Stitching Bevy mixed media duo to exhibit in Waukegan
Submitted by Mary Clare Jakes
An art show, featuring Stitching Bevy, will begin at Dandelion Gallery in downtown Waukegan on Saturday, April 20.
“Confinement” is an exhibit featuring an array of mixed-media textile art pieces exploring the theme of women’s roles in society. Included in the show will be quilts, wearable garments, household items, and small fabric collages in a variety of price ranges. The artist duo Stitching Bevy will be at the opening reception from 5-9 p.m. on ArtWauk Saturday, April 20, at Dandelion Gallery, 109 S. Genesee St., Waukegan.
Stitching Bevy is a collective of two women, Emily Runyan and Faith Agostinone-Wilson, who currently use fiber arts to explore a range of design possibilities along with the political implications of textiles. Currently, Stitching Bevy has three divisions. The first is their reproduction vintage clothing and accessories, which reflect a keen interest in the legacy of handmade. These are sold through their website and at the Dandelion Gallery in Waukegan.
The second division is their historical costuming, with a focus on Victorian and Civil War eras, sold through their website.
The third division is their modern art quilts, which have examined political issues such as feminism, domestic violence, women’s labor, same-sex marriage, and economic inequality. Stitching Bevy’s quilts are exhibited at various local venues as well as online. In addition to their gallery and website work, they also host a free sewing circle the third Sunday of every month in the hopes that others will share in the communal benefits of textile arts.
Both of the artists came to textiles several years after their studio training from fine arts backgrounds, finding it a more flexible media to work with. Stitching Bevy uses all manner of fiber arts, including knitting, crochet, machine and hand quilting, hand dying, garment construction, embroidery and photo transfer. They often incorporate re-purposed antique and vintage materials into their work, so the old often takes on a new life of its own. The relative anonymity of textiles is often its own strength because it flies under the radar. Viewers aren’t often sure what to think when they encounter crafted objects in gallery contexts. Rather than conforming their work to a traditional fine arts vision, they attempt to bring the craft ethos into the gallery.
For more info on the Stitching Bevy, look at their website, www.stitchingbevy.com and their Etsy store at www.etsy.com/shop/stitchingbevy.
“Confinement” will be on exhibit from April 20 to May 8. Dandelion Gallery is open weekly from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 5-8 p.m. Fridays and noon to 6 p.m. Saturdays. For more information on the gallery, see www.dandeliongallery.org.
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