Connections, a textile exhibit and sale featuring locally made hats, scarves, wraps, cowls, mittens, bags and other fashion accessories, as well as local yarn, runs through Oct. 31st at the Asheville Area Arts Council Gallery.
An opening reception for Connections is scheduled 5pm – 8pm, Oct. 2 at the AAAC. A closing celebration, from 5pm – 8pm Oct. 30, will include ongoing fiber art demonstrations.
The exhibit, produced by Local Cloth Inc., in conjunction with the AAAC, showcases the results of partnerships between local fiber farmers and fiber artists, with all work incorporating some locally raised components — animal or plant fibers or dyestuffs.
“People in our region are passionate about finding local food to put in their bodies. We want them to start thinking about finding local sources for what they put on their bodies — where those fibers were raised and processed, where the cloth was woven or knitted, and where the clothing they wear and home textiles they touch every day were made,” says Judi Jetson, chairman and CEO of Local Cloth.
The show includes educational displays illustrating the farmer/artist partnerships that produced the exhibit items and explaining the benefits of sourcing more textiles locally. In addition, a special Iconic Asheville Hat exhibit will invite visitors to comment on their favorite designs. Every Saturday during the exhibit, fiber art demonstrations and lectures are planned both at the gallery and at Asheville Home Crafts, also located in The Grove Arcade. A fleece-to-shawl demonstration Oct. 24 will include spinners, weavers and fiber from local farmers, all contributing to production of actual local cloth.
Connections is timed to coincide with several regional craft and fiber art celebrations during October. It is a featured event for American Craft Week in Western North Carolina, Oct. 2 – 11, 2015. In addition, national Spinning & Weaving Week is Oct. 5 – 11, the Craft Fair of the Southern Highlands is Oct. 15 – 18 at the US Cellular Center in downtown Asheville, and the Southeastern Animal Fiber Fair is Oct. 30 – Nov. 1 at the WNC Agricultural Center in Fletcher, NC.