Most art is meant only to be seen. But at an on-campus exhibit, students are welcome to use their sense of touch.
Wool, woven ribbon and cotton are stealing the spotlight from paint and canvas at the Fiber Art: Three Perspectives exhibit, which opened Tuesday and continues through Dec. 2 in the HUB-Robeson Gallery.
This exhibit features the work of three different artists from the mid-Atlantic region, all of whom create art out of textiles and other fibrous materials.
"We're excited about this event because it's going to draw a lot more attention to the medium of fiber, which gets overlooked a lot of the time," said Jennifer Lynch, communications assistant for HUB-Robeson Center galleries.
Each artist brings something different to the table and expresses something different through the same medium, Lynch said.
Jennifer Bateman draws from her training in painting and her background in costume design as inspiration for her sculptures.
"The needle and thread are part of my DNA," Bateman said. "I can't imagine spending the rest of my life without fibers trailing me around like the dust in back of the Snoopy character, Pigpen."
Bateman describes her body of work as a "conceptual exposé on the church," as well as an exploration of women's stereotypical roles as masters of fiber. By creating works with raw edges, loose threads and frayed seams, Bateman said she challenges the ideas of perfection.
Though she's had no "youthful spiritual training," she said creating touchable art has become her way of maintaining a touchable connection with God.
"I hope that as students explore the work, read the journal entries, that they will be moved to explore their own spirituality," Bateman said.
Anyone who has walked through the central entrance to the Pattee Library and seen the textile piece on the wall with the "Please Touch" sign has already gotten a glimpse of Laurie dill-Kocher's work.
Kocher began her art career in ceramics, but moved into the realm of textiles and fiber. Her pieces consist of fabric -- in this exhibit, woven ribbon and cotton -- wound together over metal cores, which allow the product to be bent into different forms.
But finding the right materials and suppliers for the job can be a challenge, dill-Kocher said. She now uses all environmentally friendly materials, a gesture that parallels the subject of her art.
"I'm pretty much nature-based, even though they might not always look like nature," she said. "In the last several years, I've been working 'Heaven and Earth.' This is almost a companion to that." Pernille Boving shares dill-Kocher's love of nature, and uses her own experience as a wildlife biologist working in areas like Alaska and Greenland as inspiration for her artistic creations.
"Like many people, I enjoy being outside in nature," Boving said. "It calms you down and you see wonderful colors that are in perfect harmony with each other. The wool and the silk in the felted vessels are very organic, which gives the colors in them a sense of that harmony."
The exhibit also has Boving's earlier work -- she's since transitioned into stained glass projects. After producing works for the Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts and other exhibits, Boving developed arthritis in her hands, wrists, elbows and shoulders, causing her to redirect towards glass creations.
"Preparing for this show at the HUB, I rediscovered the vessel and what an awesome entity it is," she said.
