Common Threads

Fiber artists stage joint exhibit

A friendship forged by a shared love of textile and fiber arts has led three Western North Carolina artists to mount a joint exhibition at SUNSET RIVER MARKETPLACE in Calabash.

The upcoming show begins with an artist reception 5-7 p.m. on February 1 and concludes on March 9.

SUSAN SHARPE, SANDY ADAIR, and VASANTO will present original works including weaving, macramé, handmade paper, felted landscapes, silk scarves, felted wool hats, and much more. In addition, Sharpe and Vasanto may offer a workshop on nuno felting at the end of the show. Details will be available later on the gallery’s website.

Sharpe holds two graduate degrees in art – in art education and in fiber arts – and taught classes part time at Appalachian State University for several years and in the elementary grades of Caldwell County’s school system for twenty years before retiring in 2015.

While she has made and sold original fiber arts since undergraduate school, she has intensified her efforts since retirement. Her paper arts have been displayed at Art in Bloom Gallery in Wilmington, and her hand-loomed rugs are available at Eclipse Artisan Boutique.

Among the pieces she plans to exhibit at Sunset River are art quilts in an original series featuring vintage items and entitled Adventures of the Leopard Sisters. She will also have hand-silkscreened scarfs and felted abstract landscapes. Much of Sharpe’s work features dyes made from plants she grows near her studio.

Shortly after moving from Florida to North Carolina, Adair signed up for a weaving class at ASU taught by Sharpe. She has been creating woven masterpieces ever since. Inspired by the Blue Ridge mountain landscape surrounding her home, she creates custom weavings, off-loom weavings, and macramé. Clients often commission her to recreate the views they see from their own homes.

In addition to the many works she has produced featuring the Blue Ridge, Adair has a series devoted to a year spent living near Fort Fisher and another based upon a year spent in Hawaii. Private commissions have also included scenes in the British Virgin Islands and elsewhere.

Vasanto learned to knit as a child and soon after began spinning, dyeing, crocheting, weaving, and felting with wool. Her current efforts center on felted wool hats in a multitude of shapes and forms. In addition to selling her wares at shows and online, she offers workshops to teach others to make their own unique designs.

Her nuno felted scarves in silk and wool are made by layering color and texture. She says she often starts with a single color before trying combinations. The colors inspire and stimulate ideas, which lead to the finished product. Her recent works have included felt fabric collages in abstract, pictorials, and landscapes.

Want more WILMA? Click here to sign up for our WILMA newsletters and announcements.