Weave, Cut and Sew – An exhibit by Karen Gelbard, The Oregon Weaver, featuring handwoven jackets, coats and scarves.
Exhibit dates: May 5 to June 30, 2020
Reception: May 24, 2020, 1- 4 PM. Meet the artist.
Location: Latimer Quilt and Textile Center, 2105 Wilson River Loop, Tillamook, OR 97141
Sales from this event support the Latimer Quilt and Textile Center.
The Latimer Quilt and Textile Center will feature an exhibition by local fiber artist, Karen Gelbard, May 5 through June 30, 2020. This exhibit, WEAVE, CUT and SEW, features handwoven jackets, coats and scarves. In addition to weaving the cloth, her work combines several fiber techniques. Quilting, pin tucks and edging are used in the original garment designs. A long-time resident of Pacific City, Oregon, Karen Gelbard is an award-winning fiber artist whose work reflects the color and textures of the Pacific Northwest. Since 1997, her work has received recognition at art fairs and festivals throughout the country. She has been a recipient of art grants from the Oregon Arts Commission, The Ford Family Foundation and the Barbara A. Beebe Trust.
I design, weave, cut and sew handwoven jackets coats and scarves. I look for ways to tell a Northwest story using color, texture and shape. Wherever these garments go, they will tell an Oregon story.
The designs start with developing color harmonies and calculations for warps on the loom that are often 60 to 100 yards. From these long warps, different fabrics are woven that are related to each other by the foundation colorway. Once the fabric is off the loom, it is washed and dried. This “fulling” process allows the fabric to bloom. Then the fabric is rolled out onto the cutting table and the pattern pieces are laid out maximizing both the design motifs and use of the yardage.
The patterns are my own design. I assess variables in my customer’s figure and adjust for a custom fit. I design for real women of all shapes and sizes.
In 2018, TearSheet PDX, a published style magazine, discovered Karen while she was an exhibitor at Art in the Pearl, in Portland, Oregon. The magazine asked to photograph her work. This opportunity took her handwoven garments into the world of Beauty, Fashion and Style. Her work was selected to appear in several issues. She currently contributes to the magazine as executive editor.
In addition to her own work, Karen is one of a small group of artists who helps with the on-going restoration project of historic Timberline Lodge on Mount Hood. Since 1979, she has woven over 300 yards of upholstery fabric for the lodge in the style of the original handwoven fabrics.
Other projects where Karen’s work appears include: 2016, selected for “Excellence in Fibers” in the publication Fiber Art Now; 2001 her fabrics were used in the original costumes designed by Susan Lily for a production of Arthur Miller’s “The Crucible”, performed in Portland, Oregon; and in 1984, assisted in the design and fabrication of 44 rugs commissioned by Larry Kirkland for the main lodge at Sunriver Lodge in Bend, Oregon.
Karen continues to market her work at juried art fairs and galleries in Oregon, Washington, California, Utah, Missouri, Iowa, Colorado, Nebraska, and Illinois. When not traveling to shows, she can be found at her studio in Pacific City, Oregon. www.theoregonweaver.com