VISUAL ARTS + MUSEUMS

This fall, Houston Center for Contemporary Craft (HCCC) presents Texas Masters Series: Rachelle Thiewes and  Celebrating Our Creative Spirit: Texas Federation of Fiber Artists, both on view October 3 – December 24, 2009.

Texas Masters Series: Rachelle Thiewes (in the Small Gallery):
Houston Center for Contemporary Craft is proud to present a solo exhibition of work by Rachelle Thiewes, a jeweler, metal artist and professor of metal arts at the University of Texas at El Paso. Recently named HCCC’s 2009 Texas Master, Thiewes has created several bodies of work that have made an instrumental difference to the field of art jewelry. Like no other artist working today, Thiewes takes into account the movement of the body and how a piece of jewelry might impact, or be impacted, by movement. Visitors will be wowed by the array of metal jewelry that ranges from stunning, kinetic earrings to multi-functional brooches and bold bracelets made from steel and color-shifting auto paint.

Celebrating Our Creative Spirit: Texas Federation of Fiber Artists (in the Large Gallery):
The Texas Federation of Fiber Artists invited all fiber and textile artists living in the state of Texas to apply to this exhibition, which was juried by celebrated textile artist Tim Harding. Visitors can expect to see a wide range of exceptional fiber art—including quilts, embroidery, collage, tapestry, sculpture and much more. Over 90 pieces were selected from 225 submissions. The art works were judged on criteria such as craftsmanship; compelling visual quality; and unity of overall form among the different components, such as material, technique, scale, imagery, color, texture, and composition.

Celebrating Our Creative Spirit was organized by the Texas Federation of Fiber Artists.

Opening Reception
Friday, October 2, 5:30 – 8:00 PM

Gallery Talk by Rachelle Thiewes
Saturday, October 3, 2:00 PM

Pictured above:  Laurie Brainerd, Be (detail), 2008. Machine pieced and quilted with cotton and polyester thread, stretched on a wood frame. Photo by Laurie Brainerd.