Bumping into The Fabric Workshop in Philadelphia

In mid-February, I attended the Buyers' Market of American Craft as a buyer for Iowa Artisans Gallery.  As we prepared to leave, we discovered our flight was canceled and rescheduled for late in the day. What to do in this lovely city? Our answer was to meander, walking the streets in ways we'd been unable to do prior to this point. Next thing I knew, I was literally bumping into The Fabric Workshop and Museum, a stone's throw away from the Convention Center, where I'd attended the show for 15 years.

The Fabric Workshop! I've been reading about this venerable institution for more than twenty years. Articles have always pinpointed the Workshop's focus on screen printing, and I've been an enthusiastic screen printer for years. Naturally, I've always wanted to visit.

The Fabric Workshop was founded by Marian Stroud in 1977, both as a place to train apprentices in the field of textile design and to work with mature artists interested in fabric and unconventional materials. A Decade of Fabric and Art  celebrates the 10th Anniversary of the Center. This publication points out the 1960s connections of major artists like Alexander Calder, with the making of fiber art pieces, tapestries in Calder's case. This precedent led Stroud to invite artists like Louise Nevelson, Robert Morris, Robert Kushner, Jun Kaneko and Ned Smyth into the Workshop early on. 150 artists in all were served during the first decade.

As a screen printer, I gasped with pleasure at the long tables and deep space of this printing studio.

The Fabric Workshop refined its mission in 1996, adding Museum to its name. Artists are still offered the chance to work as Artists-in-Residence with unconventional materials, not all of them fabric or textile-related. The screen printing areas serve at-risk youth in Philadelphia schools, as well as high school-, college- and postgraduate-level apprenticeships. Current artists in residence at the Workshop are profiled on the website.  The Workshop is housed on several floors of a building, with exhibition halls, screen printing production studios, administrative offices, and conservation facilities for its 5500 objects made by 400 participating artists. It also houses a museum shop where screen printed items are sold in addition to books and other goodies.

During my visit, I viewed New American Voices II, an exhibition of contemporary sculpture, installation and wall works by Robert Pruitt, Jim Drain, Jiha Moon and Bill Smith. Vastly different in concept and execution, these works will challenge anyone looking for a more traditional approach to fiber art. I was especially drawn to the work of Robert Pruitt. His website does not do his contemporary work justice, so I won't cite it here. I am not able to share images of those exhibits with you.

By becoming a contemporary art center, the Fabric Workshop has invested in its future by insuring two grant-funding streams: contemporary art, plus under-served populations. I hope that it continues to capitalize on its roots in fiber art in its appeal to artists, providing them a truly unique opportunity to make works not otherwise easily made. If you're in Philadelphia, don't do what I did and wait 15 years to visit this inspiring and provocative place.

interesting way of preserving samples

a wall display shows images from early years

Screen, test piece and drop cloth

The Fabric Workshop & Museum is located at 1214 Arch St in Philadelphia

 

the front window of the building showcases items fabricated from FW&M fabrics, for sale in the Museum Shop

My $12 purchase, a bag with two interesting sides, a difficult choice with so many patterns to pick from

 

The Fabric Workshop and Museum is located at 124 Arch Street in downtown Philadelphia. For contact and membership information, please visit this link.

Necessities Vests!

My friend Connie Roberts is a professional artist who makes carved wooden whistle sculptures. She and I have collaborated for some time on thematic vests containing appropriate whistles. Our most popular has always been the Necessities Vest, made to order for male or female wearers, a piece that occupies a display stand during times not worn as a conversational art theater piece. Connie usually makes dozens of whistles that are visible and hidden on these vests.

 My contribution is to dye and print the cotton fabrics for vest and lining, plus pockets and trim. I designed the pockets and patterns and construct and sew the vests. When they're sewn, Connie and I get together to trouble-shoot placement, drill a few holes etc. Her whistles are by far the most entertaining part of these Vests, but what follows are photos of how the vests themselves come into being.

 

hand-dyed, monoprinted & screenprinted cotton fabrics using procion fiber reactive dyes

 

 

 

flaps, and lots of notes

 

the old workhorse Janome sewing machine

 

 

It helps that it's still porch weather

 

Connie's buttons are a hoot. They do not whistle.

 

 

OK, so my part is finished...

 

Connie and her drill. Trying to keep the sawdust off of the fabric. Placing whistles.

 

Whistles similar to what we have in our vests.

Diem Chau: Sojourn

Two days ago, I received an email from the Friends of Fiber Art pointing out the exhibit of Diem Chau's embroidered objects in the Packer Schopf Gallery in Chicago. I am completely taken by this work- the surprise of it, the well-drawn embroideries, the considered placement, the mix of ordinary objects and narrative moments. It made me stop and take note. You really need to see the range of work shown on the Gallery's website to have the full effect.

Diem Chau and her family came to the United States as refugees from Viet Nam in 1986. She received her BFA from Cornish College of the Arts in Seattle and has exhibited her work in New York, Chicago, Miami, Seattle and Los Angeles. Her website and blog show that she lives in Seattle, does the things that many emerging artists do: make "plushies" for her Etsy shop, do commission and exhibition pieces and run a new gelato shop. Take a peek and see for yourself.

If you'd like to attend the show, it's on view through March 27. Packer Schopf Gallery is located at 942 W. Lake St in Chicago. Telephone: 312-226-8984. Gallery hours are 11am-5:30pm.

Art, airports and the long hours' wait

Last March I passed through the Atlanta airport with several hours to spare. Lodged in the International Terminal, I discovered that each waiting area had permanent installations of work by different artists, many of them regional. All media were represented: artquilts , ceramic, sculpture, mixed media, photography, intaglio prints, drawings, paintings, and children's art. As time goes by and chairs and benches get rearranged by weary travelers, the art surrounding them looks less like an interior designed installation and more like a modestly organized haven for those who wait. Shown at right: Photography/etched metal art, possibly by Vicki Ragan. Apologies- my notes are not complete.

These were remarkable, large-scale portraits by Joni Mabe, combining photography and mixed media items like glitter. The gate "desk" gives a sense of scale. Mabe has made many handmade books and is obsessed with Elvis art, as this link for public broadcasting Atlanta shows.

monoprints and cut out figures by Larry Walker (above)
ceramics and sculptural totems below by a different artist.

Then, some large-scale intaglio cityscape prints (etchings). The installation included detailed descriptions of techniques as well as a framed original etching plate (right.)

And lastly, a grouping of various framed art quilts, the only waiting area devoted to multiple artists.