FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 9/16/2011
Morgan Arts Council -- Berkeley Springs, WV
www.macicehouse.org

Press Contact only: Jane Frenke -- 304-258-4582

WARM AND WEARABLE ART SHOW OPENS

BERKELEY SPRINGS, WV ---- Cool nights welcome the opening of the Warm and Wearable handcrafted art show at the Ice House Special Exhibit Gallery in Berkeley Springs on Friday, September 23 at 7:30pm. First stop on the Friday night Artwalk is Mountain Laurel Gallery at 5pm. The art exhibit hangs at the Ice House through November 6 with gallery hours on Saturday and Sunday 11am to 5pm. The gallery is also open Friday September 30 and October 7.

Ten artists from the region are featured in the exhibit curated by fiber artist, Ellen Kardell of Pocket Meadow Farm. Kardell's inspiration for the show comes from her lifelong fascination with the visual and tactile richness of various fabrics from hand-spun yarns to hand dyed silks. "I am passionate about how lush textures, colors and exotic fibers can be combined to enhance the impact of simple construction in a garment," said Kardell. "I told the artists that the subtheme for the show was opulent bohemian." In addition to the fiber artists, Kardell is also including jewelers Jean Pierre and Carol Hsu as well as Terah Ware. "They'll be providing colorful accessories for the various coats, shawls and hats," she said.

Laura Wilson-Gentry of Columbia, Maryland who also has a home in Great Cacapon, WV has a day job as a statistician. She uses her involvement with mathematical sequences as a background for her fiber work in patterns. Along with weaver Kim Potter's popular jackets and coats, the show features a spectacular knitted coat from D'Ane Davis of Baltimore and Hedgesville. Kardell is including a few of her own new work which incorporates an eclectic and wide range of natural fibers with applied embellishment. Other artists participating in the show include Rosemary Bigelow of My Grandmother's Lace; Jane Frenke of Fiesta Fibers; Sabina Parks and Sam Herrmann of Samspun. "Everyone will feel better about the upcoming winter after visiting this show," said Kardell. "At least they'll feel warmer."

The curated gallery exhibit produced by the Morgan Arts Council is funded by the National Endowment for the Arts, the West Virginia Commission on the Arts and hotel/motel tax revenues. The Ice House is located on the corner of Independence and Mercer. For more information call 258-2300 or check online at www.macicehouse.org.