Community Calendar

"Hidden Histories," work by Sallie Findlay (Deer Isle), Karen Munson (Brunswick) and Debra Spaulding (Bowdoinham) is on view at Maine Fiberarts, 13 Main Street in Topsham. The public is invited to come view these abstract, naturally-dyed and stitched figures and textile works through August 31. A reception will be held on Sunday, July 28 from 2-5 p.m. and the artists will speak about their work for a total of 45 minutes starting at 2:30 p.m. 

Sallie Findlay named the show. Sallie uses simple cotton sacks used by sea-scallop fishermen in Deer Isle for storing meat after shucking. She dyes the bags using natural dyes or "kakishibu," a Japanese dye technique involving fermented persimmons which she regards as the color of earth. Then she builds figures from the inside out: forming shapes, crumpling newspaper, molding forms, and wrapping and stitching until a figure emerges. Says Sallie about her work, "The materials I use reflect my deep sense of place, of community, of creatures, of memories and dreams. My figures emerge from my meditative journeys, with stops, starts, revisions, dances, songs, words, wings and wind. The well-worn pathways go back and forth across the landscapes of my imagination, with hidden histories of pain and joy, detachment and love, intimacy and solitude." Two of Sallie's pieces recently shown at the Wichita Center in Kansas were accepted as part of a National Fiber show, and her piece "Bound/Bond" received honorable mention and a cash award.

Artist Karen Munson is a minister with the United Methodist Church of Brunswick. Karen combines a life of expressions in both art and faith. She, too, experiments with dye immersion and subtraction to produce a palette of silk and cotton fabric scraps "too intriguing to discard." With "Remnant I" and "Remnant II"—the pieces on view in this show—she fashioned cloth into works that speak about the dichotomy of "forgiving" and "unforgiving" fabrics and of piecing them into a cohesive whole.

Debra Spaulding is an artist who paints and stitches in Bowdoinham, where she and her husband Dick raise cattle, renovate homes, and are building a new house that includes a grand studio. Debra has two quilts on view that depict "the intricate patterns and colors of organic matter and the natural patterns created by growth and surface degradation." She is drawn to barns, trees, rocks, weathered wood, water, doors and aerial views of fields. Of her work, Debra writes, "I am more interested in the essence of a place then in capturing the details, and work to preserve a more abstract expression of shapes, forms and lines."

Since all three artists enjoy using natural materials as inspiration or to dye and color their fabrics and fibers, their talk on August 28 from 2-5 p.m. is sure to interest artists, colorists, quilters and fiber enthusiasts. Refreshments will be on hand and the afternoon will be a lovely time to meet the artists, visit the galleries, and learn about summer happenings at this nonprofit arts organization.

Maine Fiberarts received funding from the USDA and from the Quimby Family Foundation to create a series of Craft/Farm Institute workshops during 2013. The group hosted workshops recently on "Freeform Quilting," "Using Wordpress," and "Textile Painting Techniques" and is planning new classes for the Fall in pattern making, spinning, and sewing fabric bags.

Since 2000, Maine Fiberarts has been showing the work of talented artists in solo shows that change every two months. During September and October, artist Jill Snyder Wallace of Minot will show mixed-media embroideries that incorporate found objects. For more details and for a visual preview of the current exhibition, visit the group's website at www.mainefiberarts.org or phone 207-721-0678. A calendar of statewide and regional fiber events and exhibitions, usually made available only to members, can be found at http://goo.gl/cSm6d 

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RECEPTION/ARTISTS' TALK for "Hidden Histories," work by Sallie Findlay, Karen Munson and Debra Spaulding. Sunday, July 28, 2-5 p.m. at Maine Fiberarts, 13 Main Street in Topsham, ME 04086. Artists talk for 45 minutes starting at 2:30 p.m. Intriguing, kakishibu- and shibori-dyed figurative beings with abstract, nature-themed cotton and silk quilts. Gallery hours are Tuesday-Friday, 10-4; Saturdays, 11-2. FMI: 207-721-0678; www.mainefiberarts.org

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