The PHOTO ALBUM page 20

Fabric Art EXHIBITION

An Exhibition at Warragul Uniting Church, June 2008 

Celebrating 25 years of the Fabric Art Group
of the Traralgon Uniting Church 

Fabric Art Group members with two of their creations that were on display at the
Warragul Exhibition. 

Over 30 fabric art works were displayed at Warragul - just a small selection of the Fabric Art Group's complete works from over the 25 years.

180 x 120cm

The members of the Fabric Art Group from Traralgon Uniting Church say— "A wide variety of fabrics and techniques are used to express the gospel in everyday symbols.  Our work is done on polystyrene boards.  We choose not to sew, we seldom glue since we discovered the joy and freedom of pinning."

LOOKING BACK, LOOKING FORWARD - full size 480 x 120cm

Looking back, we remember that this land was settled from the sea.  People moved through the forests, cleared the land and produced crops, but now we are becoming an urban community.  When our church looks back, we recall that we grew from three denominations, represented by the boats (left of panel), into one Uniting Church.  Christ the vine, has enabled us to bear fruit in the past and the present.  But what about the future?  The tendrils of Christ's vine are already there.  The rainbow reminds us of God's promise to be with us always, so, why be anxious?  We move forward expecting great things.

The members of the Fabric Art Group from Traralgon Uniting Church say— 

"Our fabric art is an expression of our spirituality.  We use familiar objects and features of the Australian landscape as contemporary symbols of the human journey, and our awareness of God as a vital presence in that journey.  This is where we live!  This is where God meets us!

Our early work made simple statements; our recent work is more complex.  We tackle contemporary social issues, and challenge the viewer to respond.  We encourage people to pause, look and reflect on their journey through life, its wonder, beauty and the divine mystery.

"We hope our work will encourage all those who, like us, strive to express their faith through the creative use of fabric.

The insights perceived by these people are often far beyond our original intention and we are greatly moved by the way God seems to speak through the fabric art we have created."

Over 30 exhibitions have been held throughout Victoria.  They have led to exciting and moving exchanges with a wide variety of people.