March 19, 2008 > Olive Hyde: Textile Exhibit Olive Hyde: Textile Exhibit By Anuja Seith Fabric and textiles infuse everyday life. Every year, Olive Hyde's annual Textile Exhibit displays these common materials in unique and artistic ways. Soft fluffy wool turns into the skull of a teddy bear and cotton pieces are patched together to make a portrait. Birch bark takes the shape of a basket. "This show has a history of 40 years and typically textile exhibits are geared to quilts. Though we have quilts, I try to incorporate artists who can use fabric literally, conceptually and metaphorically," said Sandra Hemsworth, Curator at Olive Hyde Art Gallery. This exhibit presents art as more than just a beautiful object to be admired from afar; use of everyday textiles changes it, making it more accessible. For anyone who loves animals or science, Stephanie Metz offers anatomical sculptures - a teddy bear skull represents natural history. Metz also showcases a toad, fuzzy amphibian and a sculpture of the embryo of a chicken. Karin Lusnak displays fiber sculptures that are made of spirals and sycamore branches on which she has woven hand-dyed silk. One of her pieces, "One in Front of Other," represents herself; spirals epitomize growth and development. A second piece "Floating in Slough," looks like house with a ladder on one side and the shape of a boat on the other, both of which have a sense of climbing and moving on. While Lusnak and Metz work wonders with sculptures, Marion Coleman displays two fiber collages made primarily of cotton and various other threads. "These portraits are part of my "Yes We Are 50+" series that documents the elegance of aging and how these women look and feel," said Coleman. Barbetta Lockart and Marjorie DeQuincy both comment on social issues through their art. Among her four pieces, Lockart's three dimensional fiber collages Globe and Red Tent Story comment on a world rife with violence and the position of women in many societies. Through fiber mix media art creation "Deadly Refrain," DeQuincy makes social commentary while her second piece, "The Rhythm and Blues of life," is a memorial to a woman who passed. "This piece depicts the joy and rhythm of life and what happens when this rhythm is stopped," said DeQuincy. Norma Andersen Fox's birch bark and Georgia pine baskets draw inspiration from nature and her Scandinavian heritage garnishes this rare treat. Olive Hyde: Textile Exhibit Reception Friday, March 21 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Show March 21 to April 19 Thursday -Sunday Noon-5:00 p.m. Olive Hyde Art Gallery 123 Washington Blvd., Fremont (510) 791-4357