From sheep to shawl, fiber showcased as art for ‘Fabulous Fashionable Fiber’

When most people think of art they might think of paintings, sculptures or photographs.

Today “Fabulous Fashionable Fiber” will open the world of art to a new genre.

The opening reception for “Fabulous Fashionable Fiber” will be from 5:30 to 7 p.m. today in the Monroe Bank Art Gallery on East Kirkwood Avenue.
All works in the exhibit are made of animal fibers including wool, mohair, angora and alpaca.

Pam Kinnaman, creator and chair of the Indiana Fiber Producers Association, said it was her idea to bring everyone together to showcase the products done by artists who work with animal fiber.

Kinnaman said the exhibit will include a lot of handmade work including hand-spun yarn, tapestries, woven and knit fabrics, and hand-dyed fabrics and yarns.
Many of the artists raise their own animals and harvest the wool from their animals and spin their own yarn, Kinnaman said.

“This exhibit is truly from sheep to shawl,” she said.

The exhibition will be on display until May 29 , open Mondays through Fridays from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturdays from 9 to 11 a.m.

Also featured at the reception will be the process of turning raw fiber into yarn and unwashed raw fibers for people to see the beginning product.

Kinnaman, who raises her own sheep, alpaca and angora goats, will be the one demonstrating how to make yarn. Tapestry, shawls and macramés — a coarse lace or fringe made by knotting threads and cords in a geometrical pattern — will be on display.

“People will be very impressed with the kind of beautiful works that can be make out of wool,” she said.

— Jake Wright