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Saturday, June 14, 2014

My FAB village

Almost two years ago a group of fibre artists in Nova Scotia came together with the intent of meeting regularly to support one another and share experiences. The initial organizers called it a Fibre Arts Bee which we now refer to as FAB. We keep the size of the group manageable at ten to twelve members and try to meet monthly. Each of us is responsible for hosting a meeting, generally in a public facility. The meetings are loosely structured. Someone leads a demonstration or discussion and then there is food and and a show and tell. We don't have a complicated mandate but there was sufficient interest to mount a themed show within the first year and it appears that there is a second show in the offing.

In an earlier post I wrote about finding my tribe at the SAQA meeting. FAB has become my village. I feel at home there. The group is diverse but that's our strength. Every village needs grocers, farmers, teachers and at least one plumber. We have specialists in machine work and handwork, hand dyes and surface design, and abstract and representational art. Some like colour and some prefer grey (that would be me!). Some are planners and others are much more spontaneous. Over the course of the last sixteen months we have all incorporated something from the others into our work and lives. And like a village, people move away and newcomers bring added richness.

It was my turn to host the group this week. I was proud to share the great facilities at the St. Margaret's Centre. Karen Henry led us through the steps of creating new fabric by weaving together two or more fabrics. The results can be subtle or bold, simple or complex depending on our needs. Some people followed along and others did their own thing while we all chatted and laughed. After lunch we had show and tell where people discussed projects in progress or completed. Not everyone has something to show each month and that's fine. Life gets in the way.

I chose not to reveal my cats quite yet because I want the first two to be seen together. But I was able to describe and work on another project. I had asked FAB members for contributions to the first stage and several brought me what they had made. I did the final handwork on them during the meeting. The photo shows an array of what I received. I will post more details on this project and the first of several iterations in a few days. 






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