupied, engaged, positive and uplifted during the same period. I particularly enjoyed designing the story bands, choosing the colors from my yarn stash (hence they are not all exactly the same construction, fiber or weight), figuring out the shaping and spacing – and, of course, executing the knitting. During isolation, many of us returned to our comfort zones, which, to me, is knitting, despite my recent explorations into other fiber mediums, which I will continue to pursue as well.
Dianne Shullenberger
Birch Bark, 2014
Natural objects (19" circle)
Birch tree bark can tell stories by looking at the different colors on the outside and inside, looking at the patterns insect have left as they have navigated the tree. Holes, scratch marks, peelings all present the wonderful personality of this tree and have encourage us to think of the Hidden Messages.
Elizabeth Fram
House Divided (Mitch and Nancy), 2020
Dye, thread, silk (18"H x 24"W)
My work focuses on narratives that are based in our shared humanity. Sometimes I rely on visual metaphors to convey a point, developing imagery that is symbolic of a bigger idea. This approach allows me to directly address my intent while navigating between that which is superficially obvious and hidden layers of underlying meaning. The tense conflict between the opposing king and queen on a chessboard seem an apt symbol of the fraught division within our current Congress. www.elizabethfram.com
Eve Jacobs-Carnahan
At the Expense of Democracy, 2019
Wood knick knack shelf, yarn, mulberry paper, vintage postcards, canvas, acrylic paint, reed, U.S. currency, printed distorted corporate logos, wire, leather, metal clip, stone clay (26"H x 26"W x 10"D)
I have adapted nature’s tale of predator and prey into an allegory about political campaign donors. The grand owl dominates the scene, controlling the pigeon who sits on the window ledge. The owl’s wings are tipped with money which the great bird bestows on the receptive pigeon. Pigeons are known for not cleaning their nests, and this one is laced with the owl's money. Meek and mute in the face of the owl’s power, the pigeon adopts legislation that favors the owl’s interests. Meanwhile, another pigeon legislator, one not controlled by the owl's purse strings, prepares to sound the alarm, carrying a message of warning in its backpack. evejacobs-carnahan.com
Fern Strong
Confinement, 2020-21
Wool and linen (22"H x 36"D)
This hooked piece was done to express the anxiety brought on during the "lock down". The grid restrained the colors that represented the life we wanted to resume. But, some of the irregularity in the shapes helped give the prospect of escape. There is much "Hidden Meaning" in our art. www.redbarnrugs.com
Jennifer Davey
Wisdom, 2020
Wool and silk (31"H x 32"W x 1"D)
This piece reminds me of snow in the woods on a late fall day. That time of year is like early old age in people. Hopefully we’ve all accumulated some wisdom by then. This image seems packed with meaning and depth. www.jenniferdaveyfiberart.com
Judy B. Dales
Blossom, 2021
Cotton and nylon tulle, rayon thread, cotton batt (28.5"H x 22"W)
I have done a series of quilts with floral designs. None of them are based on actual flowers, but the shapes, colors and background all send the message that this is a flower of some kind. This floral form is exotic, reminiscent of a cactus and a total figment of my imagination. www.judydales.com
Leslie Roth
Safer Than a Human, 2020
Yarn, foam insulation board, canvas, wood, tacks, stuffing, polymer clay, chair (base) (23”H x 12”W x 14”D)
We have always imagined monsters, woven them into stories, drawn them on maps. We employ them as agents of malevolence, cast ourselves as champions, guardians and defenders, and yet we are currently the species most capable of annihilation. I crafted this piece in response to human imperfection and senselessness during the pandemic. www.leslierothknits.com
Mary Sawabini
Held Together 2, 2021
Cotton (7"H x 3"W x 3"D)
This nonfunctional basket, for me, represents a confluence of the components of all we are.
Marya Lowe
Peeper Season, 2017
Cotton fabric, cotton batting, paint (30"H x 57"W)
This piece celebrates the tiny frogs that emerge from the mud in springtime and "peep" during the evening and morning hours. It's a sure sign of spring to hear them peeping away in a wet area. These frogs are a light, speckled brown, and have a slightly darker brown "X" on their backs. For fun, I embedded 3 of them in the quilt's surface. You have to look hard, but they're there! www.maryalowe.com
Rosalind Daniels
Stripes, 2015
Cotton fabric (39"H x 28"W)
Inspired by Brandy Clark’s song Stripes, this piece honors her humorous take on a not so humorous subject: jail time. She sings to her cheatin’ husband that the only thing savin’ his life is that “I don’t look good in orange and I hate stripes. www.rosalindsdaniels.com
Sarah Ashe
Community 1, 2021
Dyed and sewn canvas, cotton embroidery thread, cotton stuffing and men's shirt buttons (11.5"H x 9.5"W)
In the grid of a refugee camp where shelters and lives are stitched together, what is hidden from the gate keepers? www.sarahashe.com
Sharon Webster
What Shines, 2015
Red satin dress, painted wooden light box, handwritten poem, wrapped coat hanger (54"H x 36"W x 3"D)
WHAT SHINES I see my piece, What Shines, as a kind of heart. I see it, too, as a contained heat, vital and beckoning, using color as its first allure, as flowers signal the bees. What Shines is about the radiance of the human heart and its relationship with the sensual. The illuminated poem that glows from the chest is meant to mimic how emotion can often lead the way. Of course, there are as many interpretations to any art piece as there are people, but here are a few more from me. The poem in the small red box is an invocation of the ambiguities in my mother’s life: her great patience along with her sudden urgencies. In it, I recall her voice and the many layers of meaning it held. Her life was equal parts struggle and the pursuit of beauty, love and the sensuous. “Drawn to what shines and the storm.” My poem invites the viewer to participate in a personal reverie. What Shines is sinewy and shiny, trading on the luxuriance of surface quality and designs. The dress is of Asian style. That could be a message, too. With anti-Asian violence on the rise, it feels good to offer a bit of appreciation for the artistry of a classic Asian design. I hope many more messages are uncovered by viewers as they bring their own imaginations to this show! Sharon Webster www.sharonwebster.com
Yekaterina Mokeyeva
One's Shell, 2017
Fiber derived from nettles, merino wool, wet sculptural felting (60′′H x 30′′W x 12"D)
This is a 3-D hollow form that was practically sculpted and assembled from a multitude of hand-twisted felt ropes. There is no fabric involved, only wool and plant fiber comprising multiple small parts that are constructed together on a durable base layer, and a surface made of plant-derived fiber (Ramie roving). The form of a wearable sculpture shows the multifaceted structure of the surface from all sides, with the scale of the motifs changing with the proportions and curves of the body. I created large pieces to amplify this visual effect; when this “marriage” of elements is in motion, all parts appear to come to life, existing in their structure. The attachment to the human body in this format is also a metaphor. It is our melding back into our surrounding system from which we initially sprang, maybe to correct the trajectory of our future and find our place there. These nettle cocoon dresses or giant shells are a place of cover or safety, where we find ourselves and our awareness of modern reality, where we can hopefully determine a better direction. www.feuer-und-wasser.com
