Art Cloth Network

12 Cycles Has its First Show

12 Cycles shows the breadth and depth of a complex collaboration between 12 fine artists over the course of 18 months and thousands of miles. The process of organizing, responding, creating, mailing, receiving, stretching, and finally, assembling speaks to the cyclical nature of collaboration and artistic development over time. 

Westies is a subgroup of the Art Cloth Network and we predominantly live in the western part of the United States and Canada. We are a group of 12 female fiber artists that was formed during the pandemic with communication through Zoom.

To get to know one another better and have a greater creative outlet, we began the 12 Cycles challenge in January of 2021—a SUPER Round Robin.

The Westies version of this project:

• There are 12 fiber/fibre artists in the Cycles group.
• Each artist produced a 12” square piece with an extra inch around for the final assemblage. 
• Each piece used materials and techniques of her choice.
• Each piece also needed to be lightweight and travel well.
• Each artist had 6 weeks to conceptualize, create, and ship their piece to the next artist.
• Every 6 weeks each member received a box with a growing collection of squares to add their work to the Cycle. Pizza boxes were a popular choice for shipping because of their size.
• At the end of the project, each artist received the final 12 pieces—the first piece that was created by them in Round 1, plus 11 pieces inspired by their original.
  

After the completion of the project we chose a number of ways to promote the work. We've produced a print catalog, organized a show, and published a website. To read more about our project, see all 144 pieces of fiber art, and to order the catalog please go to our website at https://12-cycles.art/

Show information: 12 Cycles, a non-juried show by a subgroup of the Art Cloth Network, will be exhibited in the Eddie Rhodes Gallery at Contra Costa College, San Pablo, California, January 30–March 4, 2023. The opening celebration happens on Saturday, February 4, from 2-5pm at the gallery.  

Additional exhibition venues are being planned. Please contact us through the website if you are interested in showing the work.