Decorating a home can incorporate many styles, from contemporary to country.
Through their upcoming show, ‘Fibre to Art (and everything in between),’ members of the South Cariboo Weavers, Spinners & Fibre Artists Guild will be demonstrating how tastefully a home can be decorated using handmade items.
The show opens on Sept. 16 and runs until Nov. 5.
Using a variety of their own fibre art pieces and borrowed hand-crafted items, including pottery and sculptures, picture frames, the group will transform an area of the gallery into a cozy and inviting room that could be in anyone’s home.
They’re calling that part of the show, “Cariboo Contemporary, the Handcrafted Home,” and expect to see everything from traditional fibre art pieces, right through to the “down right odd,” says Vivian Zuba, a member of the guild’s show committee.
According to Zuba, many of the guild members raise their own fibre animals, such as alpacas, sheep, goats and rabbits, and spin the harvested material into yarn. From that stock, comes the more traditional scarves, mittens, sweaters and socks, but among the members, there are also those less conventional items.
They can take wool and combine it with unlikely materials, such as wire, feathers and even doll heads to create material suitable for art, rather than something wearable.
Expect to see a good sampling of this sprinkled throughout the show area, Zuba adds.
“Fibre art is a huge, broad medium with very few rules. That makes it a fabulous medium if you can come up with an idea and make it work.”
Her current interest is working with a computer and printer to create digital collages. On a printed image, she will apply all kinds of different materials by sewing, gluing and using a variety of other techniques.
Zuba says she anticipates that when people come to the show, they will realize that although fibre can be extraordinarily common, it can become something quite beautiful and substantial with some imagination.
“We want people to think handcrafted, which has a familiarity and warmth that just can’t be bought in big-box stores.”
The fibre art show opens on Sept. 16 with a reception from 5 to 8 p.m. Many of the guild members will be there to talk about their work and answer questions, and light snacks and refreshments will also be offered.
“Members are quite excited about the chance to show their work that goes from the traditional to pushing the boundaries. It’s going to be interesting.”
