Creating art is often a solitary activity, but for seven fiber artists, cooperation is the well that they dip into for inspiration.
CHRIS KELLY staff Ebba Osborne and Pamela Burke, members of a group of fiber artists, hang pieces that are included in Fiber, Form and Function II, an exhibit of works by group members at the Monmouth Beach Cultural Center. For the past six years they have been working together at the Art Alliance in Red Bank every Thursday afternoon, each bringing their own vision, skills and materials to share with the group.
Beverly Hertler, a Red Bank resident and member of the group, said of their collaboration, “It is good for the spirit, good for the soul and good for creativity. We are all fiber artists but there is no competition. We exchange ideas and fabrics.”
Theresa Caracappa another member of the group, makes dolls out of sweater material.
“My doll called “Camilla’s Wing,” was made from an old sweater that Beverly had hand knit. When it shrunk in the wash she gave it to me.”
That is the kind of generous sharing that goes on with the group that is made up of Hertler, Caracappa, Pamela Burke, Nancy McCarron-Lubisco, Ebba Osborne, Sandra Rinehimer Roberts and Deborah Tiryung Sidwell.
“Camilla’s Wings” by Theresa Caracappa Together, the group of artists are exhibiting in a group show titled “Fiber, Form and Function II,” which opened Saturday at the Monmouth Beach Cultural Center and will run through Nov. 17.
The exhibit is interesting, exciting and fun. The output of the artists is copious, so every wall, table and exhibition case in two ample rooms contains colorful, original and fanciful works made of fabric and weavings that have been quilted, painted and stamped replete with adornments that run the gamut from glass beads and wire to wool and paper.
Caracappa, Rumson, also uses polymer clay in her hand-knitted pieces.
“I began as a knitwear artist, and slowly over the years have continually added to my archive of material, always creating. While working in this field, I discovered the wonderful versatility and range of polymer clays and have begun crafting this recent body of work, which combines my love of fiber, polymer clay, paint and beads.
“Leaving Home” by Pamela Burke Sidwell is an award-winning, mixed-media fiber artist who lived all over the United States before she moved to Eatontown.
“My paternal grandmother taught me basic embroidery techniques at the age of 6,” she said, “which sparked a love for embroidery and textiles.” She explained that she learned Korean silk embroidery while living in Korea, quilt making in Kansas, and during the years she lived in Arizona, she melded her passions together to create her unique style of fabric art.
Hertler has exhibited nationally in juried fine art, fine crafts and quilt shows. She also won the Rosen Award for “Fiber Piece/Quilted” at the Buyers Market for American Crafts in Philadelphia and had a onewoman show at “The Quilt Fest of N.J.” In addition, her work has appeared in “Fiber Arts – Profile” and an example of her work is shown in a book by Lynn Kough, “Stretching Tradition, New Images for Traditional Quilts.”
“Self Portrait with Dots” by Deborah Tiryung Sidwell Burke, Middletown, is a creativity coach, fiber artist and writer. Her fiber art has been featured in international and local museum and gallery shows.
“My collage designs are simple and playful, piecing together bits of this and that with free-motion stitching techniques to tell a story. [There are] many unbound edges in my work. I attempt to represent the good life as I see it: untidy, unfinished, unusual.” Roberts is a Middletown resident who has a B.F.A. in textile design from Moore College of Art and Design in Philadelphia. She has shown her collage and mixedmedia work in various places such as The Art Alliance, Rebecca’s Reel Quilt Guild in Middletown and Brookdale Community College’s Center for the Visual Arts in Lincroft.
“The collage process gives me the freedom to work spontaneously and carry an idea through to completion in a short amount of time. The fiber and mixed-media work take more time but allow for richness, texture and detail that no other medium can provide for me,” she said.
“Untitled” by Beverly Hertler Osborne, Neptune, likes to spend time hiking and exploring the wilderness of the American Southwest where she always carries a camera to capture the grandeur of nature. She said she enjoys making small weavings with various materials including wire. And Nancy McCarron- Lubesco said she is always involved in some kind of creative endeavor.
She grew up on a farm here in Monmouth County, and because of the isolation of the farming life she learned to entertain herself. She has studied at the School of Visual Arts and the Fashion Institute of Technology, both in New York.
McCarron-Lubesco, Ocean Township, has worked in a variety of commercial art fields, but after the birth of her daughter, she began to work from home, where she developed a line of patterns for quilters and also taught design, embroidery and quilting.
“My work today features fiber pieces with embroidery and photographic images mixed together. I am also working with the new precious metal clays to produce one-of-a-kind jewelry.
These fiber artists are generous and open-minded with each other, and within their work. It’s a show with something for everyone.
The Monmouth Beach Cultural Center at 128 Ocean Avenue is open Wednesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and can be reached at (732) 229- 4527.