The most significant fiber and fabric art pieces are exhibited at La Jolla FiberArts gallery, and the latest called “Horizon Series” continues to please. The collection of 25 art quilts made by 20 quilt designers from an art support group of Southern California produced this elegant series.
The exhibition has been traveling for three years up and down the West Coast, with La Jolla the last venue for the show. The art group’s charter is to exchange information, explore the creative process and to educate the public on the medium of art quilts through exhibitions.
Each quilt is an original work, designed within the criteria of being 12 inches across, 40 inches long, with an implied “horizon” at between 15 and 17 inches from the top. Some of the horizons are loosely interpreted and others strictly adhered to. When the quilts are hung in an intimate setting, color and design create a unity and a new whole, which invites the viewer to linger at each piece and determine the horizon element that draws them into the adjoining piece.
The quilts with a sunny theme are hung in one area; stronger colors and more powerful pieces are on another wall, while the serene and dreamy pieces are suspended within a wall niche.
A fascinating selection of fabrics has been used and embellished with tulle, chiffon, strings, twine, beads of coordinating and contrasting colors, mica, plastic and metal figurines and buttons, along with hand-stamped figures and writings, all representing individual interpretations of the Horizon theme.
“Horizon Reconstructed” by Linda Carlson shows three hands reaching into the past and from the future over a repetitious reality. The hands are holding pieces of Mylar and other Mylar chips are attached to a red-printed background, described by the artist as “with threads of relationships and precious moments, Let this be the end of the beginning.”
Maureen Cole’s simply elegant “Bamboo” reveals a cane of sectioned bamboo that has been appliquéd onto a natural linen background. The linen is outline-stitched with octagons in a soft caramel color, which subtly complements the green leaves and the dark stalk. The horizon line on this piece is a series of dark-grey, hand-stamped small squares in ascending two and three lines. The design and execution of this piece is nearly perfect ” very Zen.
In contrast to the Zen piece, Cindy Cooksey interprets the times we live in as a quilt called “Dreaming of Code Blue,” which is a take-off on the Homeland Security code-color meter. Cooksey separated her quilt in half with two zippers ” one zips up and the other zips down to whatever the current color is. The top of the quilt is red with the notation “too damn hot,” then graduates to orange. In between the colorful array of coordinating buttons
are sayings such as “things are getting dicey” and “buy duct tape.” In the yellow portion the phrase “take it easy” is printed, and the green element’s reference is “life is good.” Obviously the lower blue section is where sanity and tranquility should prevail.
Other pieces reflect nature’s abundance, including a quilt in graduated shades of brown silk, “Above and Below.” Robin Grube embroidered an outline of a crocus above the horizon line with the roots defined by dangling threads and narrow cords in a tangle vying for their tap root space below.
This is just an illustration of the fine display of art quilts that again interprets the creative spirit between the mind and hand. “When people come to the gallery, they come knowing they will have the full experience of textile art, including wearable art, basketry, bead work and art quilts,” FiberArts owner Lynn Noble said.
La Jolla FiberArts, 7644 Girard Ave., is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday. For information call (858) 454-6732. “The Horizon Series” exhibition closes April 8.