“Artistic exploration has taught me to appreciate being totally immersed in the process of creating with little or no concern with the end result,” says April Sproule, a versatile textile artist whose work is the focus of Pacific Textile Arts’ September exhibition titled “Hypatia in the Woods.”
The show in Fort Bragg features the outcomes of Sproule’s recent residency at Hypatia in the Woods, a 15-acre retreat center on Puget Sound in Washington’s Olympic Peninsula, during which she explored the natural environment and learned about the historic and modern lives of the region’s indigenous people.
The result of the Pacific Northwest residency: colorful hand-sewn and quilted wall pieces featuring woodcuts, cyanotypes and drawings inspired by the region.
“Being immersed in the solitude of the great forests of western red cedar and big leaf maple while learning more about the indigenous people of that area had a profound effect on my creativity,” says Sproule, who will give a free talk at 11 a.m. Sept. 7 on the exhibition’s opening day.
Sproule learned to embroider from her grandmother. She studied at the San Francisco School of Fashion Design and worked in the fashion industry for 20 years. In 2001, she became a full-time artist and workshop facilitator, and in 2014 she re-embraced her love for embroidery and started incorporating it into her art and upcycled clothing she designs.
The contemporary wall hangings, all square, showcase wildlife, plants, symbols and the Pacific Northwest landscape’s colors. The colors vary from bold oranges of poppy-like flowers to a monotone robin carrying a fat worm.
Sproule says, “Making art allows me total freedom: the freedom to be optimistic about the outcome of my work as I am flooded with fresh ideas and insights.” This exhibition is a display of those fresh and insightful outcomes.
“Hypatia in the Woods” is on view Sept. 7-28 at Pacific Textile Arts Gallery, 450 Alger St., Fort Bragg. Hours are 1 to 4 p.m. Fridays- Saturdays and by appointment. Call (707) 409-6811 or visit pacifictextilearts.org.
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