The 30th Anniversary exhibit of LAFTA (Louisville Area Fiber and Textile Artists) will open at Pyro Gallery on July 5. Kathy Loomis, Jessica Beels, and Casey Dressel discuss it on Artists Talk with LVA. Tune in to WXOX 97.1 FM/Artx.com each Thursday at 10 am to hear Artists Talk with LVA.
Jessica Beels holds a BA in Art History (Harvard University, 1985) and a Masters in Early American Decorative Arts (Winterthur Program, University of Delaware, 1992). Her crafts background includes many self-taught techniques. More formal training includes classes in metalwork (Penland School of Crafts, NC, and Haystack Mountain School of Crafts, ME), papermaking (Haystack Mountain School of Crafts, ME), and stone carving (Corcoran School of Art, DC). Recently, she has been making ungalvanized steel armatures and experimenting with sealing in the rust resulting from the metal's contact with the wet paper and ambient humidity.
Casey Dressel’s artistic mediums are painting, installation, and craft based mediums. She is the owner/proprietor of Capacity Contemporary Exchange Gallery on Main Street in Louisville.
Kathy Loomis learned sewing, embroidery and other kinds of handwork from her grandmothers and made her own clothes for 30 years. She is a self-taught quilter, starting my first quilt in high school using leftovers from garment sewing. Her work has been shown in both quilt and all-media shows in the US and Europe. Since 2016 she has been a member of PYRO Gallery, a cooperative enterprise in Louisville.
Jessica and Casey are also a part of Anne Border’s LVA/CPI Fellowship project at the Passionist Earth & Spirit Center, Pathways to Presence, a permanent group of outdoor installations.