Hand Work Tapestry Exhibit

With 27 bones, 27 joints, 34 muscles, and more than 100 ligaments and tendons, the human hand is an anatomical marvel capable of everything from plucking a six-string banjo to performing coronary artery bypass grafting. This extraordinary dexterity also extends to the creation of textile art, including the weaving of tapestry, an elaborate genre that goes back many thousands of years. In honor of that storied form — traditionally linked to medieval narratives but adaptable to myriad genres extant — the Asheville-based nonprofit Local Cloth is hosting an exhibit of tapestries come fall. As explained by a press statement, the show has been organized by the Tapestry Weaving Interest Group — a collective of tapestry weavers and “tapestry weaver wannabes” that meets every third Tuesday of the month from 9am-12pm — and will include “fiber pieces that emphasize the human hand.” Bryson City-based fiber artist Susan Gaire, for example, has prepared a work she calls “Handmade Handprint” that captures the intricate palmistry lines using thread. “Tapestry weaving gives me freedom to combine image, texture, and color into a single piece of art,” says Gaire, whose work often celebrates flora, fauna, and threatened ecological landscapes. Gaire’s tapestries and others will be on display until Halloween.