Our Small Local Art Centers Bring Big Fibre/Fiber Excitement and Joy! by Ileana Soto

Tucked quietly into the hills of Mill Valley, CA, below Mt. Tamalpais, with redwoods adjacent and oaks above, is a unique arts center founded by Ann and Dick O’Hanlon in the 1960’s. The O’Hanlon Center for the Arts, www.ohanloncenter.org, is small and thriving, with classes during the week and weekends that range from the visual to the literary, meditative, and performing arts. Their perspective has an “emphasis on the creative process and the continued pursuit of meaning and authenticity through observation, exploration, and experimentation. Rather than a focus on developing or perfecting an artistic product, the focus is on allowing your own perceptions (and explorations) to inspire your art.” This June, I was honored to be in their biennial Fiber Arts exhibit, juried by Carole Beadle. The call’s description encouraged artists to push the boundaries of the medium. The textile artists of the Greater Bay Area responded enthusiastically. My piece is titled: Tremblor, 36" h x 22" w.

Unusual materials ranged from salvaged cardboard, handmade paper, twigs, cordage, twist and cable ties, wire, pounded steel, flax, palm fiber, gut, twine, kapa, macramé, molded tissue paper, plastic bags. Techniques ranged from twining, knitting. felting, weaving, basketry, paper making, paper weaving, encaustic, needle punch, tufting, photo printing, surface design, and mixed media. Forms ranged from flat to sculptural, animate to inanimate: wall hangings, shoes, vessels, garments, and a 10-foot apron that commented through advertisement imagery on decades of sexualized portrayal of women. This summer, this isn’t the only fiber exhibit available in our San Francisco area! At the San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles, https://sj-mqt.org/, a thoughtful exhibit, “Printed and Stitched” will be showing until September 3rd. You’ll find my piece, “Warrior” amongst the 53 wonderful art pieces.

A small gallery in Fremont, CA, the Olive Hyde Gallery, is showing their 54th Annual Textile Arts Exhibit. The June 21st opening reception was a homecoming for textile artists and friends. If you’re passing through our area, come see this show. You’ll see 3 of my “FourSquare” pieces that I developed for Art Cloth Network’s 2023 silk exhibit at the Kemerer Museum of decorative Arts. Check out their virtual show at: https://www.fremont.gov/government/departments/parks-recreation/facilities-rentals/community-centers/olive-hyde-art-gallery.

Last, if you venture east to the Central Valley, you’ll be able to see the Carnegie Arts Center’s annual “Carnegie Art Showcase” and two of my voting rights pieces. I include a photo of one of my pieces: "V is for Voting", 30" h x 38" w.

Yes, our small, local art centers have brought big fibre/fiber excitement and joy to our communities! Yours too? By Ileana Soto https://www.ileanasoto.com Vimeo recording of the artist talks at the O'Hanlon Center for the Arts: 2) https://vimeo.com/956181435?share=copy

Print and Stitch exhibit by Ileana Soto

 

Printed behind the intense and staccato rhythm of the ‘warrior’ spikes are John R. Lewis quotes that comfort me in our turbulent times of 2021:

Do not get lost in a sea of despair

Do not become bitter or hostile

Be hopeful, optimistic!

Never, ever be afraid to make some noise, NOISE!

And get into good trouble

We will find a way,

Make a way

Out of NO way

          Quotes in poetry form by John Robert Lewis

"Warrior" by Ileana Soto, 20" h by 36" w

Website: www.ileanasoto.com

    

By Ileana Soto

Art/Ecology, an exhibit at the O'Hanlon Center for the Arts by Ileana Soto

There is only one week left to catch a juried show, Art/Ecology at the O'Hanlon Center for the Arts in Mill Valley, CA. I have one piece in the show called "Heated Boundaries." 

Each piece in the show is a visual expression of concern for our environment. The address is 616 Throckmorton Avenue. It's up a winding road situated near trails that thread amongst a creek and redwood forest. Discover this very special place. The exhibit closes March 31st, open 10-2 Tuesdays through Saturdays.

"Fiber Arts, Expressive and Innovative" by Ileana Soto

The O'Hanlon Art Center is a little-known but special art center nestled in the hills of Mill Valley, California.  Monthly exhibits are juried by Bay Area art professionals.  "Fiber Arts, Expressive and Innovative," was juried by Carole Beadle, textile artist and professor, known for encouraging three-dimensional works by her students.  I studied with her for two semesters at the California College of Arts and Crafts (now California College of Art) in 1985.  She currently teaches at the College of Marin.  

I was honored to be juried into this exhibit, showing March 24-April 21, 2022.  I include a photo of my piece, "Chancay II", plus two details, based on my Peruvian heritage and the textiles of the Pre-Incan Chancay Culture, 1000-1470 AD.  This culture specialized in knowing the "essence" of a thing through sophisticated threadwork patterns called "gauzes."  When pulled taut, their patterns can be seen; when released, the patterns are hidden to the ordinary person. On the wall perpendicular to Chancay II are two felted pieces by Martha Wold Cornwall, "Elsa's Journey" and 'Fire Season".  

Ileana Soto 

Click here for a link to Ileana's website