Midwest Fiber Arts Trails Textile Traveler: 15+ Regional textile exhibits and events you’ll want on your radar! Listed below are some of the many fiber arts exhibits, events and classes that are happening in the next few weeks. Hit the road for a couple of days or a week–go explore! www.midwestfiberartstrails.org

Dear Friends,

It’s snowing pretty hard around here right now so this is more of a wish list rather than a hop-in-the-car-and drive-there list. When you dig yourself out/chip off the ice, you’ll have a ready list of places to see inspiring fiber and textile art!  For those of you who see palm trees in your rearview mirror right now, stop looking in the mirror and get your eyes back on the road! Then send warm thoughts to your friends up in Bemidji celebrating the 5th Creative Spirit Fiber Festival this coming weekend.

Included in this list is an online exhibit from the Museum of Russian Art’s website. “A Homespun Life: Textiles of Old Russia” gives viewers a detailed look inside the culture and daily life of peasant textiles from dress to table linens to ceremonial cloth. The embroidery is outstanding. The motifs represent a mixture of Orthodox Christianity and Russia’s ancient pagan past. The exhibit ran in 2010, but check out the museum, which is located in South Minneapolis.

Considering my love of road trips, I would like to make you aware of one of the Milwaukee Art Museum’s current exhibits. “The Open Road: Photography and the American Road Trip” looks like fun with several events and programs to go along with it.  Runs through April 22, 2018.

One last call out; Fine Line Creative Arts Center in St. Charles, IL has an exhibit called, “Hygge: Creating Sanctuary”. Sounds pretty cosy to me right now!

Best,
Jenny

Creative Spirit Fiber Festival

February 23 @ 5:00 pm – February 24 @ 5:00 pm
Calvary Lutheran Church2508 Washington Ave SE
Bemidji, MN 56601 
+ Google Map
$10.00
Find out more »

WMQFA Third Biennale: Keeping Warm

Now – March 11, 2018
Wisconsin Museum of Quilts & Fiber Arts, N50 W5050 Portand Rd
Cedarburg, WI 53012 + Google Map

(Cedarburg, WI) — A special tradition and juried exhibition limited to Wisconsin fiber artists displays the common threads of our shared winter experience. The Wisconsin Museum of Quilts & Fiber Arts (WMQFA) is proud to present a new exhibition exclusively showcasing Wisconsin artists. On view from December 7, 2017 to March 11, 2018, WMQFA is proud to continue its tradition of hosting a biennale for the sixth year…Quilt by Cynthia Quinn of Madison…Find out more »

‘Étude’ Exhibit by Madison Contemporary Fiber Artists

Now through – March 4, 2018
Madison Overture Center, 201 State Street
Madison, Wisconsin 53703 + Google Map

(Madison, WI) — ‘Étude’  at the Madison Overture Center Étude is French for a study. In music, an étude is a composition that emphasizes a certain technique. It compels a musician to focus on and become skilled in this technique. Over time, étude work provides the musician with intense technical practice—and in time, mastery—in selected areas, opening themselves up to the possibilities of full creativity with their chosen instrument. Madison Contemporary Fiber Artists (MCFA) members created fiber art that visually expresses their use…Find out more »

HIgher Fiber II

March 2 – March 31
DSquared Studios141 Lodi St
Lodi, WI 53555 United States 
+ Google Map
(Lodi, WI) — HIgher Fiber II This exhibit features the works of Lodi area fiber artists – Jan Clingman, Lodi Alpacas; Katherine Hartline McMahon, Hartline Designs; Dana Slowiak, dls studio; Kipp Inglis, A Botanical Dyery; and guest artist Kathryn Ertl, Thorntree Pass. Opening reception is March 2, 2018 from 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. The Gallery show and workshops continue as part of Threaded Streams Fiber Arts Trail, March 22 – 24, 2018. For workshops list go to: https://midwestfiberartstrails.org/threaded-streams-2018/ Gallery hours are Thursday…Find out more »

Mike Murray and Roberta Condon Exhibit at River Arts Gallery

Now – March 31
River Arts on Water Gallery, 590 Water St.
Prairie du Sac, WI United States + Google Map

(Prairie du Sac, WI) — Mike Murray and Roberta Condon Exhibit at River Arts Gallery Join us for an evening on the river! River Arts Gallery is pleased to welcome to brand new artists to the gallery, Roberta Condon and Mike Murray. Meet with the artists, see their new work, and enjoy light hors d’oeuvres provided by the gallery. It’s a can’t-miss evening! Reception: Friday, February 9, 5:30-7:30pm River Arts on Water Gallery Artist talk begins at 6pm, includes live demo…Find out more »

Feed Sack Quilt Exhibit at Iowa Quilt Museum

January 1 – April 15
Iowa Quilt Museum, 68 E Court Avenue
Winterset, IA 50273 United States + Google Map

(Winterset, IA) — Feed Sack Quilt Exhibit at Iowa Quilt Museum This may be our most ‘colorful’ exhibit to date. Not just because of the color in the quilts, but because we’re pushing the envelope of what an exhibit looks like at the Iowa Quilt Museum. This display not only includes examples of quilts made from feed sack material but also authentic feed sacks themselves and clothing, dolls, and other utility items made from feed sacks. Four quilts are hanging from…Find out more »

Native Skywatchers – Earth Sky Connections Exhibit

February 5 – February 28, 2018
Watermark Art Center, 505 Bemidji Ave
Bemidji, MN 56601 + Google Map

(Bemidji, MN) — “Native Skywatchers – Earth Sky Connections” The Northwest Indian Community Development Center & the Miikanan Gallery at Watermark Art Center present “Native Skywatchers – Earth Sky Connections”. This traveling art exhibit brings artists together to share compelling visual stories about multi-dimensional relationships to earth and sky. The Native Skywatchers Initiative weaves together art, science and culture and is at the cutting edge of defining Indigenous STEM and what it means to work…Find out more »

50th Clay, Fiber, Paper, Glass, Metal Wood

January 26 – April 7
Octagon Center for the Art
427 Douglas Ave
Ames, IA 50010 United States + Google Map

(Ames, IA) — 2018 marks the 50th annual All-Media juried exhibit at the Octagon Center for the Arts. The first Clay, Fiber, Paper, Glass, Metal, Wood opened in 1968, two years after the organization’s founding in 1966. The Octagon was founded out of the community’s desire to provide exciting art experiences for the public and professional opportunities for artists. This show the organization’s attempt to fully embody the founding vision. As a result, it has a reputation for being one of the…Find out more »

Paper is a part of the picture: contemporary paper and book arts

January 19 – February 25
Anderson Gallery at Drake University, 2505 Carpenter Ave
Des Moines, IA 50311 United States + Google Map

(Des Moines, IA) — In this day and age of digital immediacy, the allure of handmade and tactile qualities of paper continue to draw interest. This exhibition seeks to bring the use of paper to the front and center of the artwork created. Seeking works on (or of) paper that celebrate the medium of paper. Accepting paper art, artists’ books,…Find out more »

Clarey Wamhoff: The Quilted Landscape

March 10 – April 22
The Pink Llama Gallery, W62N580 Washtington Ave
Cedarburg, WI 53012 United States + Google Map
Free

(Cedarburg, WI) — This work is an exploration of color and pattern in paint and fabric. Artist Clarey Wamhoff combines her talents to create original quilts and paintings that visually compliment each other. Join us for the opening on Saturday, March 10, from 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. The show runs through April 22, 2018. Complimentary beverages and appetizers will be available. The event is free and open to the public.Find out more »

A Common Thread Exhibit at Textile Center

January 8 – March 10
Textile Center, 3000 University Ave SE
Minneapolis, MN 55414 + Google Map

(Minneapolis, MN) ─ Now in its 18th year, A Common Thread showcases the breadth and talent of Textile Center members. 120 artworks will adorn the walls of Textile Center’s galleries in an exhibition that is as diverse in technique as it is prolific in scope. Submitted from among more than 1,000 Textile Center members, fiber art techniques represented will include weaving, quilting, knitting, crochet, sewing, dyeing, felting, needlework, hand construction, polymer clay, lace making, basketry, beading, sculpture, and mixed media.…Find out more »

Miao Clothing and Jewelry from China

Now – July 1, 2018
Minneapolis Institute of Art, 2400 3rd Ave S
Minneapolis, MN 55404 United States + Google Map

(Minneapolis, MN) — One of the largest ethnic minorities in China, most Miao people live in the southern provinces of Guizhou, Hunan, and Yunnan. Like many cultures throughout Asia, Miao peoples employ textiles, clothing, and accessories to express their identity. For the Miao, elaborate festival costumes and silver adornments are the most important forms of visual art, and their embroidery and indigo-dyeing techniques are renowned. Clothing indicates the wearer’s age and marital status and marks…Find out more »

Renewing What They Gave Us: Native American Artists in Residence Exhibit

Now – April 22, 2018
Minnesota History Center, 345 W. Kellogg Blvd
St. Paul, MN 55102 United States + Google Map

View original beadwork, birch bark, and textile artworks by five contemporary American Indian artists selected for our Native American Artists-in-Residence program. Works from Jessica Gokey, Pat Kruse, Denise Lajimodiere, Gwen Westerman, and Holly Young will be exhibited alongside the MNHS collections objects that the artists studied during their residencies. Find out more »

A Homespun Life: Textiles of Old Russia

Online Exhibit
The Museum of Russian Art  5500 Stevens Ave S
Minneapolis, MN 55419 United States

This original exhibition presents over one hundred artifacts revealing the rich peasant culture of northern and central Russia in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Featured are towels, bed skirts, area rugs, and pillow covers, along with spinning tools, garments, and costumes produced by peasant spinners, weavers and dressmakers. Designs and patterns were specific to regional centers of production, such as the Vologda, Riazan and Nizhnii Novgorod regions represented in this exhibition. Find out more »