THE ARTFUL LAWYER
A Fine Gallery Inc.
Textile Artists of Virginia: What's in a Word?
Words are powerful! Words can inspire! Words are windows into the world.
In recent years, Textile Artists of Virginia (TAVA) enthusiastically delved into the semantics of words, that is: their meanings, usage, clichés, and contexts. The exhibit presents each artist’s conceptions of words and phrases as they explore the themes “Over the Top,” “Neologism,” INTER+, as well as “Wordplay and Puns.”
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Textile Artists of Virginia (TAVA) meet bi-monthly in Southwest Virginia to support each member as a fiber artist, to explore the boundaries of the medium, and to educate and increase public awareness of fiber art. Our work has been exhibited at the Virginia Quilt Museum (2015 & 2021), Montgomery Museum (2014 & 2018), the Taiwan International Quilt Exhibition (2016 & 2020), and other venues.
https://textileartva.wixsite.com/tava
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Size: 36” wide x 36 – 48” long
The phrase "go over the top" originated in WWI, when it referred to troops in the trenches charging over the breastwork to attack the enemy. Today, we use it when something goes beyond the expected, normal or appropriate. From flying over the top of a volcano to eclipsing a goal, exploring the intricate detail of a flower, embellishing a surface, or watching stars in space, this overused phrase’s many aspects were the focus of TAVA members’ inquiry.
Size 18” wide x 36“ long
Neologisms are representative of the evolving nature of the English language and are added to English dictionaries at a rate of 1,000 a year. Over time people coin terms, words, or phrases to better articulate themselves, refining previously-existing expressions or creating new ones to fill voids in our linguistic code. Textile Artists of Virginia (TAVA) played with neologisms that found their way into modern (and not so modern) English language.
Size 24”wide x 36” long
The Latin prefix INTER is a morpheme; it cannot be divided into smaller independent grammatical parts. It means “between”, “among”, and “together”. Add additional letters before and/or after INTER and the meaning drastically changes. One letter can sometimes make all the difference in the world!
Size: 18” wide x 24 – 50” long
A collection of color-altered fabrics created by each artist over the course of several years set the stage for this vibrant exhibit. Indigo dyed fiber, discharged pieces, fabrics dyed using various colorants, as well as painted fabrics are fastened to each artist’s unique interpretation of their word, phrase or pun. Each quilt in this inaugural exhibit contains 50% or more fabrics altered by the artist.