The Threads of Inspiration

As visual merchandisers and store designers, we know that inspiration is everywhere. If we don't see it in front of us, we look somewhere else. We also know that we don't have to look very hard. In fact, we don't have to look for it at all — it somehow finds us. Whether it's a brisk walk down New York's Fifth Avenue or a stroll on Main Street in Idaho Springs, inspiration is lurking behind every street sign, architectural facade or paint peeling picket fence. 

Last week I found myself in Golden, Colorado, a suburb of Denver, and home to Coors Beer. Not necessarily there just for a cold brew, I was also hoping for some artistic stimulation. As if the grand vistas of the surrounding Rocky Mountains weren't enough, I was delighted to stumble upon the Foothills Art Center. And as luck would have it, I found the current exhibition to be inspirational for any visual merchandiser.  “Threads of Change: Colorado Textiles Now” in the main gallery, was a selection of Colorado's most prominent and versatile textile artists. Traditionally, we think of textiles for their utilitarian qualities, most notably for clothing. Here, textiles are considered an artistic medium, stretching the boundaries of fiber into new expressions of creativity.

This exhibition was especially meaningful as today's retailers search for sustainable solutions and natural materials to help project an image and point of view.  Accepted mediums of fine art, and the art of visual merchandising, have expanded in recent years. We've all seen a plethora of mannequins draped in paper fashions and supporting environmental props made from fiber, glass, found objects and recycled elements ranging from barn-side wood, plastic water bottles and copper piping.  Most are well done, but what can be created that’s new with things that are old? 

The work on exhibition at the Arts Center was diverse in technique, with a wide range of style and interpretation. Artist Sara Rockinger created figurative work by using her sewing machine as a drawing tool: contour lines and dense textures stitched into sheets of fabric were representative of human form and experience. Jo Fitsell perfected a marbled fabric technique using floating paints and stencils to create abstract landscapes drawn from childhood and a love of nature. And mixed-media artist Anne Bossert added hand-dyed, hand-woven cotton to stained Baltic birch plywood and glass to create her “Blushing Pod Table.”

Whether it's Mary McCauley's hand-painted cotton and organza, “Solar Flares,” or the photorealistic freestyle machine embroidery of Carol Shinn, these artists have pushed nontraditional artistic mediums to new limits, creating something new from items we take for granted every single day. While textiles are the medium of fashion, this demonstrates once again that fashion and art are unmistakably, if not spiritually, united.