KCAI Blogs

omg! There are a ton of shows to talk about!
Just in case anybody doesn’t already know, every senior in the Fiber Department is required to have an of-campus senior show. There’s already been one this semester, and I think the rest are going to be killer! Make sure you budget time to check ‘em all out!

Here’s the details!!

–Mark Conner and Ann Leachman, Meditative Outakes, Unity Temple on the Plaza, 407 W 47th St, May 1-31.
Opening Reception 1, 5-7pm.

–Melissa Hoffman and Nicole Baldwin,  Reclaimed, BNIM Architecture Windows, Baltimore and 14th St,  May 1-31.
Opening Reception, May 1, 5-7pm.

–Amanda James, Old Monarch Gallery, 3829 Main St, May 1-30 by appointment
Opening Reception May 1, 5-8pm.

–Kristen Davis, The Cacoon Gallery, 1737 Walnut St, May 1-31 by appointment
Opening Reception May 1, 5-9pm.

–Juliet and George Reanult, Retrogressions and Transmigration Machines, Locust St Gallery, 1605 Locust St, May 1-31
Opening Reception May 1, 6-9pm.

–Elisha Stetson, Solid Gold, 6 W 39th St, May 1-31 by appointment.
Opening Reception May 1 & 2, 6-9pm.

–Jessica Dassing, Mortality, Syringe Gallery, 923A 17th St, May 1-31 by appointment.
Opening Reception May 1,  6-10pm.

–Kim Eichler-Messmer (Faculty), Schema, The Late Show, 1600 Cherry St, May 1-31
Opening Reception may 1, 6-10pm.

–Keia Kato, Every Now and Then, Readings at the Plaza Branch Library, 48th and Main
May 2Readings, 3 and 4 pm.

–Fiber Department End of Semester Show, Fiber Department, May 8-10.
Opening Reception May 8, 5-7pm.

–Fiber Department Fashion Extravaganza (part of Flux Fest), Epperson Auditorium, 7pm

–Leila Hybl, Small Worlds, Pi Gallery, May 8-18.
Opening Reception May 8, 6-9pm.

–Sovannra Yos and Nicole Rapp, Natural Artifice Fashion Show (collections by Glib Engrish and N Rapp Designs),
Nara Event Space, 617 Main St.
Opening Reception May 8, Doors at 6pm.

 –Amanda Schmittling, Got Art Gallery on Third, 18 SW 3rd St, Lees Summit, Monday-Saturday 11-3pm.
Opening Reception May 14th, 6-9pm.

–Nicole Sukolics-Christianson, Primary Colors Gallery, 109 W Lexington Ave, Independence,  10-6pm.
Opening Reception  May 15, 6:30-9pm.

Really, I mean it, come check out the work… or else!

Right now in the Corridor Gallery (located inside the Fiber Department) there’s a great show exhibiting work from the Juniors! Come by sometime and check it out!

Melody Korn, Hand of the Bleeding, printed canvas, dyed organza, acrylic

Melody Korn, Deep Broccoli Forests, printed canvas, dyed organza, acrylic

Rita Clark, Samples- Hand-woven newspaper, tulle, dyed and discharged cotton and silk

detail

detail

Tiffane Friesen, Untitled, Found objects, Polyester

detail

Allie Quaiver, Touch, Hand-woven audio cassette tape

detail

Kristen Pickell, Cape, Hand knit
Kristen Pickell, Chevron Leggings, Stretch knit

detail

detail

Sarah Skidmore, Untitled, Hand-dyed and woven cotton

detail

Kristen Pickell, Mo’ Mini Dress, Hand-woven, hand-dyed, hand-stitched

detail

Mandi Burger, Untitled, woven silk, tencel, cotton

detail

Ok, for those of you who missed the last blog, Stefanie Richwine of the Fiber Department was the first senior of the year to complete her thesis exhibition!
Congrats, Stefanie, your show looked awesome!
Here’s a recap…

Really, I think I can speak for all the rest of the senior in Fibers when I sat that there is a part of me that envies you for having your show done and out of the way already! Relax and take it easy for the rest of the semester- you’ve earned it!

Poked Into Life features senior thesis work by the Fiber Department’s Stefanie Richwine.

Stefanie creates intriguing depictions of plants and other natural objects by needle felting colored wool. Her terrariums will peak your curiosity and make you look twice.

Here’s the details

Eclectics Gallery
7015 Oak
KCMO, 64113

Opening Reception: Monday, April 4th 5-8pm
The show will run from April 4th – 18th
Regular gallery hours are 10am – 6pm

Come by and check it out, it should be a great show!

So it’s been a little low going for the first part of this semester in the Fiber Gallery. But The momentum has really started to pick up and it shows.
Part of this might have to do with the fact that we now have an official name for the gallery in the entry way to the main section of the Fiber Department.
(Drum role please……)The Corridor Gallery.
That’s right, thanks to the incredible wit of our own Mark Conner, the Fiber Gallery now has an appropriate name!
So now that that’s all out of the way, check out the work that is now on display.

Kristen Davis has been exploring these skeletal-like structures for a semester or two now and it’s clear that she has reached a new level of sophistication in rendering these wire forms. And, while we all know that we never really reach the end of the creative process, she is currently hammering out the final touches in terms of her senior thesis exhibition.Oh, and the time and care taken in the presentation of these forms is incredible! Plus the reflections on the wall make a really, really cool atmosphere in which to view this work!

Just in case these important events were about to slip your mind…

The Ninth Annual West 18th Street Fashion Show is still looking for submissions. The Deadline is March 12th.
If you’ve a talented seamstress and you’ve been looking for your chance at stardom, this is a great place to start!
This year’s theme is SUMMER IN SPACE! Super cool, right?!
Here’s what you need to apply:
At least 3 photos of previous garments/ clothing design work. Please submit hard copies of these images. (no CDs)
Current Resume
A Brief but detailed explanation of how your designs will loosely fit this year’s theme.
Registration fee of $25. (Cash is always accepted, or you can write a check to “18th Street Fashion Show”)
Applications can be mailed or hand delivered to
9th annual call for artists
care of Birdies
116 W 18th StKansas City, MO 6410 
I know that there is one thing KCAI kids are great at above all else and that’s staying up for several nights in a row and nearly killing ourselves to make sure it all gets done on time! i believe in you!

Also, a beautiful collaboration is coming together in the Crossroads! Sorry For The Miscommunication is the brainchild of Nicole Emanuel (a KCAI alum) and will be rocking the streets of the Crossroads from April 3- May 24!
The event combines traditional white wall gallery exhibits with live performances, music, and fashion extravaganzas.
Really people, this is going to be an absolute blast. There is a ton of stuff going on in conjunction with SFTM so I’ll just cover the main points.
April 3: Leedy Voulkos- meet the artists 5-6pm; carnivale open to the public 6-9pm
April 3: Third Eye Productions- exhibition and carnivale 6-9pm
May 1: Leedy Voulkos- fashion show by Shawnee Mission school district high schools.
Check out the facebook page for this event here
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Sorry-for-the-Miscommunication/50464045591
Show up in costume ready to dance, sing, jump, bounce, and have an all around great time! If you are interested in contributing a more structured performance, or would like to set up a booth and sell stuff, contact one of the following people for more information.
Nicole Emanuel nemanuel@kc.rr.com
Wolfe Brack wolfebrack@gmail.com
or the general SFTM hotline at sorryforthemiscommunication@gmail.com

See you all in the streets this summer in Kansas City!!

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.