Roc Day next weekend at Cape library
It is by no means a new art form, it’s just one that hasn’t caught on in the mainstream world of big-time art.
Fiber art, as it’s known, is a centuries-old craft that uses textiles such as fabric, yarn and natural and synthetic fibers. It focuses on the materials and manual labor involved in a project’s creation as part of its significance.
Fiber art has somewhat of a foothold in Lee County, and to some degree, in Charlotte County as well.
Organizations like Art Quilters Unlimited, Weavers of Char-Lee, and the Florida Tropical Weavers Guild have cultivated the craft, attracted new members and generally attempted to push the art into the limelight.
The Weavers of Char-Lee has been doing its part for the last three decades. It began in the 1970s in Punta Gorda, and quickly spread south, gaining fiber artists from Bonita Springs, Fort Myers, Naples and the Cape.
The weavers will hold its annual Roc Day Festival Saturday, Jan. 10, at the Cape Coral Library, which is dedicated to the appreciation, encouragement and preservation of fiber traditions.
The weavers sponsor this annual workshop to showcase members’ current projects, taking part in the Roc Day celebration, which is acknowledged around the globe.
“Roc Day is a traditional thing that goes on around the globe,” said weavers member and Cape resident Rose Young. “In Louisiana it’s huge, people meet from all over the state. It hasn’t been that big in Florida yet, but we’re working on it.”
Young has been working with fiber art for the better part of 30 years, utilizing a graduate degree from Tulane University in weaving to hopefully push the envelope of the art form.
The medium has languished in relative obscurity because of the overall impression fiber art gives, that it is the province of old ladies quietly sewing in an rocking chair.
“We are the step-children,” Young said of fiber art. “Many people assume quilting is a bed kind of thing, when it really depends on what you do with it. You can raise it to an art form.”
Young, a New Orleans native, spoke about “pushing” the realm of fiber art in new directions.
“We just try to enjoy what we’re doing and push it a little bit,” she said. We try and do something we haven’t done before, at least. There’s plenty happening in the scene of fabric art.”
Young is part of a one-two fiber art punch, along with partner Rickie Howie.
Recently the pair had one of their pieces, the “Mermaid’s Lair,” on display at the Cape Arts Studio as part of the studio’s “Aquarium” themed show.
“Mermaid’s Lair” might be the perfect example of pushing the fabric art envelope.
The piece combines a number of methods to make the final result, including painting and actually burning the fabric.
The duo originally tried to use the “encaustic method” – a form of hot wax painting – to affect the fabric, but eventually decided just to burn the fabric after the encaustic method proved much too difficult.
“We take commercial fabric to see how we can change it, and one way was to burn it,” Young said. “You try to find what kinds of things can be different.”
Though Roc Day isn’t celebrated until Jan. 10, the event essentially kicks off this weekend as the weavers unveils the show this Saturday.
“Connecting Threads,” the show’s official title, gives fiber art enthusiasts a week to examine the art before the actual event.
“We enjoy our fiber art and what to share. We want the general, interested public to come out and enjoy it,” Young said.
The weavers also hope to attract new members from the event. For $15 a year, new members can join the non-profit organization.
They can attend monthly meetings at Bell Tower in Fort Myers, access equipment (looms) and the collective knowledge of the 30-plus weavers themselves.
“We do have looms we can lend, or give,” Young said. “So, if you’d like to learn and don’t have a loom, we have one we can give you.”
Forms of fiber art on display at “Connecting Threads” will include handwoven and handspun items, tapestries, wearable art, home decor and other handmade works in fiber.
The “Mermaid’s Lair” will also be on display, as well as the work of Ed Kaas, a former weaver member who passed away in 2008.
Everything works toward Roc Day, as fiber artists all over the world break out their equipment and work and begin a new season of creation.
In the Cape, the weavers will be giving live demonstrations of their work, as they kick off their own new season.
“Weavers and spinners bring their work and crafts back out and work,” Young said. “Its even mentioned in the Bible.”
For more information about the Weavers of Char-Lee, visit the group’s Web site at www.geocities.com/weaversofcharlee.
For more information on the “Con-necting the Threads” show, contact Young at 540-5836.