Fashion show to benefit creative arts center

The Fine Line Creative Arts Center in St. Charles will host its annual fundraising event, "Uncommon Threads Wearable Art Fashion Show and Luncheon." The event will be on Sunday, Oct. 19 at the The Stonegate Conference and Banquet Centre, Higgins and Barrington roads in Hoffman Estates. This is a one-of-a-kind wearable art fashion show and sale. All the garments in the show are created by artists and designers from across the country. Garment techniques include handwovens, knitwear, silk painting and surface design. In addition to the fashion show, there is also a boutique with beautifully crafted jewelry, handbags, scarves and more.

Several of the runway artists are local residents. Connie Blieszner from St. Charles has enjoyed knitting since she was a child. Working with fiber is a way to use her technical skills in a creative environment. Her current interests are knitted garment designs and textile structure. She is inspired by the historical costumes and textiles of the countries along the Silk Road.

Lynn Caldwell from Batavia is another local artist who will be part of the fashion show. As a fiber artist, Caldwell designs unique handwoven apparel and accessories. She excels in creating dynamic color combinations and luxurious textured fabric, weaving with rayon chenille and/or bamboo for its supple hand and rich colors. Her work ranges from scarves and hats, to shawls and capes, all designed for a person who wants something original.

Marzena Gabrel from Elgin is a graduate of The School of The Art Institute of Chicago. She has studied both fashion and graphic design. Gabrel creates abstracted and figurative art pieces with emphasis on color and texture. Her work is produced through a combination of wet and dry felting techniques with materials including merino wool, mohair and silk fibers and silk fabric.

Elaine Kuhlman-Trimble from Elgin has a background in couture fashion, education, and fine art which provides the foundation for her work. Architecture, nature and human form, "cast-off" and functional objects, and the mundane inspire her functional and non-functional art. Although fiber is Elaine's first love, she also works with glass, metal and found objects in her Plato Center Studio.

Tickets are $55 per person. No sales at the door. All proceeds benefit The Fine Line Creative Arts Center. Call (630) 584-9443 for reservations and information. Tickets also may be purchased on the Web site, www.fineline.org.