Fiber Artists Retreat & Show

Four days spent with 7 other fiber artists in a lovely retreat setting near the Olympic Peninsula were just what the doctor ordered.  Quiet time to work on my own projects (re-learning to ply-split, tatting, and making progress on my large dragon piece), talking with friends, much laughter, learning new fiber techniques (working with ice resin, marbling with fingernail polish in water), and then going to the opening reception of our show in Pt. Orchard.  Perfect.

Sidney Art Museum, Port Orchard Upcoming Show in April 2015

Beyond Blue
April 1 - April 30, 2015

Artists' Reception Sunday, April 12, 1-4pm, 202 Sidney Ave, Port Orchard, WA 98366

Fiber 19, an eclectic group of mixed media fiber artists are the featured artists in April.  If you are in the area, stop by to see our show!

Among the members of the group are basket-makers, quilters, silk painters, tapestry weavers, fabric and fiber sculptors, and embroiderers. We hail from the greater Puget Sound area from Whidbey Island to Kent, plus now have members who have migrated to Portland, California, and Vienna, Austria. The artists in the show are Sally Anaya, Mary Auld, Debra Calkins, Nikki deRelle, Kaylin Frances, Joanna Graham, Barbara Matthews, Louise Roby, Deborah Taylor, Tre Taylor, and Rebecca Wachtman.

In 2008, a variety of forces brought our core members together into the Fiber Arts Certificate Program at the University of Washington. Regardless of our past life situations, which varied from contract negotiator to fashion designer to artist, we were all drawn to invest nine months of our lives to boost our art into another sphere--to making an intentional turn in our art and our lives. Little did we know then that the program would envelope us in an all-consuming venture that both taxed our resources and nurtured our creative energy.  Since the Certificate Program, the group has expanded to include other like-minded mixed media fiber artists. Their work includes 2 and 3-D wall art, 3-D standing art, and installations and the inspirations vary as do their personalities. 

Fiber 19 is differentiated from other groups by our desire to produce collaborative pieces that both interrelate in a visually cohesive way and demonstrate the varied mix of materials and methods that each artist uses.  Blue and Beyond -- our collaborative at the Sidney Art Museum shown here consists of a dozen 12x12” pieces each incorporating a piece of blue chambray cloth.