The Fiber Show at the Milwaukee Artists Resource Network

In the window at MARN is a family of ghosts on a clothesline, at first glance. With closer inspection of Judy Dubrosky's cut muslin garments you will see hand stitching. There is an embroidered splotch on a shirtsleeve, a spidery growth on the abdomen of a dress and long jagged marks sewn across a baby's outfit. Something has happened here and the title of each piece contains a date. But what? The viewer may be left trying to surmise and imagine the stories behind the stitches, while the artist has found a way to come to peace with a family's worth of wounds and sorrows. Even nature's current theme of autumnal decline works nicely with Dubrosky's hanging garments and reminds me of an alter for dia de los muertos.

Shannon Molter has a different kind of nature decline in mind, that of indigenous and environment. Inside an exquisite black felt frame is a topographical 3D slice of what looks to be a coast made out of layers of starched fabrics. Black beads in a few clusters shine in invasion. It is beautiful and icky all at the same time. There is also a dress Molter made out of the same material. By the dress on a pedestal is a horse harness. The harness is complete with hand sewn leather lips and sharp nasty brown teeth I am told which are really the toenails of coyotes.

Molter's piece that stays with me the most is a map of the United States she has woven out of human hair. 

My crocheted hats are there in the show too.

Leslee Nelson like Dubrosky is remembering past family events though fabric. Nelson's "memory cloths," pictures and sayings that come from the artist's experiences are embroidered onto handkerchiefs that were passed down to her. The stitched quotes of wisdom and simple figures have a definite look of outsider art. Another artist who comes to my mind while looking at Nelson's memory cloths is Maira Kalman, illustrator for the New Yorker and fellow embroiderer because they share sentiment and style. Nelson has had the longest art career in the gallery and it shows. The only other thing I have to say for them is that you must see them because they are wonderful.

Susan Buss's five pieces could win the contest for "most likely to be hung in a fiber exhibition."They are weavings. They are not even close to boring so don't even think that for a second! The colors and optical patterns jump out at you flashing their signals. The craftsmanship is flawless and it bends my brain in half to even consider what Buss must have gone through to get them so perfect. I think they would look especially good in my yurt (I don't have one yet, but I will one day, right?) because you can stare into them for a long time.

Jamie Lea Betsch has also made good yurt art.

Her funky abstract pieces are mostly flat and could be easily rolled up for ease of travel. At the same time I think that since fiber is still the beginning of a new direction for the artist (as she told me) she could move further and further away from the comfort of the wall, because wherever she does that there is so much added character. The gestures that the art has as it grows out from the wall could be described as "curious" or even "friendly." Her use of pastel candy colors is completely exciting and delicious. I am relieved that she is working on her MFA at UW-Milwaukee; this means she is serious about making more of her absurd dada-pop.

This show is up through November 4th 2011 at the Milwaukee Artists Resource Network, 5407 W. Vliet Street. Gallery hours are M-W noon-7pm, Weekends 10-4pm. Come seeeeeeeee it! It was curated by Maggie Sasso.