At the intersection of fine art and craft lies the SCAD Fibers department. Hosting their quarterly Open Studio Night this past Friday, undergraduate and graduate student work were on display for all of SCAD and the local community to admire.
For most non-Fibers majors, Pepe Hall appears as a mystical land where students play on a loom and sing while they work (possibly with the help of some magical woodland creatures). While this may be true, the Open Studio night revealed how much variety the SCAD Fibers department has to offer.
Variety served as the most evident motif throughout the showcase. For example, some rooms displayed printed textiles, while others housed a gigantic loom, reminiscent of the Gobstopper machine in Willy Wonka And the Chocolate Factory. Such eclectic machinery could only produce exceptionally eclectic work.
There were colors to make your eyes dance and textures forcing your fingers to itch with tactile desire. I even heard someone whisper, “I want to just put it in my mouth.” While that isn’t necessarily safe, it’s hard to disagree.
The visual interest and variety defined each piece and the person who designed it. From knits to printed textiles to fashion design, it’s evident that fibers grants students an abundance of creative liberty. However, that creativity is only made possible with a well-executed process, something the department also stresses to its students.
Work in the downstairs lobby was displayed alongside the process work that carried students to their final product. Similarly, the graduate studios upstairs allowed for a closer look into each artist’s creative process: their sketches, design development, final product, and even some failures. It reminds viewers that magnificent work is not developed extraordinarily out of thin air but is all apart of the concept– something more powerful than perfection itself.
Walking through the showcase felt like a stroll through a magical forest of thread, knit, and pattern. Every wall covered in student-designed wallpaper and every student adorned in self-designed garments. Every piece of work and the student that created it boasts a voice that is distinctly theirs. Walking down the steps of Pepe Hall back into the city smell of Savannah felt like waking up abruptly from a fantastical, fabric-filled dream.
Written by Kat Sours
Photos by Julia Llaguno