I hope everyone got a chance to make it out on First Friday December and see all the great shows around KC.

There were to shows that are of particular interest to the Fiber Department last weekend, Abbey Sherman’s senior theseis show Unify The Chaos and Casey Hannan’s show Eat!

Check it out!

Abbey Sherman Unify The Chaos
Luminopolis Office, 2nd Floor of the Arts Incubator
115 W. 18th St.
December 5-30

Casey Hannan EAT!
The Syringe Gallery
923A W. 17th St.
December 6- January 23

Heart / Fork

Food!, Eat Me!

Pangs

Yum - Yum

Booth, Please

Bite, Spider!

Leftovers

Web

Dive

I’m sure all of you who are students at KCAI came to see the end of semester show in the Fiber Department, but for those of you who didn’t, here’s a recap of the show.

The Essence of Comfort by Megan Mitchell

Twin Spirit by Jessica Dassing

Needle Felted Terrarium by Stefanie Richwine

Valance by Allie Quavier, Chase Lounge by Nicole Baldwin

Crown Royal and Untitled by Nicole Rapp

Multicolored Bands with Floats by Sarah Skidmore

Woven Quilt by Amanda Schmittling

Untitled by Mark Conner

Oklahoma Horizon III by Lorin McNellis

C.A.P. by kristen Pickell

Hermit by Yulie Urano

Les Adventures de Clairence and Louise by Courtney Soldan-Els

As you can see there was lots of great work from the fiber kids this semester. For those of you who didn’t make it to the show, just remember that there’s always next semester.

I know that we’re all insanely busy, and that we each have about a million things to get done in the next week, but take my advice, get out and see the shows that are opening this Friday!
I’m sure you’re all aware of the fact that there’s going to be a ton of senior thesis shows opening up around town this weekend, along with several other cool shows. But let me tell you about three shows you have to go to!

Casey Hannan is actually an alum who graduated from the Fiber department in 07 or 08 (I cant exactly remember) and has been cranking out the work ever since.This is Casey’s third show at the Syringe Gallery which is headed up by other Fiber alum.
The show titled Eat opens at 6pm on December 5th and is located at the Syringe Gallery- 923A W 17th St. Call (563) 340-8344 with any questions.

Abby Sherman is a Fall grad this year. Her senior thesis show called Unify The Chaos is going to be another awesome show. Abby has become kind of notorious throughout our department for never ever using any fiber techniques. She sticks to a aesthetic that involves all kinds of industrial materials, unlike a lot of the rest of us.
Unify The Chaos opens at also 6pm on Friday, December 5 and runs until th 30th. The show is located at the Luminopolis Office 2nd Floor of Arts Incubator 115 W 18th St. For more information call (314) 750- 4109.

The last show I want to tell you all about is, of course, the Fiber Department End of Semester Exhibition and Sale. I won’t go into incredible detail because I know you’ve all been there before. The show opens at 5pm in the Fiber department (next to foundations) and goes all night long. (Just kidding, it really closes at 8pm like all the shows.) Come check out the spectacular work from all of us, and in case you didn’t hear, we make some mean scarves, so grab a Christmas present for you mom.

Awesome! Have a great December First Friday, hopefully I’ll see you around town!

I know it’s narcissistic, but I’m about to drop a shameless plug for my show that is currently up in the fiber department.

This work represents a new directions I’ve been taking all semester. It’s going to be up until Saturday the 22.

Drop by and take a look.

On Monday we took a trip down to the KCAI Crossroads gallery to have a look at the work of one of the Fiber department’s December grads Lauren Mcnelis.

I headed in with no expectations, (mostly just because it was 8:00am) but I knew that Lauren has been cranking out the work at an incredible pace. When we got to the gallery I was floored.

Lauren transfered to Fibers after spending a while in printmaking. Needless to say, she brings a unique aesthetic to Fibers that would not be possible without the help of her printmaking background. Her process is a kind of hybrid between the two worlds and is really refreshing.

Congratulations Lauren- you put together one of the best senior shows this department has seen in a long time. What a spectacular way to bring the semester to a close.

The gallery is open on November 14 and 21 from 6-9 pm and by appointment. Please contact Lauren to take a look at this amazing work. laurenmcnelis@sunflower.com 913-909-6959

For those of you who don’t know, the fiber department is full of some fly honeys! And in order to keep up their reputations, they have to surprise everyone once in a while. Here is some work from Ann Leechman and Leila Hybl who recently had a show up in the fibers gallery.

Thanks for looking!!

Alright everyone, sorry these are a little late– I’m going to use the “midterms were insane and I didn’t sleep and I was so busy” card here.

This is a show that was recently up in the  Fiber Gallery. The work on display was created by Amanda James and illustrates a kind of new direction in her work.
She has been weaving for the last 3 years, but is always drawing these intricate line drawings. It’s so interesting to see how these drawings could not be contained in sketchbooks anymore and made their way out into the real world.

Since this show, Amanda has continued weaving and is working to find some way to blend these experiments with her weaving

Sorry this is a little late in getting up, but here it is!!!!

Right now in the Fiber Department there is an exhibition of sophomore surface design work. The exhibit showcases some of the fundamental skills we all learn in our first semester as fiber student. Really, you need to come over here and check it out because this is some of the best sophomore fiber work we’ve seen in a while!

Check it out, but do it fast because this show is only going to be up until Saturday!

Judah Wenger

Shibori samples from Kelsey Kloc, Rachel Rolon, and Allison Quaiver

Rachel Rolon

Allison Quaiver

Kelsey Kloc

Nicole Hobbs

Elizabeth Peters

Tessa Reuber

Sarah Lilly

Yulie Urano

See what I mean?

For those of you who didn’t get a change to go, this is a recap of the Show that just closed at the Belger Arts Center. “Inspiration: African-American Quilts from the Collection of Maude Wahlman” and “Interpretation: Silver Screen Quilts by Sun Smith-Foret” together made a spectacular show, but we’d expect nothing less form one of KC’s best galleries.

Sun Smith-Foret first became interested in code-bearing imagery in African-American quilts through the collection of Dr. Wahlman. After constructing quilts using classic patterns, Smith-Forest decorates with imagery and text from popular American movies. Smith-Foret says, “Like movies, quilts are made up from bits and pieces, tiny acts of accident and choice, of assembly, of repeated additions and edits until there is a wrap.”

Nosferatu, 2004, Sun Smith-Forest

Mesa III: TV Land, 2005-2008, Sun Smith-Forest

Tab Hunter, 2005-2008, Sun Smith-Forest


Oprah Winfrey, 2008, Sun Smith-Forest


What Is It About Jack Nicholson, 2004, Sun Smith-Forest

Zoolander, 2004, Sun Smith-Forest

Dr. Maude Wahlman has been collecting African and African-American art for several decades and is the author of “Signs and Symbols: African Images in African-American Quilts.” She is currently the Director of the Global Arts Initiative at the University of Missouri – Kansas City. Christina Wahlman is her daughter. This exhibit features 14 quilts, many of which have been exhibited in arts venues across America, beginning with the 1982 World’s Fair in Knoxville, TN.

Lazy Gal Quilt, Pearlie Posey, 1983

Log Cabin Quilt, Mozell Benson, 1979

Cross Quilt, Sarah Mary Taylor, 1985

Ekpe Society Cloth, Nigerian Ejagham Culture (artist unknown), no date

Rara Shirt, Haiti (artist unknown), no date


Cowboy Quilt, Pearlie Posey, 1981

Green Snake Quilt, Susie Ponds, 1979

Seriously, this was such a refreshing show. Check out the Belger’s website for more information about the gallery and to keep up on current and upcoming shows.

www.belgerartscenter.org

Welcome to the first official blog of the Fiber Department!

There have been several changes made to the department over the summer, and I think I can speak for everyone when I say that because of this, the semester has started off with a real bang!

One of the most noticeable changes is the addition of a student gallery in the front entryway to the department. Displayed currently is an exhibition of selected alumni including Mary Beth Yates, Summer Farrar, Debbie-Barrett Jones, and Celia Butler. Come in soon and check it out as this exhibition will only be on display until Saturday, September 27th.

In addition to the changes made in physical space, the Fiber Department is excited to introduce two new faculty members, Tracy Krumm and Kim Eichler-Messmer.

Krumm returns to the Kansas City Art Institute after teaching as an assistant professor of art and design at North Carolina State University from 2006- 2008. She completed her B.F.A. with high distinction at the California College of Arts and Crafts in 1987 and received her M.F.A. in visual arts from Vermont College in 1995.

Kim Eichler-Messmer received her M.F.A. in textiles from the University of
Kansas in 2007 and her B.F.A. in drawing and printmaking from Iowa State
University in 2002. She comes to the KCAI campus after completing a residency at Arrowmont School of arts and Crafts in Gatlinburg, Tenn., from 2007-2008.

Both professors currently have work on display at the H&R Block Artspace as part of the New Three: Kansas City Art Institute Faculty exhibition. The exhibition is open until Saturday, October 4th.

Other fiber-related happenings include the 15th annual Sculptural Objects and Functional Art expo being held in Chicago November 7-9. SOFA brings together artists, designers, and crafts people from all over the world to build an incredible showcase of functional and decorative arts. Student tickets are cheap and fares for Megabus aren’t bad, either. It’s definitely a worthwhile trip for any KCAI student. Follow the links below to see what it’s all about.
www.sofaexpo.com
www.megabus.com

Locally, the Belger Arts Center is currently displaying two quilt shows on the 1st and 3rd floors of the gallery- “Inspiration: African-American Quilts
from the Collection of Maude Wahlman” and “Interpretation: Silver Screen Quilts
by Sun Smith-Foret.” Each exhibition showcases beautiful examples of quilting practices, but approaches the tradition in very different ways. The show is up until Friday, October 3rd. Check out the link below for more information.
www.belgerartscenter.org

That’s everything for now, check back soon as there will most certainly be more!