PODCAST:

“Faces Around Us” a quilt exhibition from the Fiber and Stitch Art Collective opens with a First Friday reception in the Create Gallery at In Bio from five to 7pm.

TRANSCRIPT:

Ella Powell:

The Create Gallery at In Bio presents Faces Around Us, an exhibition featuring the provocative quilts of the Fiber and Stitch Art Collective of Central Virginia artists. For Arts This Week, we spoke to Liz Schneiders and Anne Robertson from the collective.

Liz Schneiders:

My name is Liz Schneiders. I’ve been a fiber artist and art quilter for about 25 years, and our group, the Fiber and Stitch Art Collective, next year will be 10 years that we’ve been here at Charlottesville.

Ann Robertson:

I’m Ann Robertson. I’m the secretary, and Liz is the historian.

Liz Schneiders:

Historian, yes.

Ann Robertson:

Our president is Mariah K Duryea.

Ella Powell:

So what gravitates you all to the art form of quilting?

Liz Schneiders:

That’s a great question. I mean, for me, personally, the fun challenge of having an idea in your head and trying to express that in fabric, I think, is what makes art quilting exciting. I  mean, even if I were working off of a kit, I was always the kind of person who had to alter it  in some way just to make it mine. And what I love about art quilting is that there really are no rules. It’s just anything you want, any kind of materials you want, or embellishments.  And then just to try to take that idea in my head and put it into fabric, it’s a fun challenge, very rewarding.

Ann Robertson:

The same thing goes for me. But I’d also like to mention that in these difficult political  times, I find that creating something beautiful is very meaningful to me, and I know all the other quilters feel the same way. Just to create beauty means a lot to us and helps us live our lives in a happy way.

Ella Powell:

So this upcoming exhibition that you have at the In Bio gallery and Create Studio, is there a theme associated with it?

Ann Robertson:

The theme is faces and anything goes. Any face that you can think of. It might be a  photograph, it might be a child, dog. One of them has a face that she saw in a tree. All kinds of faces imaginative and realistic. The variety in our group is amazing. And when we first started, you know, the quilts were okay, but not exciting after 10 years, everyone has learned so much and gotten so good that it’s exciting to see their progress.

Ella Powell:

So over these 10 years that you all have been a group, has it been consistent with a lot of the same quilters, or have you all had a lot of new faces appear over the years?

Liz Schneiders:

I think it’s been a mixture. We have a number of people who have been with our group since the start, but I’d say over the course of nine or 10 years, we’ve definitely brought in a number of new members. Currently, we’re at 27 members, I believe yes, and we even draw some people who are coming from the Richmond area, so they’re coming and making that trek once a month for our regular monthly meetings. And it’s great because every person who comes to join the group brings their own perspective, and it’s always exciting to see what our new members bring to the collective.

Ann Robertson:

Most of our members come from Charlottesville area, but some from as far as Ruckersville, Farmville, Augusta County, and the Richmond people.

Ella Powell:

And could you share some details about how people can access this show and how long it’ll be on display for?

Liz Schneiders:

So the show at In Bio is going to be on exhibit from May 1 through June 30. It’s in the in bio building, which, if you’ve ever done any of the first Friday art walks, they’re actually next to City Clay out on 700 Harris Street.

Ann Robertson:

The other thing about the Create Gallery is that it’s always open from nine to five, Monday through Friday, business hours, so not really on the weekends.

Liz Schneiders:

Even though they are a business, Maddie and the team at In Bio, they’ve done a great job of supporting our work over the years. Our very first show is actually done at In Bio, and they just do a great job of providing us a fabulous space in which to show our work.

Ella Powell:

Is there anything special happening on the first Friday opening? Will a lot of the artists be present?

Liz Schneiders:

I think it’s always fun just to hear from people who come to the shows. I think a lot of people are surprised if they have this idea in their head of art quilts as being like a traditional patchwork quilt that you’d put on a bed. And it’s always kind of a shock then to go to these shows and find that a lot of this work is very abstract or contemporary. Yeah. I mean, they truly are works of art. And I think one of the fun things about these receptions is just how. Having those conversations with the people who come to see our work and give them the opportunity to also learn more about the inspiration behind our pieces.

Ella Powell:

What shows do you think have sparked some of the most interesting conversations?

Ann Robertson:

One of our early ones was called Rock, Pebble and Stone, and it was at the Virginia Quilt Museum. It was at the Mid-Atlantic Quilt Festival. It went to the Houston Quilt Festival, and it’s been all around and it had very positive reactions. Varied subject matter, because, of course, rock, pebble and stone, you could be anything, right? Oh, another really favorite one was the Georgia O’Keeffe. The Georgia O’Keeffe show was also at UVA, at the Commerce building. It was a couple of years ago, and we have an upcoming one in 2027 also at the Commerce Building at UVA.

Liz Schneiders:

We’ve done several shows where we’ve been inspired by famous artists, Van Gogh, Gauguin, Georgia O’Keefe, and it’s always amazing how we might be starting from the same point, and yet people come up with so many different ways of interpreting.

Ella Powell:

Yeah, and I guess your 10 year anniversary is coming up. Yes. Do you all plan on celebrating?

Liz Schneiders:

That just occurred to me, as I was sort of looking through our notes as far as our history, and I was going, Oh my gosh. We started in 2017 we should do something.

Ann Robertson:

Yeah, when our group first started, it was started by Jane Fellows, who seemed to know everybody in Charlottesville, and she arranged the first shows, and she got together by word of mouth, a bunch of people interested in fiber arts, and started the group. Unfortunately, in 2023 she died early. We met the next weekend, and we decided that we loved the group and we wanted to continue it. And so we reorganized, and we have grown ever since then.

Liz Schneiders:

Yeah, I mean, I think that was one of the things that we knew at that point. We loved what we did so much that we really just wanted to honor her legacy by moving forward. She was such a fearless person. She was always trying new techniques, always trying new ideas, always trying to get her work out there. And she was a real inspiration to a number of us within the group, and then we all inspired each other. And I think that if she could look back now and see what all we’ve accomplished since then, I’m sure she’d be happy.

Ella Powell:

Yeah, no, that’s really important that y’all have continued her legacy as well. Yeah, is there anything in particular that you’d like to share about either this show or just about the fiber arts collective in general?

Ann Robertson:

I think I would say that at our meetings, we do a show and tell which is an artist critique, and we talk about techniques and give suggestions other than the show and tell sometimes we have a program, and we talk about art design, how to make your quilt more active, and how to do certain techniques for new people, we try to encourage the new people.

Ella Powell:

So what is the learning curve like for new people who join the group? Like, do you see beginners trying to join?

Ann Robertson:

Usually people have experience in sewing? Yeah, and very often they are quilters, but not always. Sometimes they have to up their sewing machine skills to get better, and they do, and other times, they just by seeing what all of us do, they change the composition of their quilts to be more professional and that’s nice to see. Very exciting to see the variety and the expertise that they begin to show.

Liz Schneiders:

And if I were to say something, if you have listeners out there who have never been to a fiber arts or art quilt show, I highly recommend you go photographs. Never do this work justice. I even when we see stuff in our own gatherings, we’re always shocked by how gorgeous these pieces are when you see them up close and in person. I mean, there’s something about fabric, the fact that it’s not paint or a photograph, the texture and the and the details are just so fascinating to look at up close that, you know, I really encourage those who haven’t come to take a look at this show, just to see what a really neat medium it is in which to work.

Ella Powell:

On Friday, May 1, Faces Around Us a quilt exhibition from the Fiber and Stitch Art Collective opens with a First Friday reception in the Create Gallery at In Bio from 5 to 7pm. The show will be up through June 30, and the gallery is open to visitors within business hours Monday through Friday. Arts this week is supported by the UVA Arts Council in Piedmont, Virginia Community College. PVCC Arts presents a rich array of dance music, theater and visual arts programming. Learn more pvcc.edu for WTJU. I’m Ella Powell.