{"id":651014,"date":"2026-08-22T17:17:15","date_gmt":"2026-08-22T17:17:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/651014\/"},"modified":"2026-08-22T17:17:15","modified_gmt":"2026-08-22T17:17:15","slug":"huntington-beach-art-center-examines-fiber-as-a-medium-in-new-exhibit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/651014\/","title":{"rendered":"Huntington Beach Art Center examines fiber as a medium in new exhibit"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Dan Faltz, the Huntington Beach Art Center\u2019s senior cultural arts supervisor, laughed after describing a larger-than-life work as \u201cGrandma\u2019s doily meets Spider-Man.\u201d<\/p>\n

The artist herself, Ashley V. Blalock of San Diego, doesn\u2019t see that as too far from the truth.<\/p>\n

\u201cDepending on your age, you may or may not really understand what doilies are, I guess,\u201d Blalock said. \u201cA lot of people of certain ages will recognize them as doilies, and a lot of people who are young kids and stuff will call them spiderwebs. It\u2019s kind of interesting.\u201d<\/p>\n

Blalock\u2019s large red cotton yarn creation of four circles, \u201cKeeping Up Appearances,\u201d is one of several pieces on display at the art center for the next couple of months as part of a new show.<\/p>\n

\"Huntington <\/p>\n

Huntington Beach artist Peggy Wiedemann stands with her piece \u201cDisguise\u201d at the Huntington Beach Art Center Tuesday.<\/p>\n

(Don Leach | Staff Photographer)<\/p>\n

\u201cCalifornia Fibers: The Languages of Fiber\u201d<\/a> runs through Oct. 24, with an opening reception taking place from 6:30 to 9 p.m. Saturday.<\/p>\n

Suzanne Isken, who served as executive director of the Craft Contemporary from 2011-23 juried the exhibition.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe exhibition title \u2026 invites viewers to consider fiber as a form of communication \u2014 one that speaks through structure, material and process,\u201d Isken wrote in a note about the show. \u201cThroughout history, textiles have carried stories, encoded cultural knowledge, marked identity and recorded human experience. <\/p>\n

\u201cIf structure is the syntax of fiber\u2019s language, then diction is its texture, rhythm, pattern and farm. The exhibition shows how contemporary artists continue that conversation, expanding textile traditions into new forms of abstract visual expression.\u201d<\/p>\n

California Fibers<\/a> is a statewide juried collection of fiber artists. It is part of the Handwork: Celebrating American Craft 2026<\/a> initiative spearheaded by the nonprofit Craft in America, and is a celebration of the country\u2019s 250th anniversary, Faltz said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been a nice intersection of local artists, the statewide organization of California Fibers and the national initiative of Handwork 2026,\u201d Faltz said. \u201cIt\u2019s a great opportunity for us to elevate the profile of the art center in that way.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Soft <\/p>\n

Soft sculptures by artist Marty Ornish hang from the ceiling in \u201cCalifornia Fibers: The Languages of Fiber\u201d at the Huntington Beach Art Center.<\/p>\n

(Don Leach | Staff Photographer)<\/p>\n

Blalock<\/a> grew up crocheting, thanks to her grandmother and great-aunt. She has done the installation many times<\/a> and came up to Orange County to self-install the piece, which took four or five hours.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe hardest thing is picking the first [doily] and placing it,\u201d she said. \u201cThat one is kind of toned down compared to some of the others I\u2019ve done. It was kind of nice to do something that has fewer but more intricate [doilies], and then to pull them slightly off the wall, so that it\u2019s not disrupting anyone else\u2019s pieces.\u201d<\/p>\n

Huntington Beach resident Peggy Wiedemann<\/a> has a pair of pieces in the exhibit. Like Blalock, Wiedemann had a background in painting but moved into fiber art.<\/p>\n

\"A <\/p>\n

A signature piece on display in a \u201cCalifornia Fibers: The Languages of Fiber\u201d exhibit at the Huntington Beach Art Center, which runs through Oct. 24.<\/p>\n

(Don Leach | Staff Photographer)<\/p>\n

She uses a basket technique called knotless netting in her piece \u201cDisguise,\u201d which features coil and pine needles. Silk and wire are some of the other media used by the 23 showcased artists.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou don\u2019t think of wire as fiber, but it is,\u201d Wiedemann said.<\/p>\n

The exhibit is the first to open at the center since the Huntington Beach International Surfing Museum moved to the Main Street Branch Library<\/a> across the street. Surf City leaders have expressed hope that a new kind of cultural district could be birthed a few blocks up Main Street.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s an opportunity for synergy,\u201d Faltz said. \u201cThere\u2019s the possibility of blocking off the street and having block parties and art fairs, so there\u2019s a real opportunity to join forces and offer joint programming. It allows us to really tap into cultural tourism, to boost our economy in that way.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"An <\/p>\n

An art installation at \u201cCalifornia Fibers: The Languages of Fiber\u201d exhibition undeway at the Huntington Beach Art Center.<\/p>\n

(Don Leach | Staff Photographer)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Dan Faltz, the Huntington Beach Art Center\u2019s senior cultural arts supervisor, laughed after describing a larger-than-life work as…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":651015,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[267],"tags":[275125,18890,365,362,363,364,275122,275124,275121,366,275120,18,117,2037,19212,49754,275126,19,17,44043,275123,81974,275119,193711],"class_list":["post-651014","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-arts-and-design","tag-art-center","tag-artist","tag-arts","tag-arts-and-design","tag-artsanddesign","tag-artsdesign","tag-blalock","tag-california-fibers","tag-dan-faltz","tag-design","tag-doily","tag-eire","tag-entertainment","tag-exhibition","tag-fiber","tag-form","tag-huntington-beach-art-center","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-medium","tag-new-exhibit","tag-new-show","tag-several-piece","tag-textile"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/117140301323289274","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/651014","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=651014"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/651014\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/651015"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=651014"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=651014"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=651014"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}