For the Love of Fiber Art

Like so many of us during the Spring of 2020, I had a lot of time on my hands during lock-down. I have always had a passion for creating, and because I was now working remotely, I decided to put my free time to good use. I had just created a new painting and it was by far my best one yet. However, creating my best painting required me to cut off canvas from other frames to use.

There's that old saying, "One man's trash is another man's treasure." I have always been that person who hates throwing items away. I'd like to think that virtually anything can be repurposed and given a second chance. With that being said – I was left with a few wooden frames that I refused to waste. I decided to put my creative mind to work, going back and forth trying to figure out how to give these frames a new life. I began exploring my options in DIY crafts and stumbled upon some woven and punch art pieces. It was at that moment that I discovered that I wanted to give fiber art a shot. It was love at first sight.

Without hesitation, I went on a yarn, wool, and string shopping spree. Honestly, I never thought I would be buying yarn before the age of 70, but there I was finding myself scouring the yarn section of as many crafts stores as I could find within a 30-mile radius. Once I arrived home, I hastily watched a few videos and tried to soak up as much information as I could for how-to's and techniques. It was time to start weaving. With a pair of scissors and one yarn needle as my only tools, I got to work and quickly finished my first piece. Simple and fast--very beginner. The following week, I created three more projects. I was just consumed by it---in a good way! I was working on about one project per week, as my work time allowed. Up to that point, I had never done anything other than painting as my creative hobby. I found creating fiber art fun, relaxing, and rewarding.

I love the whole process of creating a fiber piece. The options of textures for fiber art are limitless, and there are an array of techniques that can be used. There are instances where I take the time to slow down and meticulously plan out colors or how my piece will move around the string or canvas. Other times, I just dive right in because an idea will suddenly hit me and I know exactly where to move my needle with the colors that I am feeling at that moment.

I am not the best at verbally expressing myself, but I can express myself as easily as breathing through art. I have so many ideas and thoughts that pass through my mind, and others that stay and nest in every corner. It is my feelings that fuel my imagination, and my imagination that holds the brush that paints the picture in my mind. It is through painting and fiber that I can express myself both surreally and abstractly.

For most of my adult life, I had always dreamed of opening a small shop to sell my artwork, but it has always been just that--a dream. I could never fully execute it. Friends, family members, coworkers, etc. would constantly ask me "Do you sell any of your pieces?" My answer was always the same, “I don’t at the moment, but maybe in the future.” And as life would have it, the future would come, stay for a blink of an eye, then become the past. Multiple opportunities and thoughts in my head would come and go, and I would still be in the same spot. Time would pass while my artwork was sitting around in the corners of my room.

My thoughts and feelings are scattered on canvas and woven through strings, and it is something I most desperately want to share with others. With this newfound love for creating fiber art, I am hoping that people will be able to see just how much time and work I put into the piece they have. Furthermore, I want people to be able to look at my art and feel a certain way based on their own experiences and thoughts. It is because of this that I finally decided to open up my very own shop – The Loom & Canvas Room. I do not believe that I would have arrived at this point had I not found fiber art. It was the second to last piece of the puzzle for my present and future, and I was the last piece.