Co-President, Joan Vierra, called the meeting to order at 9:45 and rejoiced that we were again able to meet in person at Aptos Village Park on a gorgeous sunny day. Everyone was masked unless speaking. There were 36 people attending and the mood was ebullient as we greeted each other after needing to virtually connect via Zoom for our previous meetings this fall.
Program Chair and mover-and-shaker of the Enchantment Committee, LeAnn Bjelle, spoke about setting up small interest groups within the guild to focus learning about some aspect of textile arts. Clipboards were passed around so that folks could indicate which areas they might be interested in and whether they could be a point person for that group(s). The EC will tabulate the results at their next meeting next week.
Co-President, Maggie Clark spoke about the display of small tapestries illustrating what is possible on even simple tapestry looms used by The Eccentrics (guild tapestry group). Some of the weavings participated in the Renditions 2020 show through the American Tapestry Alliance last year and were featured in the group section of the full-color catalogue.
New members and visitors were asked to introduce themselves and mention what brought them to our group, current areas of interest and what they might like to learn about in the world of textile arts in attempts to connect them to members that have the same interests and equipment.
Our presenter, Rachel Clark, gave a story-filled narration to the fashion show of 24 of her amazing, colorful, pieced and hand-embellished coats, each with a name! There were plenty of oo-oo’s and ah’s as volunteer models from the guild showed off her artistry. Often the linings were even more colorful than the precisely pieced and stitched patterns on the outside. Many of the garments were made from her own line of patterns as well. The fabrics ranged from an indigo-dyed shibori tablecloth to distinctive African fabrics in saturated colors, hand-dyed Cherrywood quilting fabrics to an entire coat of different shades of black, molas with pigs to Seminole patchwork. Each piece was distinctive and a show-stopper. Rachel invited the audience to come up to the coat rack afterwards to try on coats and examine them more closely. What an amazing presentation!
The only show and tell was Karen Golding with a striking pieced vest she had made. We look forward to seeing her wearing it soon.
The meeting was adjourned at 11:35.
Respectfully submitted, Kris Nardello, secretary
