2 Bloomington artists create fiber art for exhibit at Vault Gallery

You might see something unusual if you visit Lynne Gilliatt's and Jean Haley's fiber arts show during the months of June and July at the Vault Gallery at Gallery Mortgage.

"One thing I think makes this show different from others that we usually see on the Gallery Walk is that nearly all the works started out as undyed, unbleached wool fabric," Haley said.

The exhibit will be featured during the first Friday Gallery Walks in June and July, and also open 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Friday for people to see how the two Bloomington artists have combined their talents to create unique art.

It's not always easy for established artists to work together, and in fact, Gilliatt said learning to collaborate has been one of this show's strengths for her. Taking that a step further, Haley described working with Gilliatt as "the most fun part."

Haley tends plants in her yard, then uses them to make natural dyes to color cloth.

Now, Gilliatt, who has never before produced fabric art — she's an 80-year-old longtime Bloomington abstract painter — has brought her painterly style to Haley's wool. For this exhibit, Gilliatt's media are threads, yarns and upcycled sari-silk ribbons. "Sari' translates to "strip of cloth" in Sanskrit. (The first saris were cotton, with silk entering the scene around around 2000 BC. No two skeins or balls of sari silk yarn are the same, and they're often vibrantly colored.)

"We offer two different approaches to using the same naturally dyed wool cloth," Haley said.

For instance, both artists have pieces of Haley-dyed wool. Gilliatt uses rectangles of it as a "canvas" for her threads. Haley, however, uses the wool as the "paint" by cutting it into strips and pulling them through a linen foundation.

Many of the wool cloth pieces have been made into pillows or combined to make long wall hangings.

Since Haley also is a expert in rug hooking, visitors will see works she made using traditional rug-hooking techniques — with a modern twist. She particularly likes the collaborative pieces that feature Gilliatt's stitching in the center and her, Haley's, hooking as a border.

Wool garments can be mended only a certain number of times. According to Haley, in the 1800s, rug hooking became a craft, having originated in the northeastern U.S. and the Canadian Maritimes. After clothing was no longer mendable, people cut it into strips and used a hook to pull strip-loops through burlap, usually repurposed from produce sacks.

"They would make rugs for the hard floors, their hearths and even their beds," Haley said.

During the June and July First Friday Gallery Walk receptions, on June 2 and July 7, visitors will be able to watch the artists' works in progress.

Gilliatt's stitching has been attached to Kantha cloth. Kantha, referring to both the stitch and the final product, is a an embroidery craft from ancient India that was passed from mothers to daughters. It involves stitching patchwork cloth from rags into colorful fabric.

"I can't say I’ve ever seen a show like this in town," said Gilliant, who has been a participating artist with Bloomington Watercolor Society and Upland Plein Air exhibits.

Haley said many people have supported the "Wool Wanderings" exhibition, including John La Bella, who donates the gallery space, and Julie Herwitt, a Brown County artist who is helping hang the show.

Organizers have sewn information labels into the pieces or attached stickers to the walls, convenient for curious visitors.

It was really COVID-19 that gave Gilliatt the mental and emotional space to try a new genre.

"Presto, I became a fiber artist giving up painting during the pandemic. I can't really believe it at all," Gilliatt said.

WHAT: "Wool Wanderings," fiber arts show with naturally dyed wool, yarn "painting" and rug hooking

WHEN: The months of June and July, with receptions 5-8 p.m. June 2 and July 7, during Gallery Walk. On July 7, Haley and Gilliatt will demonstrate their processes. Gallery hours are 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Friday.WHERE: The Vault at Gallery Mortgage, 121 E. Sixth St.

MORE: Watch Haley hook at https://tinyurl.com/k7dxahpy