Walking by the Craft Studio, it’s hard not to stop and stare.
Behind the wall of glass stands a white walled art gallery featuring dozens of intricate 1-by-1-foot squares. The most recent installations to the studio are all pieces for the MU Fibers Art Club’s silent auction.
The MU Fibers Art Club hosts their first ever silent auction fundraiser this month to raise money for the club as well as providing the opportunity for artists to display and sell their artwork for a percentage of the profits. The show is titled _onefootbuyonefoot_ and will involve 12-by-12-inch square works made from different types of media.
The Fibers Art Club is a campus organization that promotes both 2D and 3D art across a series of different art platforms and emphasizes the use of fabrics, fibers and textiles.
“We do surface design like printing, fabric dyeing and stitching; but we also do sculptural fibers and things like papermaking, book making and the more traditional weaving and tapestry making,” says Tamryn McDermott, vice president of the Fibers Art Club.
McDermott has been working with the Fibers Art Club for several years and is also a part of MoFA, the Missouri Fiber Artists group. Alongside the club president, Shirley Boudreaux, McDermott helps facilitate the club with meetings once or twice a month, bringing in professionals to teach new artistic techniques for manipulating fibers and chaperoning visits to national and local conferences.
“We like to see what else is going on in this particular field, which is why we travel so much,” McDermott says. “We decided to do this fundraiser because it goes towards our travel budget. It allows us to visit conferences outside of Columbia.”
The proceeds from the fundraiser are split up, with the majority of the profits going to the artists and the rest benefiting the Fibers Art Club and the Craft Studio. The Fibers Art Club teams up with other art organizations on campus as well as both graduate and undergraduate students in the art department to host speakers and fundraisers throughout the year.
“Art shows are great opportunities for students to exhibit their work and really feel a part of the art community,” McDermott says. “It not only promotes the artists but it makes custom art affordable and accessible.”
The silent auction started Monday, Feb. 3, and will be open until Thursday with the closing reception going from 5 to 7 p.m. that evening. Refreshments will be served, and last bids will be at 6 p.m.
