Written by Kelsey Vickers. Graphic by Alice Stockli
Fibers is one of the most misunderstood majors at SCAD, but once a year, it bares its soul to Savannah. This year, that day fell on Friday, Feb. 27. From 5–8 p.m., fibers hosted their 21st Open Studio.
The building demanded attention. One couldn’t help but be present when all of the senses were engaged. Arms brushed in the bustling halls. Fingers maneuvered needles and thread. The scent of indigo filled the air. Vibrant colors and unique patterns pulled gazes in every direction. The DJ’s music fought to drown out the voices of the crowd. Sweet tea and lemonade refreshed parched mouths.
Student work lined Pepe Hall’s corridors and extended into the classrooms, occupying the walls and tables. Fiber’s students led demos in various rooms, all touching on a different focus in the major. All materials provided were industry-level materials that students work with, such as large buckets full of indigo dye and industrial knitting machines.
Fibers refuses to be limited to one field. It dips its wooly hands into fine art, the fashion industry and interior design. Students learn to manipulate the physical materials, like embroidering or weaving, as well as design them, learning to draw and dye fabric.
This variety of the major is demonstrated in the students’ work, with neck scarves on mannequins, swatch books full of dyes on display, weavings hanging on the walls, and a mock bedroom on the second floor.
“I think it’s a really special opportunity for students to see other people experience their work. We have the opportunity to critique where students in the same class are looking at the work, but to see the public, and to be able to share what we do, and talk about the details…collaborations develop out of it, career opportunities, so it’s really important that we do it,” says fibers professor Sara Rabinowitz.
Fibers junior Hailey Dolny views Open Studio as an opportunity to appreciate her peers’ hard work outside of their limited critique time, but what she values most is the opportunity for inspiration. “We’re all using the same resources, but it’s cool to see how people use them differently and get inspiration for how I can use things differently,” she said.
The fibers students’ experimentation with resources was apparent in the exhibitions. Courtney Watts, who embellished wearable bandages, held a booth on the first floor. One of the demos was inspired by this work, where they provided bandages, beads, and sewing supplies to embellish bandages.
Graduate student Sammy Baker’s work involves rusted metal. They use found materials and transfer or sew them onto fabric to tell a story. The rust imprints are an ode to their bicycle, their main form of transportation. “Fashion is a form of communication, so I’m attaching these found objects to create these little ideas that connect with the clothes, and the clothes connect with the person that’s wearing them,” said Baker.
Students from other majors felt the culture shock. The vibrancy and tangibility of Fibers Open Studio was initially jarring to those accustomed to the world of screens, but it also is what made it enticing.
“As a UX student, we spend most of our time on a computer. It’s so fun to see the vastness of different majors and to see people working in them,” said Brayden Wisniewski. “It makes me want to take a class here,” adds photography senior Niah Johnson. “I want to work with my hands like this–work with those skills that I haven’t in a while.”
SCAD Fibers Open House managed to encapsulate a major that’s integrated everywhere in one night. What a gift it is to witness. Until next time!
