Monday, April 25, 2016

"I Make Things Because I Must" May exhibit at the YS Arts Council Community Gallery

Fiber Art by Kathy Verner Moulton, Mary Noren, Phyllis Schmidt and Holly Underwood
May 20th-June 12th
Reception May 20th, 6-9 p.m.
Artists Talk 7 P.M.

Featuring Art Quilts, Stuffed Magical Creatures, Textile Portrait Dolls,
Embroidery Art and Hand Crafted Rugs.

Four Fiber Artists with an insatiable need to make things  
“All through my life my need to create has driven me. No matter what else I was doing, I had to have some piece of artwork in progress,” Kathy Verner Moulton  

“In my teens, I started sewing with my grandmother,” Mary Noren

 “Making things truly helps me stay sane. Bringing to life the creative ideas in my head brings me simple happiness like nothing else can.” Holly Underwood

“For me it's fun, a way to play.”  Phyllis Schmidt

These artists, create art to give to friends and family as gifts, to decorates their homes, to remake something old into something new. They are driven to make things: to surround themselves and their loved ones with handmade items that fill a need in a personal way, to repurpose something broken into something useful, to shun mass produced products in favor of one-of-a-kind gems.

Holly Underwood
learned to embroider and sew from her mother and grandmother. She still has the cross-stitch she did at about age 10. In the over three decades since, she has branched out to quilting by machine and by hand, embroidery of various kinds including hardanger and sashiko, making curtains and clothes, and toys and masks for her son. Her current favorite upcycled materials are felted wool sweaters and t-shirt yarn. Though she has dabbled in other types of crafting such as paper making, mosaics and candle making, for her it always comes back to needles, thread and fabric. You can visit Holly at her page Tinkerman's Daughter.

Mary Noren


 is inspired by vintage fabrics, bold colors and quirky motifs.  She designs and creates clothing, costumes, quilts, creatures, wall hangings and toys.  Her pieces are often playfully whimsical.
She runs a sewing school in Yellow Springs called the Mad Hatter Sewing Studio.
For Kathy Verner Moulton 
“Needle and thread became familiar tools in high school when what we wore was so-o-o important. You had to know how to change your regular jeans into hip-huggers, cutting and sewing back the waistband and tucking in the extra zipper. These skills came in handy during the leanest years of early marriage, doing free-lance sewing for a living. Later sewing became quilts and wall hangings both traditional and nontraditional using my character designs.” Her  series of “Yellow Springers” dolls began as a gag gift for a Christmas Party, each has his/her own pair of handmade “Ghirkenstomp”sandals.

Phyllis Schmidt's 

background is in Design. Her work now focuses on the decorative arts, creating colorful whimsical art out of bits and pieces from different media.
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The YSAC Community Gallery is at 111 Corry St. in Yellow Springs Ohio
Reception: May 20th, 6-9 p.m.
Artists Talk 7 P.M. Refreshments will be offered