Northern Michigan Textile Artists

It all began on the day  before Thanksgiving in 2007 when a group of  artists met at the Charlevoix Library to form a non-tradition fiber arts group.  It was a mixed group of traditional and art quilters, painters and mixed media artist.  The fact the they showed up on a snowy day before a busy holiday was a good indicator that they were serious this.  The group decided to continue to meet on the third Thursday of the month and the group was informally dubbed the Fiber Arts Study Group.

At the monthly meetings the artists could show finished and in progress works and received feedback from other members, share interesting books and articles about art,  demonstrate techniques and discuss future projects, Some of the projects the group chose for 2008 were small color studies that explored of the elements and principles of design, collaborative works and photo interpretation.   Members volunteered to give workshops in their own areas of expertise.

By 2009 the group had grown considerable with member coming from Cheboygan, Topinabee, Cross Village, Onaway, Petoskey, Boyne City, Eastport, Bellaire, Alden, and Elk Rapids as well as Charlevoix.  The library invited the group to hold an exhibit in September and October of 2009.  The members adopted the name “Northern Michigan Textile Artists” and chose the theme “Common Threads” for the show.

Collaborative work by Betsy Doyle, Gera Witte, Kerry Bowes and Kathie Briggs (donated to the Charlevoix library)

The members of the group met in the summer to mount the smaller works onto covered boards and again in September to hang the show.  Three dimensional pieces including jewelry, pillows, bags, sculptures and art dolls were displayed in glass cabinets in the Michigan Room.  The show was well received in the community and the library requested another.   The theme for the next show is “Home Grown” and will focus on the agriculture of northern Michigan and the wide variety of goods harvested in the region.