After last year’s pause due to flooding, Flow Gallery’s beloved Adornments show returns to downtown Marshall this season, filling the space once again with handcrafted ornaments and gifts from local makers. The exhibition runs from Tuesday, November 11, through December 31, offering visitors a celebration of craftsmanship and community rooted in the gallery’s Slow Craft ethos.
Dagmar Haubold, artist
Local fiber artist Dagmar Haubold participates in the show with her signature hand-felted and embroidered creations. “Personally, I don’t like the word adornment,” says Haubold. “It sounds a bit pretentious, but I very much like making ornaments and always look forward to the season.” Her works combine a variety of techniques, including needle felt, crochet, embroidery, knitting and spinning. “It is the slowness I enjoy,” says Haubold. “The quiet sitting with a project in my hand enables me to slow down in a good way. I think folks appreciate the effort that goes into a handmade item—it is more thoughtful than something mass produced. It also furthers a sense of community that we all seem to need, especially now more than ever.”
Amanda Taylor, artist
For ceramic artist Cynthia Mayer, adornment is less about embellishment and more about storytelling. “To me, adornments are the quiet gestures of beauty that elevate the ordinary into the extraordinary,” she says. “They aren’t just decorative; they often carry a sense of story, memory and/or tradition.”
For this year’s show, she shaped porcelain into holiday ornaments inspired by those ideas. “Porcelain appears to be very fragile, but has a history of strength and longevity,” Mayer says. “Each piece will hold the glow of memory and the warmth of gathering, meant to adorn the season.”
For Mayer, the connection between maker and viewer remains central: “What brings me the most joy is watching others see, touch and connect with the work, finding their own delight in something I’ve created.”
Flow Gallery is a woman-owned gallery representing about 70 regional artists, most of whom hail from Madison County. It is located at 14 South Main Street in Marshall. Learn more at FlowMarshall.com.
