FiberWorks: Traditional Techniques in Contemporary Forms

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FiberWorks: Traditional Techniques in Contemporary Forms

SOUTHAMPTON, New York
/
June 06, 2012

"Black T Boro: Circles" 2012 20" x 20" Discarded t-shirts, cotton and rayon thread appliquéd and embroidered.

In these diverse contemporary fiber pieces, Tracy Jamar expands the possibilities of traditional hand-made techniques such as rug hooking, collage, appliqué and embroidery in her contemporary fiber pieces.

Using a combination of new, old and repurposed yarns and fabrics as well as non-traditional materials Jamar works intuitively and spontaneously. On exhibit will be one of a kind works as well as examples from several series inspired by themes of personal interest, such as the Fly Over Land series, based on a sense of place; horse collages and Black T Boros inspired by patched Japanese Boro Noragi textiles.

As an antiques textile restorer and conservator specializing in quilts and hooked rugs for over 30 years in New York City, Jamar is intimately familiar with traditional forms of needlework. In 2009 she returned to college to complete an undergraduate degree at Goddard College in Plainfield, Vt., an independent/individualized study of American History Through Women’s Handmade Textiles. After her studies, Jamar has set her restoration business to the side and commits her time to creating contemporary fiber works that blend her appreciation and admiration of early American textiles with her knowledge of construction techniques.

She has received two Awards of Excellence from the Surface Design Association, as well as Juror’s Choice from the Newtown Hooked Art Show. Her works have been shown in juried and invitational exhibits including “Beyond Rugs!” at the Farnsworth Art Museum; “Stripes” a traveling exhibit to Japan. Currently two pieces in “9x9x3: New Visions” are on tour to the Holter Art Museum in Helena, MT, the Dubuque Art Museum and the Textile Museum in Washington DC among other venues. She has appeared on Martha Stewart’s Living television program; on HGTV and in Mary Sheppard Burton’s A Passion for the Creative life: Textiles to Lift the Spirit. This will be her third solo exhibition in the Hamptons.