FANfare Blog

For Wells, sketchbooks are a “record of curiosity.” They act as maps of creativity, containing clues and signposts to her own artistic preferences. Looking back through her books has become a kind of treasure hunt. She finds herself pulling techniques, colors, or compositional ideas from different pages and combining them into something entirely new, informed by the past but alive in the present.
Three exhibitions—ARTwear at Visions Museum of Textile Art, Fabulous Fiber at Oceanside Museum of Art, and West Coast Textile Arts at Escondido Arts Partnership Gallery—are bringing textiles front and center.
This month’s Out and About takes us to the Pacific Northwest, where a group of artists, calling themselves CLUSTER, has been quietly (and joyfully) shaping a model of creative collaboration.
Multi-award-winning textile artist Sandra Junele works out of her studio in Dundee, Scotland, where she turns discarded fibers into minimalist wall panels and installations. With a background in interior and textile design, she developed her own plant-based binder that enables her to transform recycled textile waste into sculptural forms.
Contemporary tapestry, like the questions it responds to, is not easily contained. Though the form traces its lineage back to the medieval walls of Europe, to Andean Mountain looms and nomadic kilims, here it is firmly rooted in the present.
“India captured my heart long before I ever set foot on its soil. People often assumed I had already been there, perhaps sensing the quiet love affair woven into my home, where vibrant shades of deep turquoise, lilac, fiery red, and sun-kissed orange breathe life into every corner."
“When each student brings their own meaning into a vessel and then shares it with the group,” the artists explained, “it affects everyone. It’s no longer just about technique—it’s about witnessing each other’s transformation.”
In 2004, artist Liz Alpert Fay created a portrait of Ruth Spring—a 92-year-old naturalist, organic gardener, and painter who had deeply inspired her. At the time, she didn’t realize this one portrait would spark a project spanning two decades.
With its unwavering commitment to contemporary craft, support for both emerging and established artists, and a vibrant lineup of artist talks and First Friday events, Gravers Lane Gallery isn’t just about curating exhibitions—it’s about cultivating community.
Ruth Asawa’s work has been exhibited widely in San Francisco and New York since the late 1960s. She also had a mid-career survey at SFMOMA in 1973. She was known for unique and creative suspended sculptural works that made use of fiber techniques and fibrous materials in new and surprising ways that expanded the field of sculpture. Her works were created entirely by hand from metal wire, usually brass or copper, that she used like thread.
Their special feature, published in the spring issue, highlights influential craft magazines around the world—each selected for their dedication to innovation, artistic excellence, and community building. We’re proud to be included alongside titles like Metalsmith, Embroidery, and American Woodturner.
In recent years, the fibers program has blossomed, especially around weaving. What started with just two looms and a shared dream quickly became a full-blown weaving program. When artist and weaver Jamie Boyle returned to Pittsburgh from New York City and joined Contemporary Craft as an artist-in-residence, she found a budding community and space to grow. She and program director Allison Jones imagined offering classes and within four months, with an outpouring of donated looms and tools, that vision became a reality.

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