Detail, Walking Meditation by Larkin Van Horn

Whirlwinds & Whirlpools
New Work by Larkin Van Horn

May 5 - August 1, 2021

Artist Statement:  Long before it became loosely connected to eastern meditation, and massively commercialized, doodling was something nearly everyone did.  I have very clear memories of having to copy my homework “without the border decoration, Miss!”  School seemed, at times, like one long, not-terribly-exciting program to get kids to conform.  And one way they did that was by squelching our artistic impulses.  The 11th Commandment might just as well have been “Thou shalt not doodle in the margins.” 

Some things don’t change much as time goes by.  Then, as now, my doodles are small and usually involve a spiral or several, and lots of curved lines.  They are mostly abstract, though I have been known to draw a fairly reasonable dragon head when the occasion called for it.  In late 2019, I started playing with the idea of turning my doodles into fabric art.  For this, I enlisted the aid of my local photocopy shop to blow the drawings up to a reasonable size.  We settled on 300% after a couple of false starts.  After scheduling the exhibit, I set two goals:  1) have 45 pieces ready to hang, and 2) honor the experimental nature of the process by including every piece I made, even if I wasn’t too sure about them.

Though I hadn’t known it would turn out this way, working on this series helped me get through the massive life disruption of the pandemic.  Without a deadline, there would have been a whole lot more binge-watching old TV shows and re-reading murder mysteries from the 1950s.  (Don’t get me wrong.  There was still plenty of that!)  So I am grateful to the lovely folks at the Pacific Northwest Quilt and Fiber Art Museum for giving me something to work towards for the last year and a half.                                         - Larkin Van Horn

Plinko by Matt Macomber

Inspired Settings
The Art and Collection of
Matt Macomber
March 31 - July 4, 2021

The quilts in Inspired Settings are a mix of vintage and antique pieces with new works inspired by bold and graphic compositions of quilts of the past. The vintage and antique pieces are examples of unusual settings of blocks, exciting use of print and color, and other out-of-the-ordinary elements combined to create exciting quilts. The new works draw inspiration from elements of vintage and antique quilts and often incorporate found blocks or vintage fabrics. 
 
Matt Macomber is a modern quiltmaker and collector of vintage and antique quilts. His work is currently focused on studying and exploring vintage and antique quilt settings and construction techniques. As an exploration of that focus, his current works combine old and new to create modern and contemporary quilts with a vintage look. 

What If...Differences by Debra Calkins

What If
Debra Calkins

May 5 - May 30, 2021

Artist Statement: What If…is a thought provoking mixed-media fiber art exhibit that continues the long established tradition of socially expressive textiles.  Once textile banners declared that women should have the right to vote.  Today women continue the struggle for equal rights with protest quilts and knitted pink hats.
 
These art canvases extend that same expressive tradition as I imagine the possibilities for a better, more nurturing world... if only we have the courage to address the pressing social conditions around us today. 
 
Each piece in this original series offers the viewer an opportunity to actively ponder what the world could be like if each of us embraced positive change as our future path forward.
 
As an innovative, contemporary textile artist, I pose leading social commentary questions of today with selected imagery on original fabric.  From my Long Walk Home Studio on Whidbey Island, I creatively utilize traditional and modern textile techniques to explore urgent issues.
 
I hope that after viewing these 19 appliqué collages, you will be inspired to seek active solutions to these pressing concerns and become a vital creative part of the more inclusive answers that we all need to find. 
                                Debra Calkins