Join me for a gallery visit! A celebration of a wide array of textile art is on display at the Thomas Center Gallery in Gainesville, FL, until July 23. The pieces included in the juried exhibition were created by more than 40 local fiber artists. This sweet vintage doll dress really took my fancy right off the bat. It's full of hand embroidery and beads, and is the creation of Judy Ellen Keathley.
Even the exhibit title is created with fiber- it's lace stretched over an embroidery hoop and the letter outlines. The exhibit is curated by Katy Lemle and Anne E. Gilroy.
More vintage textiles were used in several pieces. This is "Somebody's Doll Clothes", again by Judy Keathley. I'd say, "Somebody's been visiting antique shops, and really scored!" I see hankies and vintage cotton prints along with the doll clothes.
This was a happy surprise, and yet hand-tied flies certainly make good use of filament, fiber, feathers, and you name it! The work of Erin Hyde and Alex Burnett was on display and there was even a video running, showing the art of fly-tying. You can take a look at She Ties Flies here.
More vintage textiles and trims are found in Judy Ellen Keathley's "Rick Rack" quilt. I think I'd like a peek at the artist's vintage textile stash!
Jacquelyn Cubas made all of these Handmade Dolls using felt, sequins, fabric and trims. Very detailed! Behind her dolls, you can get just a glimpse of another exhibit also running with Soft. It's the work of Eddy Mumma, a Gainesville artist who was wheelchair bound and a prolific painter. His story is an interesting one you can read here.
Several talented members of the Fiber Art Bee (FAB), a group that's part of The Quilters of Alachua County Day Guild, had pieces on display. This fiber floral collage "Anniversary" quilt was made by Celeste Beck of Goatfeathers Studio. It includes a framed fabric photo of her and her late husband, so it is all the more special.
This eye-popping quilt (only two blocks pictured here) is by the color-loving FAB member Merri McKenzie. She ice-dyed the fabric for her "Florida Sunrise" quilt. It kind of makes you want to dance, doesn't it?
Linda Krause employs many fiber techniques in her art quilts. She's a nature-lover and combines a love of photography in her pieces. Linda, also a FAB member, began this piece with a photo and then used paint, Inktense pencils, dyes, markers and both hand and machine quilting in "You Should See the Other Guy...". A little nature-loving, quilter humor there.
Linda Henderson made "Improv Blues", a Modern Quilt based on the traditional Log Cabin block.
This tropical beauty was made by longarm quilter Pam Mitchell in the One-Block Wonder style. Her quilting enhances the complex hexagons in the design.
"Milky Way Dream" (top), "Carnival Dream" (center), and "Cirrus Dream" (bottom) were made using acrylic paint, inks, and metallic thread by Sylvia Montesinos.
And one more vessel- this time a paper cast made using hand-made mulberry paper and fiber. "Spiritus" was crafted by Amy Richard. Good thing it's behind glass- I so wanted to touch it.
There- we took a fun field trip! There was much more to see in the Soft exhibit, and several of the pieces were very large installation-type displays. The Thomas Center itself is worthy of its own post. It's a large, Spanish-style building that began in the early 1900s as SunKist Villa, a private residence; became the renowned Hotel Thomas; then became an educational site; and now houses city offices and the gallery (read the history on the site linked above). If you love architecture, you'd enjoy all the impressive details preserved in the various rooms. It's lovely.
