Libertyville Adler Center Offers Small Miracles from Fiber Artists Coalition
Throughout history, painters, composers, musicians and artists have responded to social, political and economic forces, but how and why do artists choose how to make art, and with what materials?
Textiles have been with us for millennia, with cloth and fiber being used as protection and insulation. But fibers haven’t always been manipulated into utilitarian objects to cloak and comfort us. Fiber art represents the ornamental expressions of artists using everything from mercerized cotton and pure silk to steel yarn and horse hair to create fine art. Today this distinctive art form continues to draw talented and imaginative creators who choose fiber, a pliable, organic material, as their medium of choice.
As part of the Adler Music and Arts Center Exhibition Series (featuring local and international artists September through May), the Libertyville cultural center will showcase the work of the Fiber Artists Coalition in a new exhibit, Milagros: “Little Miracles.” Milagros are portable metal figurines used to thank Christian saints for fulfilling requests in times of need; these diminutive statuettes accompanied Spanish explorers as they arrived in the Americas and continue to be a part of folk culture throughout rural areas of Spain as well as in Central and South America. The spirit of Milagros informs and inspires the art quilt collection in the October exhibition. Twelve members of the Fiber Arts Coalition and ten guest artists have created thirty-nine pieces offering comfort, hope, peace and strength.
In Spanish, the word Milagros literally means miracle or surprise, and visitors to this exhibit will certainly be surprised by the sophistication and the depth of each composition. The works highlighted are rendered from synthetic and natural materials from around the globe. The materials employed are reworked and altered, a deft manipulation of textiles that involves dyeing, painting, stamping, printing, batik, shibori, discharge, embellishment, collage, and assemblage.
The Fiber Artists Coalition has been successfully disseminating the message that their innovative work should not be confused with stodgy bedroom quilts or common kitchen potholders. Members have been breathing new air into this unique genre, whilst designing and producing art quilts within a contemporary art and cultural context. Today, FAC continues to bring this nontraditional, provocative art form to the public through traveling art exhibits.
The twenty-two fiber artists partaking in the Adler Center’s exhibit have chosen this compelling genre to express themselves creatively, drawing upon a medium at once receptive, governable and unquestionably relevant in communicating the vibrancy, complexity and mystery of life.
Opening reception for Milagros: “Little Miracles” will be held on Thursday, October 10, from 7:00–9:00pm and is free and open to the public. The Adler Music and Arts Center is located at 1700 North Milwaukee Avenue. For more information on individual music instruction or art and architecture classes visit www.adlercenter.org or call 847.367.0707.