Nearly two years ago, a member of the C-U Spinners and Weavers came to the Spurlock Museum with a suggestion for a temporary exhibit.  Why not have Guild members create fiber artworks that were inspired by artifacts in our permanent collections? We already knew the Guild members were great, for we had collaborated with them in conjunction with our "Why Knot?" exhibit in 2007, and combining great people with a great idea worked for us, so plans were made and work began in May of last year.

This week is drop-off week.  Four to five Guild members will be arriving each day with their completed artworks. I have seen most of the pieces already, as the Guild held regular show-and-tell sessions where members could display their works-in-progress and discuss their triumphs and challenges.  Knowledge was shared and there were always numerous "oohs" and "ahhs." We even did a mini-display at the May Guild meeting so that all the members, both those participating and those not participating, could see the beautiful pieces.  Even with all this, though, it will be so great to see them all finished and ready for the next stage: the design of the exhibit space and the building of mounts. These are the days when I really appreciate our Collections team, for I know they will work hard to create mounts that both show off these lovely pieces well and ensure their safe display.

Mark your calendars now to come see the exhibit in fall, 2013.