Contemporary Handweavers of Houston

Material Matrix

In honor of CHH’s 60th Anniversary, our guild is hosting a juried gallery show. The purpose of the show is to honor our organization and its members by displaying the best of what CHH and Texas has to offer. The show committee – Laura Viada, Giovanna Imperia, Lynn Williams, Barbara Kile and Olga Tarasova – has been hard at work and we have some really good news to report.

Here is the Call for Entries: Word Document or PDF File.

We have selected a lovely venue. The show will be held at M-Squared Gallery, located on 19th Street in the Heights. It’s a spacious, elegant gallery, located in the old Heights theater on the primary gallery/shopping strip in the historic Heights. The dates we’ve reserved are October 20 through November 14, 2010, which coincides with the International Quilt Festival.

We’ve chosen two excellent jurors: Ann Matlock and Pat Spark. Both are accomplished fiber artists with recognized expertise in our craft. Together, they should put together an exhibit that is truly representative of the talents of our members.

The title of the show is Material Matrix. We selected this title to reflect the open-ended and inclusive nature of what we hope to present. We want both traditional and contemporary work, functional items and art pieces. We hope that this show will be a challenge to all members to push themselves to new levels of achievement. Ideally, the committee would like for all of our members to submit at least one entry of their best work, and for the show to reflect the diversity within our membership.

In order to be eligible for the show, items must have been completed within 2 years of the entry deadline, must be the entrants own work, and must fit within one of the following categories:

• Handweaving (including basketry, and beadweaving techniques)
• Items made from handspun yarn (not skeins)
• Felt
• Silk Fusion
• Braiding

Items may be submitted as either 2D or 3D. The 3D category includes sculptural items, garments, and hats. The 2D category includes wall hangings, window treatments, rugs, table linens, and throws.

The show is open to all CHH members, regardless of residence, and to non-members who are Texas residents. Entry fees will be $30 for CHH members, $40 for non-members. The entry fee entitles each entrant to submit up to 3 entries. Jurying will be done from digital images. We will be providing more information about the basic entry requirements in future articles.

Cash awards will be offered, funded by CHH. Three awards of merit, at $250 each, and one best of show, at $500 will be given.

Now is the time to start planning for the show!! The entry deadline is August 2, 2010. So, everyone get busy and let’s put on a magnificent show as a celebration of our collective creative energy. I can’t wait to see what we can do!!

Laura Viada
Chair, Juried Show Committee