Fiber Art
When you say “Art”, many people think of Painting. In many ways it’s a reasonable association. But it’s also curious in that most people don’t paint, yet just about all of us make “fiber choices” every morning when we get dressed. Fiber is personal and intimate and familiar in powerful ways. Do we sometimes associate Paintings as “Art” because we don’t experience them so often and so intimately?
This is our week to think about fiber and fiber art!
Wall Hanging
This week we’re going to try making some sort of Wall Hanging. It’d be great to make something you actually want to hang on your wall. Maybe you can make a gift for someone.
The images on this page are of wall hangings by Cindy Hsu Zell. Her pieces vary in size from small and intimate to much larger, but they all bear her elegant and minimal style.
Media?
Have you ever tried Sewing, Weaving, Knitting, or Crochet? Have you dyed anything? Or tried tie-dye or batik? If you have, you could use that media again. If you haven’t, how to do it is only a 5-second YouTube search away. I know you probably thought YouTube was only for Cats & Porn, but actually, you can learn how to do all kinds of things on YouTube! Want to learn about Ceramic Wheel Building? Or Ballet Turn-out? Or Depth-of-Field? There’s so many videos!
I’d encourage you to try something new. You can get a ball of yarn really cheap at your nearby Fabric or Craft store. For this activity you can use any fiber media you like. You don’t have to spend any money. You can dig up some old t-shirts to cut or tear and weave or make knots with. You choose whatever process you like, whether it’s something traditional like knitting or crocheting, or some “alternative” process that you make up. Experiment. Explore. Have fun!
Activity
Make a Wall Hanging. A Fiber Art creation that can hang on a wall.
Blog
- Include a few pix of your process and the finished piece.
- Describe what you tried to do. Did you experiment or learn something new? How did it go? Did you get the results you expected? Was the activity satisfying? Frustrating? Surprising? Did this activity make you think any differently about the fiber in your life or the idea of Fiber Art?
