Folk Art Center Hosts Embroidery Exhibit

On display through May 8 at the Folk Art Center’s Main Gallery is an exhibit titled “Through the Needle’s Eye: The 20^th National Exhibition of the Embroiderers’ Guild of America.” Once called stitchery, this craft form has merged with the Southern Highland Craft Guild’s fiber medium and is now commonly called embroidery, the art of creating textile designs with a threaded needle. More than 70 creations will be on display.

The exhibit, which is traveling across the nation, is a juried show that was first displayed in the spring of 2014 in Colorado. It will continue touring until early 2017. Featuring both traditional and contemporary embroidery techniques, it includes free motion and digitized embroidery, beading, quilting, surface embroidery, fabric manipulation, counted thread, appliqué, canvas and gold work, and crewel. Pieces in the exhibit range from clothing, wall hangings, jewelry, and vessels to sculpture.

From 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, February 6, the Laurel Chapter of the Embroiderers’ Guild of America (representing approximately 450 members from North and South Carolina, Georgia, and Virginia) will sponsor a “stitch-in” at the Folk Art Center. Chapter members will share various needle art techniques and answer questions.

The Embroiderers’ Guild of America works to collect, preserve, and exhibit historical needlework and contemporary fiber art, and ethnic embroidery.

The Folk Art Center is the headquarters of the Southern Highland Craft Guild, and is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. It is located at Milepost 382 on the Blue Ridge Parkway. The Guild is an educational nonprofit organization founded in 1930. To learn more, visit craftguild.org or all 828.298.7928.