Fiber: From Necessities to the Necessary Food, clothing, shelter – fiber has played its part in all three. Baskets for gathering and storing foodstuffs. Garments adorning the body. Quilts and blankets providing warmth in the winter; textiles making a house more of a home.
Exhibit of typical furnishings of a post Civil War Mount Lebanon, New York, Shaker “Retiring Room”, Courtesy of Shaker Museum and Library, Old Chatham and New Lebanon, New York, Jane Feldman photograph
Explore a dry cave, and you’ll find that spun and woven artifacts outnumber stone artifacts by 20-to-1, with textiles dating as far back as 26,000 years ago.
Indeed, traces of natural fibers have turned up in the remains of all ancient civilizations. Linen, made from flax, is at least seven millennia old, and was buried with Egyptians, as the wrapping of choice for mummified Pharaohs on their journeys to the afterlife. Cotton has been around, according to some, just as long, having been worn by Egyptian, as well as Chinese royalty.
Merino wool is as old as the Stone Age, with fragments found in tombs and ruins throughout the Middle East, ancient Britain and Peru. Today 40 breeds of sheep account for 200 types of wool.
Recent Chinese studies have found silkworms dating back 7000 years. Plant fibers – grasses, palm leaves, reeds, and the like, have provided abundant sources for basketmakers from around the world.
In the 20th century, man-made fibers came into their own, starting with Rayon and acetate, made from cellulose (wood pulp), and dozens of synthetic fibers – nylon, acrylics, polyesters, and microfibers. Craft artists use odd materials like typewriter ribbons or strips of rubber in making dresses and wall hangings. African Zulus employ colorful, recycled telephone wire in making mbenge baskets.
In all, today’s designer or artist has a brash palette to create with. They work their magic in clothing; decorative arts, like wall hangings, baskets or fabric; felting of clothing, jewelry, or objects; weaving of clothing and home accessories; and the needle arts, including needlepoint, knitting, quilting, and sewing.
Loja Saarinen (designer) and Valborg Nordquist Smalley (weaver), Rug No. 1, 1928, Collection of Cranbrook Art Museum, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan (CAM 1955.4), Courtesy of Ronald S. Swanson and Cranbrook Art Museum, R. H. Hensleigh photograph
Learn more about Saarinen here
Needleworkers hired through the Works Progress Administration working on textiles for Timberline Lodge, c. 1937, Mt. Hood, Oregon, Courtesy of Friends of Timberline, Archives
Learn more about Timberline Lodge here
Friends of Timberline weaver in Silcox Hut, at Timberline Lodge, speaking about looms. Learn more about Timberline Lodge here.
Gustine Atlas is one of the many talented needlework artists continuing the quilting tradition at Mississippi Cultural Crossroads, producing articles of historic and social significance - Learn more about them HERE
We filmed American Indian Pat Courtney Gold for the MEMORY episode. Purchase the DVDs or view the programs online
See objects from Craft in America: Expanding Traditions, a seven-city traveling exhibition that ran from 2007-2009, and other Virtual Exhibitions
Want to collaborate to make a quilt or mural? Download a lesson plan HERE
Important craft artists are featured in the Book. Learn more
Click to see a list of over 4 hours of video available online
