A piece by textile artist Daren Redman is among the works by textile artists on display at the Columbus Learning Center, 4555 Central Ave.
Seasoned textile artist Daren Redman understands that people may not quite easily recognize her latest work on display at the Columbus Learning Center. The blue and white pieces, dyed with indigo in a Japanese shibori technique, are a departure from some of her sun-splashed colors.
“I would say they’re very different,” Redman said. “I don’t even call these pieces quilts.”
They’re all part of the new, free exhibit “Unfolding Colors” running through Sept. 1 along 160 linear feet of space at the facility at 4555 Central Ave. Besides Redman, the exhibition features handpainted silk by Lewis Ricci of Indianapolis and textiles from Walter Liebrich of Tallahassee, Florida, a friend of Redman’s. Ricci is a former Columbus Area Arts Council executive director and former Indiana Arts Commission executive director, a post he held since 2006.
“Unfolding Colors” is all about fabrics that have been hand-dyed and painted by Ricci, Liebrich and Redman. The exhibit includes over 40 works of silks and cottons from 9 inches square to 14 feet long.
The hours are 8 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 8 to 5 p.m. Friday.
There will be a reception from 4 to 7:30 p.m. April 20 outside the building library.
Redman is a 16-year full-time quilter whose oversized wall hangings have graced a number of local structures. A few years ago, she was all about the pizzazz.
“What I (normally) want people to see as much as anything are the bright colors that I’ve hand-dyed,” Redman said six years ago, speaking from her workshop next to her home between Nashville and Helmsburg.
“Somehow, the shapes and the colors just come out of my brain.”
People also find serenity in her work. She grants visitors and viewers the freedom to move in close and touch her art. She saw the beauty of allowing that in one show at the Indiana State Fairgrounds in 2013.
“You could see all the stress leaving” people’s faces, Redman said.
“His stuff is really kind of Zen-like,” Redman said.
Ricci has been dyeing and painting silks in Redman’s barn for the past two years. His other interests include being a life-long musician/keyboardist/guitarist and singer-songwriter.
