April has brought a wealth of riches in the fiber arts, thanks to Gather, the inaugural monthlong festival celebrating an art form that ranges from weaving to lace- and paper-making. With events for the sewing-savvy and mending 101 workshops, “Gather” is an invitation to all.
One of many symposium-affiliated exhibitions is Cambridge Art Association’s “Materiality: Memory in Cloth,” whose pieces show how imaginative fiber artists can be with their materials. Emily Manning-Mingle’s piece, “Blaze,” is a beautiful, kaleidoscopic and abstract work featuring fabric scraps, rubber bands and oil pastels among many other media. Nadya Volicer’s “Table Scraps” stands out as exceptional, using cut-out table cloth fragments to create the most delicate composition.
Another exhibit, “The Carrier Bag Theory of Fiction” at the Nave Gallery, borrows Ursula Le Guin’s concept to reimagine the container. In Nora Valdez’s “Tejiendro Mi Destino” (or “Weaving My Destiny”), she combines hanging house structures with white woven materials. Ann Wessman’s massive and lovely sculpture “Gathering #9” dangles from the ceiling. The exhibition gives an expansive view of what the already-diverse field of fiber arts can look like.
The best thing about Gather is that it isn’t just about exhibitions; it’s about getting together and empowering people to make and mend things for themselves. Some upcoming classes include Sewing 101, a community stitching social and Sashiko, a tutorial on Japanese mending.
In our new American era of moving fast and breaking things, the ethos of fiber art feels more important than ever. We need to be able to build – or not just to build, rather, but to give shape to abstract ideas and fix what’s broken. In any case, things such as Gather are proof that it’s still possible to work as a collective toward a goal.
Share your own 150-word appreciation for a piece of visual art or art happening with photo to editor@cambridgeday.com with the subject line “Behold.”
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