Talk About Art
with Irina Belova
“Finding My Way Through Fiber”
Explore the elegant contemporary fiber artworks of Irina Belova during the Coastal Arts Guild’s next Talk About Art Thursday, September 17th from 2:00-3:30 p.m. at the Newport Visual Arts Center. Belova’s presentation, “Finding My Way Through Fiber,” will focus on how her fiber practice has evolved over the past five years, the lessons she’s learned along the way, and how experimenting with materials has shaped her work.
Belova is a self-taught fiber artist born in Crimea, Ukraine, who has lived in Portland, Oregon, since 2006. After building a career outside the arts and earning degrees in economics and public relations, Belova discovered fiber as her creative medium and began her artistic practice in 2020. Becoming an artist wasn’t something Belova planned. What began as curiosity grew into a creative outlet that helped her manage stress and discover the joy of making.
Working primarily with sheep and alpaca wool through both wet-felting and needle-felting techniques, she incorporates natural fibers such as silk, hemp, flax, and bamboo into sculptural works, wall pieces, and installations. Her practice explores texture, form, and material, blurring the boundaries between textile and sculpture to create tactile works that invite close looking and quiet reflection.
Belova is a member of For ArtSake Gallery in Newport, Oregon, and has exhibited throughout Oregon and Washington, including at the Newport Visual Arts Center, House of Orange in Cannon Beach, William Scofield Gallery in Vancouver, and Ford Gallery and Purple Door PDX in Portland. Most recently, she presented her solo exhibition, Contra Spem Spero (Against All Hope, I Hope), at the MAC Center Gallery in Portland.
Through contemporary fiber art, Belova encourages viewers to slow down, look closely, and discover the beauty, complexity, and expressive potential of handmade materials.
The Coastal Arts Guild’s monthly Talk About Art series brings local and regional artists to share their work, inspirations, and stories with the Central Coast community. All are welcome and admission is free (donations welcome).