Contemporary Fiber Art

Kim Lakin has been teaching with PNCA Continuing Education four years. For the first time, we are excited to offer a class on Contemporary Fiber Art, a great passion of Kim’s. A professional artist, her work uses fiber in many different contexts.

Can you talk about what drew you to creating fiber art?
I was always interested in fibers, textiles, whatever you want to call it. Whether it was the crinkly fabric of my grandmothers dance dresses or the fine wool of my mother’s suits, I like fabric because it is tactile. I was a lousy sewer as a student in home ec classes and never thought I would become a sewer of any kind! Fiber art is cool because it combines the hands-on construction techniques with the fine arts form. I like the combination.

What can students expect to make in the class?

We will be making a series of samples utilizing different construction techniques. We will be hand and machine sewing and using fusibles. We will use different fabrics to see how they work with different manipulations. Students will have a sample book to take with them at the end and one small finished piece.

What are you working on right now?
I just received an Artist-in-Residence award from Recology. Myself and four other artists will be making art from stuff gleaned from the transfer station (dump) in NE Portland. We have 5 months to make art that is 99% recylced materials. We will be having a showing of our work in the September at Disjecta. I am really excited to be doing this. It is proving very challenging for a number of reasons. I look forward to sharing my experiences with the class, Who knows what I might bring to class for us to work with! 

What are good resources for people interested in learning more about Contemporary Fiber Art?
I strongly recommend joining Surface Design Association.  Their journal is excellent. They always include cutting-edge fiber art. Also, there are several recent good books about fiber arts. PNCA has a good selection in the library. I am very impressed with the new Japanese fiber artists and encourage people to “google” them online. They are doing some amazing work.