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About the Artist :

Holly Berry

Fiber Art Eugene, Oregon

    I spent my career designing and creating art that is both functional and decorative. Fresh Paint came into existence in 1999 when, as a gallery manager, I saw the need for affordable fiber art. Using my passion for color and ability to break tradition, I came up with fiber wall hangings, that have a hint of traditional quilts, with a contemporary flare. Inspired by a trip to Australia, I saw aborgines painting on canvas in their dry river beds. My love for the outdoors, passion for color, and the desire to create, was combined with the lovely experience of painting outside on large pieces of muslin. The abstract representational pieces of nature are filled with warm earth tone colors that bring the rich landscape into the interior environment where it is displayed.

     For many years I have created art for the home, with my business Country Rose in the 80's where I sold wood clocks and shadow boxes to over 2000 accounts. In the 90's I created clay whistles and traveled the country doing art fairs. From 1995-2000 I managed a high end art and craft gallery in Indiana, using my sense of display and purchasing ability to help run a successful business. A graduate of Indiana University, my fine arts experience lay the foundation for technique and form. Now I have devoted myself fully to creating wall hangings that are unique, ever-changing and filled with the richness of inspiration.


About the Art:

    My process began with an inspiration to create fiber art that was different from any traditional techniques that I had seen. I wanted a unique, loose expression that incorporated environmental elements and allowed me to enjoy every step of my artistic process, not only the finished expression, but the creative process along the way.

    To explore color in an abstract fashion, I needed a surface. I remembered that Artists in Europe used to paint on muslin sheets when they ran out of canvas so I thought that cotton muslin fabric would be my ideal surface.

    To create texture, I get the muslin wet and crumple the fabric. Smoothing it, I begin to paint with acrylics that bleed into the background. When that dries, I paint the second layer with more acrylic and a variety of techniques of stamping, sponging, brushwork, and controlled dripping, paying attention to the joy of multiple color. The process of making my own stamps is complimented by my search for found objects that can be used for stamped design and collecting unusual stamps over the years.

    The final layer is a gold finish that is applied to the dry surface and brushed carefully to the surface as accented detail. The border fabric is faux painted as yardage with the same multiple 3-layer process and then cut to be sewn similar to the border of a quilt. Each piece is then backed with plain muslin for a finished look. They are designed to be hung on a decorative curtain rod or one of Brian Thomas wonderfully fashioned wrought iron rods.
(See below.)


About the Rods:


    Brian Thomas is a blacksmith and cob oven bread baker from Cottage Grove, OR. He designed the spear rod to fit into the rod pocket on each wall hanging. Painted black, these rods come in two designs, the spiral or the wave. They are hung easily on two drywall screws. These can also be ordered as curtain rods to match your room decor. Sizes come in 18" for the narrow wall hangings, 36" for the vertical and square wall hangings, 48"for the horizontals, and 56" for the large horizontals.