Blog – Page 2 – FiberArts Guild of Pittsburgh

Interview with Erin Miller

May 26, 2021May 13, 2021

With the new exhibition coming up we wanted to check on artists who participated in previous exhibitions, see what they are up to now and how participating in Fiberart International impacted them. If you are a previous Fiberart International participant and you would like to update the community on the happenings in your life, please contact Katie Bulova at bulovakatie@gmail.com

Written by Katie Bulova

Erin Miller – Fiberart International 2016

“We are all finding news way of connecting”

These are the words that Erin Miller spoke as she met with me for the first time over Zoom. Erin is a fiber artist who concentrates her practice on cloth and color. She was in a brightly lit studio in Kentucky on Berea College’s campus. I was in a makeshift basement studio in Pittsburgh with the washing machine running in the background. Talking with Erin, a 2016 Fiberart International participant, made me realize that even with the spin cycle, I was pretty lucky to be just where I was, talking with her.

Guiditta Brozzetti

March 8, 2023April 13, 2019

Written by Deb Brandon

There it was: Laboratorio Guiditta Brozzetti, the Guiditta Brozzetti workshop, a hand-weaving museum and school hidden inside the imposing church of San Francesco delle Dome in Perugia, Italy. I’d made an appointment to visit the studio months earlier, when I decided to travel to Perugia for a friend’s wedding. If I was going to travel that far, I definitely wanted to scope out textile-related landmarks in the area.

Feathers and Finery

March 8, 2023March 25, 2019

written by Deb Brandon

The first is Portrait of Princess Nāhiʻenaʻena holding the feathered royal kahili, by Robert Dampier

We treasure gold and diamonds, silver, rubies, and emeralds. But what if precious metals and gemstones didn’t exist? Would we have looked to other natural resources to treasure? Or to something completely different, such as handmade items or special artistic skills?

Weaving for the King

March 19, 2019

Written by Deb Brandon

Can you imagine weaving for the king?

For the Love of Textile Arts

February 7, 2019

written by Deb Brandon

I learned to knit from my mother when I was seven. Knitting was followed by needlepoint, crocheting, felting, and spinning, all fun and interesting. Learning to weave when I was 35 felt as if I’d come home, as if I’d been a weaver in a previous life. At the loom, I felt connected to weavers everywhere, through space and time. With weaving, my love for textile arts soared. I wanted to see (and feel) it all: scrumptious raw cashmere, hand-spun silk, gorgeous hand-wovens, an amazing range of ethnic textiles—silk scarves from Laos, felted slippers from Turkey.

Memories of Barbara Luderowski

June 11, 2018June 10, 2018

Written by Jean Thomas Memorial tributes to Barbara Luderowski continue to come from many sources–locally, nationally and internationally. “Barbara was an artist—unique, highly perceptive and intelligent, feisty,—and always on the advance. May her creative, pioneering spirit continue to guide the Mattress Factory.” Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald. In a 2002 interview with a Post-Gazette writer, …

My work is…….

June 21, 2018May 23, 2018

As fiber artists complete their entry forms for Fiberart International 2019 there is always that blank to fill out for an “Artist Statement.” For some it’s an easy assignment. For others it poses a real challenge. So here is a sample of opening phrases gleaned from catalogs for previous Internationals.

My work is a response to——–

Joanna Donchatz – FI13 artist

My work is a response to my family history and homeplace of Appalachia. The weavings are composed like collages from photographs, text, documents, drawings, and maps. My grandfather’s coal mining experience led me to reflect on its impact. The fractal-like image of the lung is a symbol of his illness and references veins, fingerprints, streams, trees, roots, mountain ranges, cracks, faults, and fractures. They map the destruction both of the landscape and of my grandfather’s health. The traditional quilt motif is an important reoccurring element as a metaphor for the landscape of Appalachia, comfort, and family.

Down Fiberart International Memory Lane

March 28, 2018

One of our long-time members was doing some deep housecleaning recently and came upon a Fiberart International treasure trove from the past—a 20^th century prospectus, invitation, catalog, and review. I was delighted to get my hands on these juicy historical treats. They conjure lost memories and significant milestones in Fiberart International’s history.

Behind the Scenes at Fiberart International

March 12, 2018

FromTheNumberOneTrain-Plotner-Quilt national

Did you know that Fiberart International has been happening for over 50 years? It began as Stitchery International and evolved to include all fiber-related mediums. Twenty-three exhibitions later, FI has been pivotal in exhibiting innovative work from around the world. Do you wonder just what it takes to produce an exhibition of this stature?
You know the old adage, “Many hands make light work.” In the case of Fiberart International, it’s many hands, feet, arms, legs, eyes, ears, brains!

MONMADE

March 11, 2018

Wednesday March 14, 2018 Double Show and Shares: 3-5 pm and 5-7pm at Eastminster Church. At 7 pm we will meet Nisha Blackwell and Tanya Wilson, two fiber-artist entrepreneurs from MONMADE. Come join us at both events! Easy to park!