The current exhibit at the Pacific Northwest Quilt & Fiber Arts Museum juried by Fiber Art Now magazine is a must-see. Head up to the third floor, but don’t dawdle, it ends June 1.
Fiber Art Now magazine regularly showcases “the best of today’s fiber and textiles from a growing global art community.”
Fourteen pieces taken from the Winter 2024 IX print edition explore the relationship between nature and the human psyche. The theme this year: identifying our relationship to eco systems.
“This exhibit is not just local — as evidenced by artists from all over the world,” said Morgan Kavanagh, the museum’s curator of education. It includes works from the U.S., England, Canada, Australia, and Taiwan.
Photo courtesy Morgan Kavanagh
Fiber art, once floating between the world of craft and fine art, came into its own in the 1960’s and 70’s.
Yarn, cotton, jute, paper, twine, felting, and wool are woven, plaited, interlaced, punched, and braided into fine pieces of art.
From Taiwan, Chiu Ching-Ting’s six-foot tall “Binding with Thread” uses wool, fabric scraps, hand-spun yarn, then weaved and felted, is hung as though floating in space, then falls and sprawls across the floor.
Photo courtesy
Morgan Kavanagh“Rettir” — Icelandic for sheep roundup — is a soft sculpture by Eliza Day-Green made from wool, paper, and felt. It was inspired after a month-long retreat in the Westfjords of Iceland where sheep outnumber people.
Jen Cable’s “Mountain Stream” is made from braided flex, hand-stitched, and coiled with silver wire. Cable was listed as one of 100 greatest textile artists in Fiber Art Now Magazine.
Alexander Kirsch Martin’s “You Have Grown My Darling, and So Have I” from cotton, wool, jute, twine, needle felting — no stitching — and color pushed into fabric, honors motherhood.
“The Enchanted Princess” created by Kathy Knapp of Ohio is wearable art made from recycled bracelet pieces and beads.
Photo courtesy Morgan Kavanagh
The first floor features several floral quilts spanning 100 years of stitching.
The second-floor exhibit, “Fiber Between the Lines” presented by Northwest Designer Craft Artists, on display until June 29, features more than 30 artists curated by Ellen Ito.
One piece, “Galaxy Quilt,” created by Kathy Ross of Bainbridge Island, is like something out of Star Wars, made of whimsical, quirky, mythical creatures. “I make art out of what makes me laugh,” Ross says in the brochure for the exhibit.
I had to see it twice. I like to laugh too.
Correction: The last quote from Ross erroneously included the last sentence in the story, which was not part of the direct quote. The story was updated to correct the error on June 3, 2025.
Judy Booth: Judy has written for La Conner newspapers for many years. She writes because she loves words and the creativity of writing. Judy has lived in La Conner since 1979.
