Woven Wonders

Fiber, baskets, bark, metallic threads and more take form at Grounds For Sculpture’s Toad Hall.

By: Megan Sullivan
   Within Nancy Kay Anderson’s carefully woven art forms live strength, human spirit and hope. Through these works, the Lambertville resident explores gestures, symbols of religions, birth and death. Inner bark of conifer trees, waxed linen, wool, willow and silk transform from natural fibers into sculptural expressions.
   Nine of Ms. Anderson’s woven artworks will be on view during the exhibit The Woven Image at Grounds For Sculpture’s Toad Hall Shop & Gallery through Dec. 31. Works by fiber artist Karen Henderson and basket artist Debora Muhl will also be on view during the exhibit, organized by Operations Manager Gina Totaro.
   Ms. Henderson, whose work was recently exhibited during the 30th Annual Philadelphia Museum of the Arts Craft Show, is the department head of the fibers studios at Peters Valley Craft Center in Layton. She creates wall pieces inspired by natural landscapes, incorporating batik, shibori and stitching techniques.
   "In my work, I am interested in the connections between self, place and emotion," Ms. Henderson writes in her artist’s statement. "Seasons, atmospheres or the time of day intrigue me. I try to recreate these natural occurrences, evoking emotions that I associate with them through the use of color and line."
   Spinnerstown, Pa., resident Ms. Muhl is a self-taught basket artist who uses the technique of coiling, in which coils of sweet grass are sewn together with waxed linens of artificial sinew. Her materials of choice are sweet grasses native to Maine, which are gathered, combed and sorted by Native Americans.
   "Music was my first passion," she writes. "It gave me a vehicle for expressing deep feelings, and it taught me the necessity of bringing discipline and clarity of vision to my work. Sculptural coiling allows me to create a kind of visual metaphor for the music of my life."
   Ms. Anderson doesn’t decide beforehand what image her fiber sculptures will form — they evolve through the creative process. She cites her piece "From the Inside Out" as an example, which took on what she sees as an armadillo shape. Through use of basswood and inner white pine bark, a protective shell encases the curious creature. "That animal-like form birthed itself," says Ms. Anderson. "Sometimes I’m very surprised to see what comes out."
   Thoughts and ideas still churn through her head, however, sometimes for a period of years. "When I find materials, it’s in the preparation of the material that the piece begins to evolve, even though I’m not aware of it at the time," she says. The prep work of materials like pine bark, she says, is an arduous task and involves the removal of sap, dividing layers, cleaning and drying.
   Aside from natural fibers, Ms. Anderson incorporates metallic threads into her weavings for warmth and color. "I love working with linen and metallic threads and the color of metals and copper and bronze and gold," she says, citing the Spinnery in Frenchtown as one of her favorite stores to purchase materials.
   In addition to traditional basketry techniques, Ms. Anderson also employs those similar to sewing or knitting. In some pieces, such as "The Grail King," it’s almost impossible to fathom how to design such intricately woven fibers. Ms. Anderson says making this particular piece, using basswood bark, metallic threads, wool, linen, inner white pine bark, gold white paint and lazure stain, took the most time out of all her weavings in the last 20 years.
   "Painting is the last part of the process and usually one of the most enjoyable because I know I’m almost finished," she says, laughing. "Some take a number of months to complete just one piece."
   Since her art takes a lengthy chunk of time to make, Ms. Anderson occasionally has to put a piece aside and pick it back up months later. Working around her teaching schedule at the Waldorf School of Princeton (in bio-dynamic gardening), as well as consultant work creating sustainable environments on clients’ properties, she begins weaving in late fall and through winter.
   "If I wasn’t to finish it in season and pick it back up in May or June, I feel as though I’m in a different place and the idea behind the piece has changed," Ms. Anderson says. "With each one, there’s an evolution that happens and I’m not the same person I was at the beginning of the piece. I approach it completely different if I have to suspend weaving time."
   Ms. Anderson’s interest in fiber art didn’t develop until years after college, where she studied music composition (at the University of New Mexico and the University of Albuquerque). After her daughter entered first grade, Ms. Anderson decided to go back to school and take part-time basket weaving classes at Parson’s School of Design in New York. "I fell in love with working with my hands in that way," she recalls, "but I never wanted to create anything functional."
   Upon the suggestion of her teacher, Ms. Anderson applied to Haystack Mountain School of Crafts in Maine and was awarded two consecutive scholarships. Her studies included learning bark basketry from Dorothy Gill Barnes. "She’s the one that introduced me to the bark of the spruce tree in Maine," Ms. Anderson says. "We went into the forest and felled a few small trees and she showed me how to cut bark from the tree and separate the inner from outer bark and that’s how it took."
   After her schooling, Ms. Anderson applied the strong foundation taught by Ms. Gill Barnes and continued learning on her own. "From there," she says, "I practiced and practiced until my body had a memory of the techniques."
The Woven Image is on view at Ground For Sculpture’s Toad Hall Shop & Gallery,
14 Fairgrounds Road, Hamilton, through Dec. 31. Hours: Tues.-Sun. 11:30 a.m.-6
p.m. For information, call (609) 586-2366. Grounds For Sculpture on the Web: www.groundsforsculpture.org