Visual Artist: Fiber Art / Fine Craft Archives

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Barb Bend

Visual Artist: Fiber Art / Fine Craft

As a fiber artist, I am drawn to the rich heritage of cloth and the story it tells through its content, color, design and cultural history. I work with fabrics that have their own integrity and voice. In my fiber sculptures, I explore the interplay of cross cultural fabrics stitched side by side with a reconfiguration of contemporary “throw away items” that share the pattern, color or texture. I look to these contemporary items, such as snaps, perm rollers, zippers, for their design elements and ability to attach and repeat thus creating a rhythmic pattern to sew on to these fiber sculptures. The armature of my sculptural forms are welded metal, fencing or electrical wire. The shapes are built up by tightly wrapped strips of knit t-shirt fabric to create a solid form. The result is a firm, self supporting structure that can withstand the weight of the materials I choose to use. This structure also allows my forms to flare out with movement to express the spirit of life and energy of emotions.

Jane Dreis

Visual Artist: Fiber Art / Fine Craft; Visual Artist: Jewelry; Visual Artist: Sculpture; Visual Artist: Metalsmith

You’ve been ogling Jane’s Fine Silver Shotglasses for Poker Players, haven’t you? Great! Because Jane truly had a blast spending several days creating these pieces. Start each one by sawing an arc out of a flat sheet of fine silver; hammer it over a blowhorn stake to form the vessel wall; create the card suit design in the base with hammers, embossing and liner punches and a bowl of warm pine pitch (smells like a lovely pine forest!); then finally solder the base to the vessel with a hot propane torch. Can you believe Jane used to wear a paramedic uniform and served 18 years in emergency medicine? Even harder to believe is that she spent more than a decade wearing suits, pantyhose and high heels as a news reporter and corporate PR writer. So. Much. Better. Spending the day in jeans and a shop apron in her own studio! You also can find Jane’s handmade jewelry and metal art the Stillwater Art Guild Gallery, where she is a member artist and one of the owners. It’s Jane! LLC handmade jewelry and metal gifts can be found on display daily at the Stillwater Art Guild Gallery, 402 North Main Street, Stillwater, MN, in the historic Isaac Staples Sawmill building. The Art Guild Gallery is a cooperative of about 65 artists and is staffed 7 days a week by volunteers. Jane became one of the six owners of the not-for-profit gallery in early 2012.

Melanie Ebertz

Visual Artist: Fiber Art / Fine Craft; Visual Artist: Textile

Melanie Ebertz started ArtAndes, her textile & travel business in the Peruvian Andes during the mid-eighties. ArtAndes infuses Textile Design with Andean Travel, with a mission of preserving both culture and craft. ArtAndesTextiles are incredibly complex in technique and rich in cultural heritage.The rugs are artful to look at, organic in nature, highly functional & hand woven on a tapestry loom. Many traditional designs have been reintroduced to today’s weavers through Melanie’s collection of classic textile books, museum visits and extensive historical research. In addition to recreating the historic patterns, the designs are a combination of pre-Colombian, Midwestern and Scandinavian influences!. ArtAndes rugs reflect an ancient tradition of expression and human fortitude. Unique and timeless, each rug is a meaningful heirloom, infused with the spirit of the Andes. Melanie has led over 50 custom designed trips to Peru, she is knowledgeable about the biodiversity of the country and it’s people. The long term rich connections that have been developed over the past 30 years have helped preserve culture & hand-craft through rural community visits. Traveling to Peru with ArtAndes is a memorable way to really know Peru, and have fun doing it!

Joy Gerard

Visual Artist: Fiber Art / Fine Craft

I am a retired senior citizen living in Stillwater, MN. I have a degree in Textiles and Clothing from Iowa State University. I have been weaving and spinning for over 40 years with wool and mohair as my favorite fibers to work with. Taking a raw fiber through the full process of cleaning, spinning, dying, weaving, fulling and then tailoring into a garment is very satisfying. Using natural and synthetic dyes provides a wide range of colors and interesting end products. My hand woven garments are often embellished with knitting, crocheting or braiding techniques. Exploring historic weaving patterns and techniques adds variety to finished items.

Michaela Mahady

Visual Artist: Fiber Art / Fine Craft; Visual Artist: Painting; Visual Arts: Textile

My background is in both art and architecture. Earlier work, such as the Warroad Library, are site specific public art pieces, done through Pegusus Studio, Inc. They are leaded and beveled handblown art glass. Recent works are intended more for gallery display. They include plein air oil paintings and fibre art: knit “vestments,” to be worn or hung as tapestries, made from cotton, silk, bamboo, linen and wool yarns. These works were part of “e-qui-nox,” an exhibition at ArtReach St. Croix in August-September 2017. All are inspired by continued exploration of the relationship between the individual and the environment: earth, water, and sky as felt and understood by the human being.

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