Maine Fiberarts Explores Textile History

Threads of History exhibit

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Reception/Meet the Artists: Sunday, July 23, 1:30-4 p.m.

Topsham — “Threads of History: Exploring Maine’s Textile Past” is the theme of programming taking place in and around Brunswick and Topsham during July and August. Events are sponsored by arts nonprofit Maine Fiberarts and include an exhibition, a history walk, a tour of Maine Woolens, illustrated lectures about textile mill history and Maine’s silk industry, and a log cabin quilting workshop held at Maine Fiberarts. 

The exhibition at Maine Fiberarts, “Threads of History: A Contemporary Take” features work by 16 Maine artists, and is on view May 9 through September 1. A Reception/Meet the Artists takes place Sunday, July 23, from 1:30-4 p.m. which is free and open to the public.

This exhibition features work by a diverse group of artists referencing Maine textile history. The collection of work within “Threads of History” ranges from woven portraits using photo transfers, to garments and wall pieces made of paper, cloth and bark fiber. Items of clothing include bonnets made of paper, shoes formed from gold wire, and a coat assembled from picture postcards. Hooked rugs, woven photographs, handmade paper assemblages, and a canvas floor cloth are all shown. As one example, artist Jill Snyder Wallace calls her piece “Lost Industry,” “an ode to the demise of the textile, shoe and wood turning industries of Maine.”

Artists’ books on display include an elaborate beaded storybook boa entitled “Ornithology” by Nan Heldenbrand Morrissette and a journal made of kozo fiber made by Richard Lee depicting a “Trip through New Hampshire Sheep and Wool.”

On display are also artifacts of the textile industries of the past, including sewing supplies, beaded purses, textile tools, and items of clothing. 

Art and artifacts were created by: Chris Antonak, Brunswick; Elizabeth Berkana, Portland; Kate Brinsmade, Bowdoinham; Barbara Burns, Harpswell; Crystal Cawley, Portland; Janet Conner, Hiram; Stephanie Crossman, Vinalhaven; Henry D’Alessandris, Brunswick; Richard Lee, posthumously; Roslyn Logsdon, New Harbor; Arlene Morris, Brunswick; Nan Heldenbrand Morrissette, Falmouth; Gail Skudera, Lewiston; Barbara Taylor, Brunswick; Jill Snyder Wallace, Minot; and Donald Talbot, Lisbon Falls.

In addition to the exhibition and Reception on July 23, other programming includes:

• A Log Cabin Quilting Workshop, with artist Stephanie Levy, July 22, from 10-4 at Maine Fiberarts
  
  
• A Walk Through Brunswick Textile History with historian Candace Kanes, July 27, 5:30-6:30 p.m. (start at the clock in front of the Tontine Mall) (rain date, Saturday, July 29 from 10-11 a.m.);

• A Tour of Maine Woolens, a Brunswick weaving mill, with president Raymond Boschold, Wednesday, August 9, from 10:30-11:30 a.m.;

• An Illustrated Lecture on Historic Textile Mills in Brunswick and Topsham, with architectural historian Scott Hanson at Topsham Public Library, Wednesday, August 16, 6-7:30 p.m., and
• an illustrated talk on “Maine’s Silk Industry: Famous from Coast to Coast,”
  offered by Jacqueline Field, August 30, 6-7:30 p.m. at Curtis Memorial Library, Brunswick.

Details about programming locations and fees can be found at www.mainefiberarts.org under “Current Exhibition.”

“Threads of History” was made possible with funding from the Maine Humanities Council, the Alfred M. Senter Fund, the Davis Family Foundation, and Maine Fiberarts’ members and friends. For more information, please contact: Maine Fiberarts, 13 Main Street, Topsham; 207-721-0678; www.mainefiberarts.org. Gallery hours: Wednesday-Friday, 11-4; Saturday, 11-2.

FMI contact: Christine Macchi, Executive Director

Maine Fiberarts

Phone: 207-721-0678

christine@mainefiberarts.org; www.mainefiberarts.org