CAP: Contemporary textile creations by award-winning locals Irene Koroluk and Sandra Champion will be among the high standard of artworks on show at the Stitching and Beyond group’s biennial exhibition, Out of Hand. Irene’s free-motion stitched quilted art (pictured), inspired by Tasmania’s natural landscapes and environment, will be on show.
 
An international standard of contemporary textile artworks will be on show this month when Kingborough-based Stitching and Beyond group open their biennial exhibition, Out of Hand.
The locally created and professionally curated exhibition is being held at the Long Gallery and Side Space Gallery in the Salamanca Arts Centre in Hobart.
More than 180 works have been entered.
Taroona artist Irene Koroluk is entering four of her detailed, mixed media art quilts.
Irene studied Fine Arts, printmaking and environment at tertiary level in Tasmania, and has added free-motion sewing to her printed textile work in recent years.
Irene has received awards at national and international exhibitions and has also been a finalist in the Tasmanian Art Quilt Prize numerous times.
Her work is inspired by Tasmania’s landscapes and natural wilderness.
“I learnt to sew after setting myself a goal to get into the Tasmanian Art Quilt Prize,” said Irene.
“I combine my photos with stitching.
“It’s all improvisation.
“I try to stop before it goes too far.”
Sandra Champion, of Battery Point, works with paper textiles and is a national and international award winner, many times over.
Sandra’s work has featured twice in the US magazine Quilt National.
Sandra uses waste paper materials and fabric purchased from local suppliers, including a Japanese fabric store in Kingston Beach, to create hand-stitched collages of quilted art.
Sandra studied art after moving to Tasmania around 50 years ago.
“I started paper textile work back then,” noted Sandra.
“More people do paper textile art now because people recycle things.
“I use a lot of papers such as glossies in the Saturday paper.
“I soak them, I rust them.
“When they start to fall apart, then I like them,” said Sandra.
“I stitch them into silk.
“I was also given some 1950s newspapers.”
“I always work in series.”
A piece from Sandra’s series Summer Inferno will be among the artworks displayed at the Out of Hand exhibition.
Sandra’s series is based on the devastating 2020 Australian bushfires, and uses recycled cardboard to represent corrugated iron remains of burned buildings.
Stitching and Beyond group members gather regularly in Kingston, holding both daytime and evening session options.
For further information, visit the group’s Facebook page.
The Out of Hand exhibition runs from September 24 to October 4, at the Long Gallery and Side Space Gallery, Salamanca Arts Centre, Hobart.