Surface, Substance, and Structure at the California Center for the Arts

California Center for the Arts, Escondido Museum is pleased to exhibit work by California Fibers in Surface, Substance and Structure: Selections from California Fibers from January 15 through March 6, 2022. This exhibition explores the relationship between the artists and their medium - how concept drives artistic creation and the interplay between concept, material, and process. Utilizing textile processes ranging from quilting, sewing, weaving. and embroidery to crocheting with thin wires and metal, the artworks on view transform strands of fiber into works that are at once recognizable and extraordinarily contemporary.

California Fibers is a supremely gifted group of artists. Their work is resourceful, thought-provoking, and forward-looking. Visitors will be drawn to the surprising nature of their work – for example, a roller-skate – but one woven from pine needles. – Beth Marino, Director of Museum and Visual Arts, California Center for the Arts

Tickets are available for purchase at artcenter.org, by calling (800) 988-4253 or in person at the Museum. 

Surface, Substance and Structure: Selections from California Fibers features the work of  21 members of California Fibers: Linda Anderson, Olivia Batchelder, Charlotte Bird, Ashley V. Blalock, Carrie Burckle, Ben Cuevas, Gail Fraser, Polly Jacobs Giacchina, Lydia Tjioe Hall, Susan Henry, Brecia Kralovic-Logan, Chari Myers, Kathy Nida, Carol Nilsen, Liz Oliver, Michael F. Rohde, Aneesa Shami, Rebecca Smith, Cameron Taylor-Brown, Debby Weiss, and Peggy Wiedemann.

All works in the exhibit address the theme of “Surface, Substance, and Structure” as interpreted by each artist.

For example, Linda Anderson states about her work Dance Break Oaxaca that “textiles of Oaxaca, Mexico are vibrant and intricately woven and stitched…and it seemed only natural to tell this story (of a dance celebration) with fabrics…”.

Lydia Tjioe Hall explains that Wire Study “explores wire techniques, forms, shapes, and structures.”

Michael Rohde says that all his work “has conceptual substance arising out of specific concepts, situations, or a pathway in how the work evolved from idea to object” and that his tapestry Toward Paramita began as a challenge in dyeing a wide range of shades of indigo. 

Peggy Wiedemann says of her piece, Styling, “combining materials continually stimulates the creative process and leads my work in new directions.”

Polly Jacobs Giacchina describes her work Reuniting as a weaving that “meanders and flows within its shape…the theme of reuniting is shown as fibers come back together in one surface.” 

Rebecca Smith states that her choice of materials is integral to her work and that “each element brings its own strength.” Her piece Awakening “portrays that moment when our eyes open to the light…that moment is portrayed…by…brilliantly colored transparent beads.”

Surface, Substance and Structure: Selections from California Fibers
 will run from January 15 - March 6, 2022, at the California Center for the Arts, Escondido, at 340 North Escondido Blvd, Escondido, CA 92925. Many of the artists will be present at the opening tentatively planned for January 20. Details on the opening reception and events related to the exhibit will be available at artcenter.org closer to the opening dates. Funding for the exhibit has been provided by California Humanities and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) as part of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021.

Perception and Understanding

California Fibers’ members respond to Textile Arts Los Angeles’ Textile Month 2021, thinking about the artist’s role in subverting established ways of seeing-being; how artists help us move toward a future we cannot even imagine; or artists as a critical force in navigating cultural change. From this, we asked our artists, what is the difference between perception and understanding? Are they linked or are they a path from one to the other? Each artist approached these ideas in a different way. The video below includes artists’ statements.

Figuratively at Front Porch Gallery

This video is a preview of the upcoming California Fibers:Figuratively exhibit at the Front Porch Gallery in Carlsbad, California. Stop by the gallery from October 4 through November 14 to see the exhibit in full.

At the Front Porch Gallery, art creates community. This is a core belief at the gallery, and the foundation of their mission to engage the creativity of individuals in order to strengthen wellbeing and communities. They are a non-profit, community resource dedicated to creating vibrant, vital communities through art. They believe everyone has a story to share. Stories told through art are not only compelling, but profoundly important to our individual wellbeing. Understanding and connecting with this expression are at the very heart of what we know community to be. Individual creativity at all ages is available to anyone interested and willing to learn. Front Porch Gallery reveals these stories through innovative programs and exhibitions showcasing artwork from a variety of senior artists and others whose stories come to life through paintings, photography, sculpture, fiber arts, and more. This professional venue helps create an understanding of aging through art, in a place where Front Porch residents and the greater community can come together to share creative expression throughout the year. The gallery collaborates with individual artists and innovative organizations to produce unique exhibits, themed shows, juried exhibits, and professional invitationals that celebrate the creative endeavors and full range of artistic expression at every level of experience.

Programs for Front Porch residents engage the creatives and those who don’t believe they are, in order to reveal the rich experience and wisdom that helps create an understanding of aging and offers opportunities for learning and fun!

Front Porch Gallery is funded by grants from FACT Foundation, Pacific Homes Foundation, and Sunny View Foundation. The gallery is an outreach program of Front Porch.

Masked Response

California Fibers last met in person in January, like many art groups, constrained by shelter-in-place and quarantine requirements. We met online in April, our normal meeting day and time, but in little boxes on the screen, some muted, some distracted, some challenged by technology, all glad to see and hear our group. We talked about art and our upcoming exhibits and whether they might even happen, until one member, Lydia Tjioe Hall, suggested we create an online exhibit in our isolation, a response to having to wear a mask, especially as fiber artists. So many other people were unearthing ancient sewing machines and using up all the elastic, or searching through their stash for appropriate materials. It seemed appropriate for each of us to reach deeply into our chosen medium and fashion a response to being masked and in quarantine.

And here they are…

Charlotte Bird, I’d Rather Be Somewhere Calm

Doshi, Ebb and Flow; Silk Organza, Arashi Shibori, Acid Dye

Timeless ebb and flow,

Endless waves of change,

Eternal depth of the sea.

Susan Henry

Polly Jacobs Giacchina, Wire, salvaged metal, and felt

Chari Myers, Covid-19 UV Blaster Periwinkle; wet felted, merino wool, viscose, silk gauze, lights

and Covid-19 UV Blaster Red; wet felted, merino wool, viscose, silk gauze, lights

Kathy Nida, COVID Mask; window screen, wool and cotton embroidery thread

Aneesa Shami, Credit: El Naddaha (deconstructed knit mask) by Aneesa Shami, for Planet City, Director Liam Young, Costume Design Ane Crabtree.

Cameron Taylor-Brown, Unraveled, an antisocial fabric mask; woven, layered and stitched, linen and rayon, 6” h x 7” w

This mask is inspired by a commentator who said that our chaotic national response to Covid is “unraveling our social fabric. “ One could also say that the fault lines of our culture are now unmasked for all to see – even as our citizenry is directed to “mask up.” Unraveled is cobbled together from pieces of handwoven textile, folded and stitched haphazardly, with threads in disarray. And it doesn’t fit well - not much protection would be gained from this mask.

Lydia Tjioe Hall, Face Mask No. 1

and Sneeze

Peggy Wiedemann