Going to a craft show

 Saturday night my husband and I did something we haven't done in a long, long time. We went to a juried craft show. A juried craft show will often show work that sits on that fence between art and craft. A good show is filled with work that just gives you joy because it is beautiful, often a rethinking of everything that comes before it and gives you a bit of the shock of the new.

The show we went to was called Crafts at the Cathedral and is organized by the shop An American Craftsman. In this post I am going to focus on fiber artists, Actually, I am going to narrow that a bit more. There was a fair amount of work  that you would have seen if you have attended any  good craft shows since the  1990s. I'm limiting my discussion to work that felt new.

The scarves by Catherine Joseph are part of her larger menswear collection. They are the sort of classic but interesting garments that an architect in a movie might wear. The fabrics are all a delight to the hand, soft and luxurious. The shirts and jackets look ordinary until you look close and notice the special fabrics and the beautiful details. 

The scarves are artfully pieced from tie fabrics and are backed with delicious cashmere. The photos are about half as good as the scarves were in real life. If there were even half a chance that my husband would wear such a scarf I would have splurged on one for him. My husband is a man of very quiet taste in his clothes.

We have been married long enough that I know that a gift of such a scarf would bring him no joy but only extreme anxiety. I went back to the booth three times to soak in the colors and fabrics.

Unfortunately, I can't post the images from http://www.robinoriginals.com/ , but you can click on the link and visit her website. She makes hand loomed machine knit garments in wonderful colors and complex patterns. That is the garments are made on a knitting machine but the machine requires tremendous amount of tending by hand. It is made on the knitting equivalent of a hand loom.

Vilma Mare makes beautiful clothing out of boiled wool.  Lots of artisans who show work at craft shows make work that calls attention to itself, bright colors, odd shapes and the like. This clothing is relatively simple and is in quiet colors. I love how she shapes her garments with visible tucking. You can see more of her work ( and purchase it)  here Vilma Mare. I was tempted to purchase one of her beautiful jackets but I just saved it to my list of things I would buy if both money and closet space were unlimited. Maybe in my next life if I have a career as the director of an arts foundation.

There are times when a picture is worth a thousand words.

The work of this artist just blew me away.  She uses an incredibly labor intensive method to create pattern on the scarves that she weaves.

You can read about her techniques here and use that link to wander around on her site. These photos are beautiful. Her work is more beautiful in person.

I'm glad that I got to see such excellent work