Textiles in a Tube 4

More red today from Textiles in a Tube, at Riverworks Gallery in Greenville SC.

Sandra Rude, Aspen III, detail below

I liked the near-photographic realism of this jacquard handweaving, having always been a sucker for brilliant fall foliage.  Although the piece is small (16 x 24") it draws you deep into the forest, with mysterious depths seen behind the trees.

Mary Ruth Smith, Crossover, detail below

Perhaps you remember seeing this embroidery in my blog a few months ago.  It was shown in Form, Not Function: Quilt Art at the Carnegie, which is my local art quilt show, and I raved about it.  When I saw it among the entries for Textiles in a Tube, I had a brief ethical argument with myself about whether it was kosher for me to accept a piece that I had seen and admired so recently, and of which of course I remembered who the artist was.

Had there been multiple jurors, I might have sat back and kept my mouth shut, leaving others to accept or reject, but it's silly to recuse yourself if you're the only one there.  And I didn't think it would be fair to reject a piece on the grounds that I knew it was great.

So here it is again -- a beautiful stitched piece, almost translucent, delicate up close but with a strong overlying figure that appears when you step back. The thread is fine and the stitches are myriad, their intricate patterns giving the effect of patchwork with printed fabrics.

Deborah Levine, It's Never Black and White, detail below

This triptych is made up of three monotypes on recycled fabric, overstitched with the thread taken from the fabric's previous life.  I admit it, it was the detail shot that got this piece into the show.  I love the way that previously sewed thread holds the snarls and kinks from its first use, and the delicate curved lines of the black thread complement the angular red shapes.