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MOUNT CLEMENS — Felt, string, looms and more all take center stage at the latest show at the Anton Art Center.
The Michigan League of Handweavers 22nd Biennial Fiber Arts Exhibition runs from Saturday, Sept. 7 to Monday, Oct. 16 on the first floor of the Anton Art Center. Having run for over 40 years across various galleries, it will be the first time the Anton Art Center has hosted the league’s premier showcase.
“Making things out of fiber dates back pretty much as far as human history goes,” said Stephanie Hazzard, the Anton Art Center’s exhibitions director. “There has been a history of weaving to create things that we need; basket weaving is a traditional art form and so is making fibers into clothing, blankets, things like that. Even though it is quite an ancient art form, this show will showcase the use of this medium in artistic ways. The pieces can use fiber in a way to make pictures or designs or a blend of the two to create something really unique.”
Nearly 50 pieces of fiber-based art will be on display from 36 artists from the handweavers league. Artists are mostly Michigan-based with some from Indiana, Ohio, Illinois and Ontario.
Fiber arts are broken down into the categories of functional and nonfunctional works. Functional works are pieces woven and stitched into clothing items like scarves, ponchos and hats, while nonfunctional pieces are purely aesthetic works.
“We have pieces that are as small as three inches, as the very smallest piece in the show, all the way up to about 135 inches,” Hazzard said. “There’s a couple pieces that are very expansive, others that are rounded shapes. Some that are three-dimensional and are on pedestals, others that will be fastened to the wall as hangings. They’ll take form as different fiber arts such as needle felting, embroidery and classic types of crocheting and knitting. A lot of work is made on a loom by hand weaving, so we’re talking about things that are all handmade in nature; some are made with the help of a specific tool that develops a specific pattern.”
Susan Moran, a textile artist and faculty member at Wayne State University and the College for Creative Studies, was brought in by the Michigan League of Handweavers to jury the show.
“I am inspired and encouraged to see the quality of work submitted to this exhibition,” Moran said via email. “It’s wonderful to find that the community of people who value work made by hand is flourishing. In so many of these fiber pieces, I found joy and devotion to materials, to exploration of ideas, to mastery of craft and to spending time mindfully.”
A reception for the exhibition will be held on Saturday, Sept. 7 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. featuring a panel with Moran and select artists. Artists from the Michigan League of Handweavers will be present in the galley on Saturdays to help guests try their hand at operating a loom and encouraging members of the public to add to a piece constructed over the course of the exhibition.
For more information about the Anton Art Center, visit theartcenter.org.
The center is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday with free admission.
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