2013 Recycling Challenge

The results of the fourth annual Riverbend Fiber Arts Guild Challenge were displayed at the November guild meeting. With the theme of "Recycle, Reuse and Repurpose," five clever and crafty guild members repurposed, recycled and created their entries from various discarded items that might otherwise have been destined for the trash bin.

A Challenge requirement was that entries were comprised of at least 80% recycled materials. Photos of these materials—in their original state—were shown alongside the final reincarnations. Through a vote by those in attendance, ribbons were awarded in two categories, "Wearable or Accessory" and "Household Item" along with a Viewer's Choice award.

"Kiss the Cook" apron made from a ink-stained man's shirt.
Ribbon winner in the Wearable/Accessory category.

Left: a dog jacket made from a pair of long leather gloves. Viewer's Choice ribbon.
Right: vase made from old license plate and computer components.
Ribbon winner in the Household Item category.

Old blue jeans and embellished scarf were converted into a purse. 

Painted and embellished dryer sheets made into a prayer flag.

The first annual Riverbend Fiber Arts Guild Challenge event was held in 2010 with a wearable art exhibit entitled, "The Power of the Pocket." Several of these textile art garments went on to a special exhibit in Tennessee Presents Textiles, a regional fiber arts runway show.

That premiere event was followed by the "Fiber and Caffeine get me going..." Guild Challenge in 2011 with an exhibit of fiber art tote bags inspired by a favorite coffee mug.

The 2012 Challenge, "Animal, Vegetable or Mineral?" was an exhibit of 3-dimensional fiber art pieces inspired by something in nature.

Guild Challenge 2012, fiber art exhibit

Have you ever played, "Animal, Vegetable or Mineral?" The 2012 Guild Challenge for members of the Riverbend Fiber Arts Guild was a take-off on this much-loved guessing game, and the exhibit of Challenge entries was held at the November 3 guild meeting.

Ann Buggey describes the process
and materials used in her entry.

The requirements of the Challenge were to create a free standing, three-dimensional representation of something from nature. Materials used in the piece had to include something from each category—animal, vegetable and mineral—and a photo of the object that inspired the piece was to accompany the entry.

Guild members met the challenge with creative representations of their subjects. At the exhibit, the fiber artists discussed the construction processes and fiber art techniques they employed, and the materials used in their entry that fulfilled the Challenge requirements.

Here are the artists' statements:

Storm Tree by Ann Buggey

"Storm Tree" is made of wool roving, silk ribbon, and copper wire. It sits on a wooden base. The piece was inspired by a gnarled tree growing through a sidewalk in Memphis. No matter how often the tree was trimmed, it grew back more resilient. Its imperfections and the ravages of time and storms, became integral to its beauty.

Storm Tree: wool roving, silk ribbon, copper wire, wooden base.

"Farmer Joe" is a caricature of my older son, Joseph, who has a farm outside of Sewanee, Tennessee. The clothing, hair, etc. is in the style of his dress. He has eggs in one hand and a flower in the other. The armature is wire, he is seated on a piece of wood and the rest is needle felted roving.

Farmer Joe by Peggy Solomon

I like the idea of felting wool, but my hands no longer tolerate wet felting, so I have begun some work with needle felting.

Farmer Joe: needle felting with wool, wire armature, wood base.

"Lady Box Turtle" was inspired by my love for turtles and learning that my Cherokee ancestors were members of the Turtle Tribe. I have been wanting to learn how to sculpt paper clay, so I took this opportunity to try it. This was a fun challenge. 

Lady Box Turtle by Judy Anderson

A covered plastic egg was lined with antique silk. Hand dyed wool was felted for the turtle belly; hand made and dyed silk paper was embroidered with hand dyed silk thread (plates on back). Sculpted paper hands, feet and face; beaded ruffle, necklace and bracelet; crocheted hat.

Lady Box Turtle: plastic egg base, sculpted paper clay, wool, silk paper, beads.
Hand embroidered, felted, beaded and crocheted.

Lady Box Turtle: detail of beaded ruffle, paper sculpted feet and hands.

A ribbon for First Place, two Second Places and Viewers' Choice were awarded. Congratulations to the Challenge participants on their entries.

First Place: Judy Anderson

Second Place: Peggy Solomon

Second Place and Viewers' Choice: Ann Buggey

In appreciation for coordinating this year's Challenge, Pat Keran was presented with the book, "Knit Your Own Dog."

Left: Pat Keran shows the poodle page from the "Knit Your Own Dog" book.
Right: gift wrapping of the Thank You book.

Brainstorming for future programs

The October guild meeting of the Riverbend Fiber Arts Guild was filled with textile examples that stimulated and inspired ideas and suggestions for the upcoming year.

About three years ago, the guild began scheduling time during one of the guild meetings—usually a meeting near the end of the year— to hold an open brainstorming session for all guild members to share their "wish list" or "bucket list" of topics for future programs and workshops.

"This is your guild and we need [everyone's] input," said Guild President, Pat Keran, about generating ideas for programs and workshops for the upcoming 2013 year. "There are no right or wrong ideas in a brainstorming session," said Veronica Hofman-Ortega, who facilitated the session. "Oftentimes, someone else's suggestion will prompt an idea in your mind—something you might not have thought of on your own," she added. "It's all about generating ideas." A whiteboard, set up for capturing suggestions on-the-fly, was filled with over 25 topics by the end of the session. A few more topics were even added after Show and Tell.

Show and Tell provided additional inspiration.

Left: Vicki's woven paper basket with embellishment.
Right: Holly shows her mug wrap, knit in moss stitch. She used a pattern from
the book she won as a door prize at the 2011 Challenge presentation.

This shawl, woven on a triangle loom, will be over dyed in a walnut dye bath.

Triangle loom shawl (left) with edging detail.

A study in weaving huck lace patterns.

A first-time weaver relays her experience with a practice sampler.

Left: A woven scarf using spacers.
Right: A mola sewn to a plain T-shirt makes it quite unique.

Left: Faux batik with crayons. Right: Lace knitting a "Pi" shawl.

Woven scarves: what a difference a technique makes!

Crocheted scarves using interesting trims.

The outcome of this meeting's productive brainstorming session will provide a basis for future guild programs. Summaries and photos of previous year's programs can be found in the Archives: See what we've been doing! section of this web site. You might also enjoy recaps of our Wearable Art Challenge and Fiber Art Tote Bag Challenge. Items that appear at the guild Show and Tell are often the result of a guild program that inspired someone to further study or experiment with a technique or concept. 

Take a look at what the Riverbend Fiber Arts Guild has been up to and let us know what's on your fiber art bucket list. Come out and join us at a meeting. New members are always welcome and bring along your Show and Tell.

Guild Challenge: Fiber Art Tote Bags

Team Lead, Veronica Hofman-Ortega,
emcees the Challenge presentation.

The second annual Riverbend Fiber Arts Guild Challenge exhibit and awards presentation was held Saturday, November 12. This year's Challenge showcased 10 multifarious fiber art tote bags. The Challenge exhibit and awards presentation, entitled "Fiber and Caffeine get me going... ," was emceed by Challenge team lead, Veronica Hofman-Ortega.

Veronica and her team introduced the Challenge guidelines to guild members in January, with a ten-month time frame in which to create a fiber art piece that was inspired by a favorite coffee mug. The resulting entries exhibited a broad range of techniques— felting, knitting, crochet, quilting and weaving—and heralded the skills and creativity of their creators.

The tote bags were displayed with an Artist's Statement and the mug inspiration.

One of the requirements of Challenge entries, the inclusion of a decorative design element, resulted in an artistic display of embellishing and surface design techniques such as stumpwork, embroidery, thread painting, image transfer, beading, dyeing and appliqué.

Selecting the winning entries, determined by vote from the guild membership, was an arduous task and a very close competition. Prizes were awarded to all participants and ribbons given for First, Second, and Third Places and Best Workmanship. Local fiber arts businesses, including those owned by guild members, generously contributed merchandise and gift certificates for the prizes. Here are some of the Challenge participants and their entries. Congratulations to all the artists!

Left: Ann Buggey (Third Place) with her entry, "Dragonfly"
Right: Phyllis Narus (First Place) with her entry, "Red Hatters."

Left: Mary Lou Scohier with her entry, " Kiwi"
Right: Pat Keran (Second Place, Best Workmanship) with her entry, "Dragonfly Bag"

Left: Sheri Streety with her entry, "Cat and Mouse Bag"
Right: Veronica Hofman-Ortega with her entry, "How to be a Fiber Artist"
See details on Veronica's design process here.

Left: Brenda Park with her entry, "New Mexico Morning"
Right: Sally Broom with her entry, " Knit Happy"

Left: "Mesa Verde" by Judy Anderson
Right: "Stella's Antler" by Cheri Miller

For additional photos of the
2011 Riverbend Fiber Arts Guild Challenge, click here.