Lower Lake >> When the Clayton Fire spread rapidly through Lower Lake, staff at the Historic Schoolhouse Museum, gearing up for their annual Quilt and Fiber Arts Show, were not sure if the building would be left standing when all was said and done. “The staff of the Lower Lake Schoolhouse Museum is exceedingly grateful to the firefighters for saving the museum so we can even have our show,” said Exhibit Coordinator Sheila O’Hara.
Even so, they weren’t entirely unaffected by the fire. O’Hara was hoping to bring in a couple of spinners, but one woman’s home was destroyed by the flames. Another spinner lost her house in the Valley Fire. So while there likely won’t be any demonstrations of the art at Saturday’s opening, there will be basket making and weaving.
The textile show is a long-standing tradition at the schoolhouse. It began in 1993 as a quilt show and has since expanded to include weaving, baskets, sewing, applique, silk screening, needlepoint and more. Basically, any type of textile art and craft can be found in the museum’s Weaver Auditorium, from Saturday until Oct. 15.
The Quilt and Fiber Arts Show’s success is due to the accessibility of its subject matter. An art degree isn’t required to understand the work. You don’t need to be an artist yourself to appreciate it. We’re all in contact with textiles each and every day, wearing them, sleeping under them, hanging them on our walls. There’s a certain universal attractiveness there.
“Textiles can be functional, they can be art, they can be all kinds of different things,” said O’Hara. “I think it has an appeal to a greater audience than the art world audience.”
The Lake County Museums play a vital role in documenting the past, and textiles are an important part of that past. In addition to the fiber arts show, everything from Pomo Indian baskets to traveling clothes, christening gowns and shoes, are on display as part of the Schoolhouse Museum’s permanent collection. “The museum preserves the history, and part of the history is the textiles,” O’Hara said.
O’Hara has been recruiting artists for the show since June, and though this year’s exhibit doesn’t have as large of an international section like last year, it does feature a greater mix of techniques than ever before, with artists hailing from all corners of the county and beyond. There’s a fur-lined vest sporting intricate appliques and bells from Tibet. A 22-foot banner spans one wall. Twenty-four hats are on display. There are even miniscule woven baskets, the size of dimes and quarters.
“Some people like to make new things for shows, they’ll make something special,” O’Hara said. “And most of the people who are in the show aren’t people who are making their living as an artist, so they get to indulge a bit.”
A tapestry artist herself, O’Hara is all too familiar with the pressure to only create work she knows can sell. For the show she finally wove together a piece that she’s been thinking about for the better part of a decade. It’s a little out there, she said, but she’s thankful she finally had the chance to make it, without the worry of marketing hanging over her.
The 2016 Quilt and Fiber Arts Show will be on display from Sept. 17 through Oct. 15. at the Lower Lake Historic Schoolhouse Museum. There will be an opening reception Saturday from 12-2 p.m. Throughout the entirety of the show, O’Hara will be on site at the museum from Wednesday-Friday to give weaving demonstrations. The Lower Lake Schoolhouse Museum is located at 16435 Main St. For more information contact O’Hara at 995-3565.
Jennifer Gruenke can be reached at 900-2019.
