Fiber in the Mountains Show Celebrates Creativity & Tradition

Western North Carolina Fibers & Hand Weavers Guild brings together artists from Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee to celebrate and further educate people in traditional textile arts. In years past the guild had offered an annual local show and now under their new president Gail Griffith, also the chair of the steering committee for Tryon Arts and Crafts, they have decided to revive the show at the new TAC space at Harmon Field. The show will feature the work of over 50 members of the WNC Fiber/Hand Weavers Guild and TAC in the wonderful new facility at Harmon Field. It’s an eclectic show of all fiber arts from spinning to hand weaving, featuring work in silk, wool, baskets, linen, chair caning, bamboo, and yarn. This will be the first opening of a gallery show at the new TAC Center since their move into the former Tryon Middle School building at Harmon Field.

I sat down with Suzanne Monroe, Nancy Crabtree, and Ann Mullican as they were beginning to set up the show and decide how to best display the wide variety of pieces. It's a tricky show to display because of the diversity of the items. The show includes a beautiful array of hand dyed and spun yarn as well as items woven with an assortment of different materials. Wandering through the show you will find decorative work such as tapestries, sculptures, and wall hangings in addition to functional items such as clothing, scarves, placemats, towels, rugs, chairs, and even a liturgical piece.


The show also features new uses for the old arts. Take for instance Ann Mullican’s piece “Unwavering Glory.” Using pearl cotton, sewing threads, beads, and metallic yarns she has woven Inkle bands into an American flag with beads that each represent one of the people who perished during 9/11. The detail work of this framed piece is simply stunning.


According to Ann, the Inkle loom is the oldest form of weaving represented in the show. The loom dates back 20,000 years to Egypt and Africa. The narrow bands woven on the loom have been used as girths for saddles, belts, shoelaces, and tie-downs for tents. The ties are quite sturdy and have many other uses, but also work for making decorative items. It is believed that the biblical coat of many colors given to Joseph was made from Inkle loom straps. The bands were woven from a variety of natural fibers to create many strips of different colors and then the woven pieces were tied together to create the coat. The Inkle loom is also used for making Kente cloth. Ann says that she is a fan of this loom’s portability. It has been with her on car trips, to swim meets, and even traveled with her on vacation.


Branching out further from it’s traditional use, Lori Kemp weaves wool yarn into strips on the Inkle loom that are used to create 3-D sculpture pieces with polymer clay, wood, wire, and polyester stuffing. Lori is a retired art teacher from Michigan whose delightful peacock lady titled “Struttin’ My Stuff” is one of the most whimsical pieces featured in the show.


The more sophisticated, and less portable looms used for weaving have been created in the last 500 years. About 45 years ago Ms. Cate and Ms. Hall decided they wanted to teach some girls in Polk County the art of weaving on these looms and since then TAC has continued offering classes in weaving. Cate-Hall Weaver’s Fiber Arts Studio at TAC continues a tradition of classes on Tuesdays. Weaver Jeanette White’s generous bequest to TAC helped to foster the programs such as Cate-Hall Weavers and move TAC into the space at Harmon Field.

This non-juried show is hopefully the first of what will become an annual event open to textile artists of all levels. WNC Fiber/Hand Weavers Guild also sponsors the juried biennial International Blue Ridge Hand Weaving show in Asheville.

The reception and opening for the Fiber in the Mountains show will be Saturday October 6th from 2pm-5pm in the central area of Tryon Arts & Crafts Center at 373 Harmon Field Road. Many of the items in the show can be purchased through the gift shop at TAC. The show runs through November 3rd, for more information call 828-859-8323. Normal operating hours are Monday-Friday 9am-5pm and Saturday from 9am-1pm. Demonstrations by weavers in the show can also be seen during the Harmon Field 80th birthday celebration October 13th 9am-5pm and 14th 1-5pm, and at the dedication for the new Blacksmith studio at TAC on November 10th from 11am-4pm.