Newsroom

CORVALLIS, Ore. - This year's fiber show, "Loosely Bound: A Ten Year Creative Journey," will be displayed at Oregon State University from April 26 through May 26.

The exhibit will be in the Giustina Gallery at The LaSells Stewart Center. A free reception will be held from 6:30-8:30 p.m. on Tuesday, April 26, to celebrate the show's opening and introduce the artists.

Nancy Bryant was inspired to start a fiber group in 2005, and members chose the name "Loosely Bound." It reflects the ties they have to each other and the traditions they come from, but also the respect they have for their differences in design, interests, technique, and palette.

"Our original members all knew someone who was interested in joining the group and soon we had to limit the number of members to about 10-13 artists to keep the momentum and energy," Bryant said. "It started out as mostly 'art quilts' but we do more than just quilts."

Some of the artists use a variety of painting and felting techniques. Bryant is experimenting using alcohol inks.

"You can scrunch plastic wrap around the fabric and get all these unique forms and patterns," she said.

She is often inspired by leaves, trees and flowers and tries to capture the color and texture of nature's bounty.

Member Cheryl Jordan uses a combination of techniques.

"I don't have to use traditional methods," Jordan said. "I can glue, sew, slash, etc. There are so many options." She enjoys experimenting with a variety of construction and surface design techniques to create pattern and texture.

This show is a culmination of projects from the last 10 years.  The group works together collaboratively on challenges or large group pieces for exhibitions. A member will often present an idea and then see who is up for a challenge. All members are not required to participate.

Challenges can take up to a year to complete. The Whisper Challenge has been one of the most creative pieces the members created. The first person works from a picture and starts a piece, then the second artist is given the first piece without seeing the original image. After about a month a third artist is given only the second artist's creation without seeing the original. Each artist creates a piece based off the previous artist's interpretation of the theme.

The 2008 group project entitled "Benton County Vistas Mary's Peak" is an example of how each artist was giving part of a photograph and was able to create their own interpretation of the piece or panel they were given. Their recent group challenge "Abundance" was exhibited at the Canby Public Library and was also part of the Quilt County Exhibit.

More information about the group and examples of their work can be found at http://looselybound.net

The Giustina Gallery is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. and is located on the OSU campus at 875 S.W. 26^th Street. Parking is available in the Reser parking lot across the street for $1 per hour from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.

For more information about this show and upcoming exhibits is available at http://oregonstate.edu/lasells/gallery.