Environment is a defining factor of a person. And the community we surround ourselves with dictates what we make of our lives. The Potomac Fiber Arts Gallery artists are taking this impression of neighborhoods as the focal point of the latest exhibit from May 12 through June 14. Local artists will be presenting various fiber-based works of art inspired by the place they either grew up in, live in as adults or fell in love with somewhere in between. –Sophia Rutti
Mary Sue Joy
Neighborhood: St. Mary’s County, Maryland
Artwork: Nantucket lightship basket
Inspiration: “My inspiration has a lot to do with water. My grandfather was a waterman; he actually had a dory, and I think because of that I was drawn to the Nantucket lightship baskets. I grew up around the water, and the Nantucket lightship basket just stole my heart.”
Dianne Thomas
Neighborhood: Downtown Mall, Washington, D.C.
Artwork: Quilting, “The Jefferson”
Inspiration: “The Jefferson is my very favorite monument. From a distance, it is just such a sight—especially when the cherry blossoms are out. I have some very happy memories in the spring on the downtown mall. One of the best days of my life was when our two daughters were in town, and we walked all around and the cherry blossoms were at their absolute peak. It was a gorgeous, perfect day, and we got some wonderful photos of the blossoms and of each other. It is a very happy memory.”
Joanne Bast
Neighborhoods: Old Town Alexandria; South Central Pennsylvania
Artwork: Embroidery and stitched beadwork
Inspiration: “I am inspired by both nature and architectural edifices. I have photographed vintage architecture in Hanover and York, Pennsylvania, as well as doorways in Old Town Alexandria including shots of the harbor. The end results, my embroidered photos, are not a copy of the photographs but take on a life of their own as they progress.”
Eileen Doughty
Neighborhood: Vienna
Artwork: “Furl” and “Rhapsody Watershed”
Inspiration: “There are two parks within a block of my house. I walk through them nearly every day. I see the changes that happen over days, seasons and years. There used to be a huge old oak on the bank where the stream turned. A few months ago, the oak gave way to gravity and fell over. The oak and that spot are memorialized in my 3-D fiber sculpture, ‘Furl.’ I need not look any further than my own backyard for happiness.”
(May 2015)
