Fiber Artists in the Hudson Valley
In today’s post, we’re covering another segment of our Hudson Valley Craftspeople series. In case you haven’t been following along, check out our prior posts on clothing textile artists, ceramicists, soap and candle makers, florists, jewelry makers, and glass artists that we love.
As you likely know, the Hudson Valley is home to many incredible artists, artisans, craftspeople and makers. Fiber art and fiber crafts are especially popular, with work that spans wearable textiles, wool spinning and dyeing, felting, needlework, embroidery and quilting – and more! Today, we’re focusing on fiber artists – a category of work that belongs more in the decorative art world.
The five fiber artists that we’re highlighting below all happen to be women – but they have very different relationships to fiber and to the purpose of their work. Check out some of their work below and follow them to learn more about their work!
Toni Brogan
Toni Brogan is a fiber artist based out of upstate New York. Born in New Zealand, her work is inspired by her surroundings and by a fascination with textiles from a young age. Brogan writes, “With the beautiful Catskill Mountains as my inspiration and backdrop, the colors on view with the dramatic changes in seasons is what inspires me to work more with color, the icy whites of winter, the dull browns of spring, the acid greens of summer and the vibrant mixture of hot reds/pinks/yellows and oranges of fall… a never ending palette to pull from.”
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Kat Howard
Kat Howard’s work directly tackles questions about violence and trauma while using a variety of fiber-based materials. “Howard’s pieces either have a physicality to them that feels almost human, or they are expressionist representations of landscapes where the individual is noticeably absent. There is an emphasis on the sense memory we collectively have with textiles. Her material choices are integral to her tactile artistic concept—ranging from silkworm cocoons and merino wool roving to handspun yarn, raw cotton, leather, and muslin.
Howard’s artwork is an intimate exploration of gender and gender roles, sexism, and oppression, asking the questions: what happens to the body when it is forced to become a vessel for trauma? In what ways do we physically carry pain? How is the self altered afterwards?”
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Samantha Bittman
In addition to being a talented weaver and fiber artist, Samantha Bittman is the founder of the Catskill Weaving School, located at Foreland Catskill. Her work investigates the dialogue between traditionally woven materials and digital wallpaper prints upon which her weavings are displayed. The weavings also involve a layer of acrylic paint, which is applied to the weaving to create optical illusions that play with shapes, colors and lines.
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Anne Lindberg
Anne Lindberg creates both two and three dimensional work using a variety of materials, but a good portion of her body of work features chromatic threads in site-specific installations. Her work deals with space and physicality – she considers the creation of her work just as she considers the product. “I understand my studio work as a paced and daily conversation with place, manifesting and mirroring how I negotiate physicality, optics, and ideas. Each mark, color or line is simultaneously an action and a response; a moment, a thought, a leap of faith, and a record of that leap. Works unfold at the pace of my step, as I pull thousands of lines across a pliant mat board or cast them between walls while walking.”
Anne Lindberg – bloodlines – 2021 – thread and staples; 9 x 50 x 9 feet. AbStranded: Fiber and Abstraction in Contemporary Art, curated by Elizabeth Dunbar at the Everson Museum of Art in Syracuse, New York. Photograph by Derek Porter
Katie Ford
Katie Ford uses fabric as part of her mixed media practice. She works “using abstraction to describe the vivid yet intangible aspects of subjectivity and inhabited space.” Ford’s work plays with transparency, saturation and color to create dynamic visual experiences.
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