VIDEO TRANSCRIPT: TRIO OPENS FABRIC ART EXHIBIT IN SYRACUSE
Joshua Gingrich: Sharon Bottle Souva has been making fabric art for over 50 years. It’s her pride and joy.
Bottle Souva: “I grew up on a farm where sewing was a fundamental thing that we all had to do. To learn to make our clothes, make our curtains, make our bed and stuff. And I can remember as a kid playing with my mom’s fabric and her buttons.”
Gingrich: It’s a similar story for Carol Boyer and Victoria Bartling. Bartling recalls making clothes for her dolls when she was four years old.
Bartling: “I just took to it, and stayed with it my whole life. Made all my clothes, things for the house, and then gradually went into doing fabric sewing as art.”
Gingrich: The trio met through shared art classes and groups. Boyer says that they instantly connected.
Boyer: “I met her because she was at a conference and a friend who was in the class with her said ‘Oh, you should meet me, and we clicked.”
Gingrich: Now, at the Wilson Art Gallery at Le Moyne College, the three have an exhibit called ‘Trifurcation.’ While not an art term, to Bottle Sousa ‘Trifurcation’ refers to how fabric art can branch off in just so many different directions. This exhibit has been a couple years in the making for the trio. They said that they didn’t get selected to curate an exhibit last year, but finally got approved for this one. Still, Bottle Souva says that fiber art doesn’t get enough respect in public.
Bottle Souva: “Until very recently, it’s been an art form that’s been in the craft category instead of the fine art category. I always make a point of saying that just because we’re using fabric doesn’t mean that it’s not a viable art source.”
Gingrich: Bottle Souva says that this art impacts memory.
Bottle Souva: The very first thing that touches a baby when they’re born is cloth. We have that memory of that buried deep, but as we grow, especially quilting, the blankets, how many kids do you know that has a special blanket?”
Gingrich: Boyer says her favorite part of being a fabric artist is going along with where the materials take her.
Bartling: “I’ll do the same theme four, five, six times because it’s still not what I have up here, but as I’m working the fabric or the materials lead me in a different direction.”
The exhibit is open until February 28th. From Syracuse, I’m Joshua Gingrich, NCC News.
Syracuse, N.Y. (NCC News) – Sharon Bottle Souva has been making fabric art for over 50 years. It’s her pride and joy. Bottle Souva said she considers needles almost to be part of her fingers.
“I grew up on a farm where sewing was a fundamental thing that we all had to do,” Bottle Souva said. “I can remember as a kid playing with my mom’s fabric and her buttons.”
It’s a similar story for Carol Boyer and Victoria Bartling. Bartling remembers making clothes for her dolls when she was 14 years old.
“I just took to it, and stayed with it my whole life,” she said. “Made all my clothes, things for the house, and then gradually went into doing fabric sewing as art.”
The Central New York trio has a new exhibit at the Wilson Art Gallery in LeMoyne College’s Noreen Reale Falcone Library.
The exhibit, open until Feb. 28, is called “Trifurcation.” Bottle Souva said that she likes fancy words and saw the word “bifurcation” one day, but chose trifurcation because there are three artists curating the exhibit instead of two.
Trifurcation isn’t an art term — it means to split into three branches or forks. To the trio, it refers to how fabric art starts at one point but can lead into so many different directions.
The exhibit is a couple years in the making for them. They said they weren’t selected to curate an exhibit last year, but were approved for this one.
They believe that this art form doesn’t get enough respect in public.
“Until very recently, it’s been an art form that’s been in the craft category instead of the fine art category,” Bottle Souva said. “I always make a point of saying that just because we’re using fabric doesn’t mean that it’s not a viable art source.”
Bottle Souva said that fabric art has an impact on memory going as far back as birth.
“The very first thing that touches a baby when they’re born is cloth. We have that memory of that buried deep, but as we grow … how many kids do you know that have a special blanket?”
Boyer said that her favorite part of making fabric art is finding out where the journey takes her.
“I’ll do the same theme four, five, six times because it’s still not what I have up here, but as I’m working, the fabric or the materials lead me in a different direction,” she said.
Now, Bottle Souva teaches art to younger generations, hoping to spark the same love that emerged in her so many decades ago.