But Is It Art? Why Fiber Art Deserves a Place in Fine Art

I have been the unlucky recipient of the comment, "That's not real art," more times than I care to remember.

I have also been turned away by arts organizations because my work doesn't fall into one of their approved categories. No painting. No sculpture. No membership for you. And why?

Because I work with fabric.

The Problem with Fabric
Here's the thing about fabric. It has a reputation.

Fabric and textiles have a prescribed, socially acceptable purpose: clothing and home décor. These things are functional. We use them every day. We see them every day. We throw them in the washing machine without a second thought.
You can't do that with art, right?

That's the assumption, anyway. The moment people see fabric, their brain files it under "functional" and moves on. The idea that it could be fine art — that it could hang in a gallery alongside oil paintings - doesn't even register. This preconceived notion is hard to shake. I know because I've spent years trying to shake it.

So What Did I Do About It?
I could have given up. I could have decided that if the art world didn't want me, I didn't want them either.

Instead, I got to work.

I studied other artists - what I sometimes jokingly call "real" artists. I observed their techniques. I absorbed their aesthetics. I paid attention to composition, color, depth, and texture. And then I applied everything I learned to my own work.
I pushed myself. Hard.

The Moment Everything Changed

The turning point came at an art show. A woman walked into my booth and stopped in front of one of my pieces. She moved closer. Then she stepped back. Then closer again. She took her glasses off, put them back on, and tilted her head.

I've seen people study my work before, but this was different.

Finally, she asked me a question I had never heard in all my years of exhibiting at shows: "What kind of brush strokes did you use?"

Brush strokes.

She thought I had painted it.

I was so caught off guard that I laughed. When I finally composed myself, I told her the truth: "A sewing machine."

Now it was her turn to be surprised.

That moment opened the door to one of my favorite conversations - explaining my process of thread painting to someone encountering it for the very first time.

What Is Thread Painting?
Thread painting is a form of fiber art that combines fabric and dense machine stitching to create works that closely resemble - and are often mistaken for - traditional paintings.

Here's how it works.
I start by cutting tiny pieces of fabric, usually less than an inch in length, and gluing them down to my canvas. Then comes the part that requires the most patience: stitching. I cover the entire canvas in dense layers of thread, section by section. Depending on the complexity of the design, a single small section can take several hours.

The stitching does two things. First, it blends the colors of the fabric underneath, much the way a painter blends pigments on a canvas. Second, it creates a rich, layered texture that is uniquely characteristic of textile art - something you simply cannot achieve with paint and a brush.

The result is a piece of contemporary fiber art that holds up to close inspection from every angle. Step back and you see the image. Step forward and you see the texture. Put your glasses on. Take them off. It works either way.
You can actually watch part of this process - specifically the fabric gluing stage - on my Cobblestone Pathway page.

Fine Art Takes Notice
After that art show, something shifted.
My work began to be accepted into exhibits and galleries I hadn't been able to crack before. What followed was a series of shows that meant a great deal to me:

• Page-Walker Art Center – Cary, North Carolina
• Colony Theatre – Burbank (solo show)
• City of Buena Park – (solo show)
• West Valley Art Museum – Peoria, Arizona
• Saddleback Art League – rotating exhibit
• Orange Open – Orange Art League
• Fallbrook Art Center
• Art That's Small – City Hall, Laguna Beach

The same work that had been rejected by arts organizations was now hanging in galleries and museums. Nothing about the work had changed - except that I had gotten better at making it, and the art world was starting to catch up.
Fiber art and textile art have a long, legitimate history in fine art. Major museums around the world collect and exhibit work in these mediums. The bias is real, but it is also losing ground.

Where I Am Today
I still occasionally create traditional quilts - you can see some of my earlier work on the Art Quilts page. But my focus these days is squarely on thread paintings.
If you'd like to see what thread painting looks like as a finished piece, head over to the Thread Paintings gallery. Take your time with them. Move closer. Step back.
And if you find yourself wondering what kind of brush strokes I used - you can see them up close in my shop. Every piece looks different depending on how close you get. Some things you really do have to see for yourself.