The Marsh. Mary Stori, artist
By Natasha Anderson
The North Carolina Arboretum is excited to announce its newest art exhibit, Nature Across the Carolinas: Fiber Art with Quilts. On display daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. through September 16 in the Arboretum’s Education Center, the exhibit showcases the work of fiber artists Judy Simmons, Mary Stori and Kate Weston.
“We hope our exhibit will expand visitors’ enjoyment of the Arboretum’s natural landscape by echoing the colors of the flowers, the texture of the foliage, the wonders of the wildlife and the serenity of the trails,” says Stori. “We are pleased to be able to introduce our contemporary approach to the art of quilting.”
Through their work, the artists strive to create links to familiar images of the region, exploring mountains, meadows and marshes using fabrics and fibers. Their diverse styles, construction methods and subject matter add a contemporary twist to the area’s rich and storied quilt-making tradition. The exhibit will feature pieces of varying size, from large focal-point wall hangings to medium-sized wall art to smaller pieces that are suitable for tabletop display.
“We alter white fabric by painting, hand-dyeing, ice-dyeing, screen printing, digital printing, deconstructive printing and mono printing,” says Stori. “If we each worked with an identical piece of fabric, the end products would be quite different, reflecting our own personal design styles.”
All works are available for purchase and a portion of the proceeds will be donated to The North Carolina Arboretum Society.
The North Carolina Arboretum is located at 100 Frederick Law Olmsted Way, Asheville. It is open daily from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m., April through October, and 8 a.m. to 7 p.m., November through March. Admission is free. A standard $14 per vehicle parking fee is required for non-members. For more information, visit ncarboretum.org.
