Regional Fiber Arts Events
Quilts and Basket Gourds in Brilliant Color
April 2, 2021 - June 13,2021
Jane Wilson and Gloria Richardson are the Featured Artists at the Lincoln City Cultural Center Fiber Arts Studio Gallery, April 2 through June 13, 2021.
“Gourds offer the opportunity for me to coil, twine, carve, and wood burn as well as use paints, stains, and inks, (often on the same piece) in the creation of my original gourd art,” explains Jane Wilson.
An art walk in downtown Parsons, Kansas in 2007, introduced her to gourds as an art medium. A gourd artist won best of show and the use of color and wood burning intrigued Wilson and she realized she could use her woodcarving techniques on gourds.
Coiling, a basket weaving technique, added intense color in the design. She developed a technique of dyeing cord to match the colors used on the gourd. In Wilson’s pieces, coiling with the dyed cord compliments the flow of the cord as part of the design.
The gourd is one of nature’s greatest treasures. Hard-shelled gourds are strong, durable, lightweight, and water resistant. They also require no complex manufacturing process, are nontoxic and in the end, environmentally friendly and biodegradable. Gourd bowls were found in Peruvian archaeological sites dating from 13,000 BC to 11,000 BC and in Thailand sites from 11,000 to 6,000 BC.
Wilson was raised in Southeast Kansas with an enthusiasm for all sorts of art and crafts starting with sewing projects in 4-H as a child to oil painting as a young adult. Currently living near Portland, Oregon, she is a member of the Columbia Basin Basket Guild and Portland Handweavers’ Guild and teaches classes and shows her work regionally.
Gloria Richardson shares, “Whenever I see something beautiful or cute or quirky, I have an irresistible urge to reproduce it so I can share the experience with everyone else. I see thread work as a major part of the textile art experience and for me one of the most freeing parts of the process. I feel like a child at play with my paint box, imagination, and my threads – always my threads,”
Richardson, always needing to create something with her eyes and hands, has been doing art since she was a small child. She studied oil painting in Europe as a young adult and fine tuned her technique in college in California as her children grew up. She has expressed her creative spirit through oil paint, acrylics, water color, and stained glass, but most especially fabric. Richardson believes the desire to show the beauty of the world is inherent in her DNA and she embraces an ever growing variety of media and techniques.
After many years of traditional quilting she found her creative spirit comes alive with raw edge appliqué. Her palette is strong contrasting colors that jump off the fabric: no pastels in her world. Hand dyeing gives the color control and the addition of ink and paint helps get the complex look envisioned. Once the basic design is appliquéd she is free to thread paint, embellish, and quilt for texture and bling.
Richardson is a member of Gone to Pieces Quilt Guild and High Fiber Diet, owns Morning Glory Quilting and lives in Yamhill County, Oregon. Quilting as a fiber art is a passion as Richardson continues her exploration of creativity through thread and textural design. “My ongoing theme is always Embracing the Common Thread with my work whether it is patchwork quilts or abstract fiber art.”
Location and Times:
The new Fiber Arts Studio Gallery is just opposite the main entrance from the Chessman Gallery inside the Lincoln City Cultural Center at 540 NE Hwy. 101, in Lincoln City. Lincoln City Cultural Center is open: 10 to 4, Thursday through Sunday. Masks and social distancing required in the building.
Fibreworks Studio & Gallery - Master Weaver and Master Spinner Courses
April - May, 2021
Fiberworks Studio & Gallery is located at
12887-12889 Sunshine Coast Highway, Madeira Park, BC, Canada
Find more info about the courses at Fiberworks Gallery.
Oregon Flock and Fiber Festival
October 23-24, 2021
The Oregon Flock and Fiber Festival is held in Canby, Oregon.
More information is available at their website.
Red Alder Fiber Arts Retreat
February 16-20, 2022
Red Alder is a retreat that welcomes all types of fiber disciplines. Knitting, weaving, spinning, dyeing–all are welcome. A venue where fiber friends meet. A relaxed atmosphere at a boutique hotel where fiber friends can learn and gather. Keep your eye on their website for more information.
Handweavers Guild of America - Convergence 2022
July 15-21, 2022
July 15-21, 2022
Convergence® is heading to the Smoky Mountains for 2022! See you in Knoxville, Tenn.
WeGO 2023 Traveling Show - Filaments
The Weaving Guilds of Oregon (WeGO) committee is delighted to announce that the traveling show will take place beginning in January of 2023. The show travels around the state of Oregon showcasing the fiber artists in our communities. The title of the show is 'Filaments'. A prospectus for submissions will be coming out soon.
ANWG Conference - Fiber Connections
The ANWG Fiber Connections Conference has been rescheduled for the Summer of 2023.
Read more about the plans at the conference website.