Fiber art has long been ‘treated like a little sister' to fine art. These makers hold it up in all its glory.

Boston Globe

03-04-2025

'Now it's like
Exhibitions include '
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'We realized we had our finger on the pulse of something,' Comeau said.
Ellen Solari, "Garden of Wonder." Cotton embroidery thread on recycled fabric. In "Liberty's Reach" at Three Stones Gallery, Concord.
Ellen Solari
The artist took her cue from
Comeau has seen the medium's fortunes fall and rise. 'There have been times I've had conversations, and fiber art is treated as a little sister or adjacent to fine art,' she said. 'I wanted it to be held up in all its glory.'
There's long been a perceived boundary between craft and art that a handful of artists — such as
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'Over the last decade, fiber art has come to the fore,' said Beth McLaughlin, artistic director and chief curator at Fuller Craft Museum. She sees it as a response to rising temperatures in politics.
'For centuries, it's been a medium for sociopolitical commentary and for people who don't usually have a voice,' McLaughlin said. Recent examples, she added, are '
Virginia Mahoney, "What if ... 2" (detail). Watercolor and words on paper woven into reclaimed plastic net, steel, thread. In "Holding Thoughts" at Boston Sculptors Launchpad Gallery, Boston.
Virginia Mahoney
Needlework, McLaughlin said, is a 'gentle way to express resistance. In some way, it's the opposite of a hard-hitting political message.'
While Gather 2025 honors social justice themes, there's much more. 'Many of the organizations focus on resistance,' Comeau said, 'but I don't want to shortchange the huge part of our population that focuses on making beautiful things.'
Art stars like Hicks and Lewis may be inspiring, but it's the everyday stitchers, weavers, felters, and braiders who fuel much of the rising passion for fiber art. Threads from '
Connection and care 'hearken back to a long tradition,' Comeau said. 'Predominantly women, but also men at sea during war. Groups gather together over needlework, and it's the way a community coalesces and cares for each other.'
'We wanted to focus on the
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Jodi Colella, "Josephine." Hybrid sculpture, ceramic, lace, cotton, wool, stitched mending, nylon, fiberfill. In "The Carrier Bag Theory of Fiction" at the Nave Gallery, Somerville.
Will Howcroft
Healing can come from the touch of soft materials and with a practice's quiet, meditative repetition. 'One crochet loop is not enough,' Comeau said. Such activities 'calm you down. They help you in this time when there's a lot of stimulation in our lives. The process and experience with soft materials allows us to rest.'
Then, there's the connection with other makers. 'The community is the most important thing,' Comeau said.
Part of fiber art's resurgence stems from the community and learning on social media. 'Tiny Pricks' took off on
Many textile makers celebrate their medium's traditions. The
'It was the only lace made in America as a lace community,' said Mary Mangan, the group's librarian. In Europe, so-called 'lace towns' are communities known for their lace-making traditions.
Ipswich lace, she said, is characteristically black silk (although sometimes white linen) with a heavy outline thread. In 1791, a report made about
Mary Mangan, Ipswich Lace Shawl detail. Silk thread, bobbin lace.
Mary Mangan
'Weaving Threads of Lace History,' featuring several dozen lacemakers, will be 'the largest gathering of Ipswich lacemakers in, we think, 200 years,' Mangan said.
Gather 2025 is pulling area makers together. Will there be a Gather 2026?
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'There's no definitive plan,' Comeau said. 'We'll have an evaluation process and make the decision. We'd like new leadership to step up with visions of the future, and we'll support them.'
McLaughlin wants more. Gather 2025 'reflects how wonderfully rich fiber art is in the past and today. The traditions, and what's to come,' she said. 'Maybe a whole year next time?'
GATHER 2025
Sites throughout Greater Boston. Through May 3.
Michelle Lougee, "Carrier Bag," postconsumer plastic. In "The Carrier Bag Theory of Fiction" at Nave Gallery.
Michelle Lougee
Cate McQuaid can be reached at