The clothing of Susan Marling
By Cameron Meier
SA Editor
No medium is as diverse as fiber, and no medium is perhaps as misunderstood. Items labeled as fiber range from paper to leather to baskets to embellished T-shirts at craft shows, while at the same time encompassing wall hangings, tapestries and some mixed media at fine art events.
The medium is so large, in fact, that it begs separation into two separate realms: functional and decorative. Yet fiber work often doesn't get divided into those categories, leaving patrons a bit confused as to what they are going to be seeing when they visit a show. And further complicating the picture is the fact that that first sub-medium - functional fiber - is probably just as healthy as it's ever been, as long as crafters have the appropriate price and style, while the other sub-medium - decorative fiber - is struggling. It's a tale of two mediums within one super medium, and no one has the definitive answer as to why one form of fiber is doing well while the other is down.
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