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Show The Art Scene Weaving has esthetic qualities, too ; By George Dibble Society has become so thoroughly accustomed to the utilitarian comforts of weaving that esthetic qualities a re o f t e n taken for granted or overlooked. It is the weaver who clothes, adorns, refur-bishes and cushions the physical shocks and mental abrasions that wound the sensibilities. It is refreshing, however, to see a display of weaver's art that is spared the onerous functional role. Students of Julie Connell are represented in a student and mentor exhibition of work completed ;it the University of Utah during the fall quarter. Natural and prepared fibers available from local supply sources have been used ex-dusively in creating the en? joy-able collection displayed in the Art Department Gallery, It is a little frustrating to realize that svelte sleeves crocheted in elegant white wool by Karen Makarewicz are not for wearing â€" just looking. Gayle Corah's expertly crafted piece with ingratiating textures appears to be a wearable thing but even with a saucily fabricated hat it is meant to grace oniy the wall on which it hangs. â- . Please Eye The nonetheless exciting ; unction of each of the pieces ui the show is to please the eye and if perchance the excited utilitarian puts forth a hand to touch, he will realize that vicarious experience equals the real thing. All the pieces have slipped the bounds of physical comfort, courting sensations that are risible as well as romantic. Not often does one see a twelve foot caterpillar inching or rather footing its way through space. Sheryl Gibson's brightly colored creature made of bright plastic plates and satin tufting with accenting puff s of cotton floss meanders a merry way in space. Another piece â€" a-glove tree â€" is hilarious. A double tiered hammock in a substantial fabric of red, gray and brown hue isn't supposed to relax anything but the eyeballs. As you loll in fancy, you can look up on the wall to the right at an exhilarating tiger-striped panel in bright blue, orange and beige woven by Gay Bentley. Sheryl Gibson shows a stitched, quilted, gathered and filled apparition that sports bat wings and a furry headpiece with horns. Julie Conne-U's'.richly formed waffle mats cover moon-shaped chrome domes that flash bits of metallic brilliance through the soft woolly fabric. The under-pieces are actually four hub caps in a variety of sizes. Julie was eautioned by a helpful dealer who sold them that they wouldn't fit the same car. Wall Hanging Raffia â€" natural and dyed â€" is employed by Joan Bale in a wall hanging that resembles a primitive ceremonial robe. Another piece features a design that explores the quality of wool fibers scoured, carded and spun by the weaver from a natural fleece. Kristen Wallengren's figure has a minutely woven pattern that features pop design. Bertha Schmidt's commanding piece has smaller panels of firmly woven gray yarn surmounted with geometric motifs in bright hue. Movia Meintzer uses hemp fibers and sisal with a variety of natural materials in another piece in a lively display that can be seen through April 11. V At Art Center A collection of watercolors in the Upstairs Gallery at the Art Center attests strong individual directions taken by an artist who early came to grips with significant goals in painting. Pieces in the show range from the fluently poetic to experiments that do not come off quite as Well but this only suggests a flexibility to experiment albeit within rather confined technical directions â€" restrained washes on wet paper. If a wider audience had known his earlier series dealing with the old Saltair resort there would have been less static about its preservation. There are two from this series in the group. One in violet hue reaches toward overtones of magenta in soft nostalgic profile over a lightly toned wash. The candor of monochromatic pattern laid wetly on vigorous paper has considerable emotional power. Another in more earthy tones poses the grand profile of the old Pavilion in opposition to exte.rnal force. JSllingsoifs involvement is as much with paper as* pigment and brush. Employing almost inordinate amounts of wetness he rouses the absorptive power of the ground. "Jewish Synagogue" painted in San Francisco dissipates the competitive force of pigment until it reaches an apparently docile state. Meager Palette If there seems but a spark remaining it is essentially the rekindling of another flame. Since he allows but a meager palette, essential hues are never lost. "The Paradigm Tree," almost forced by position and isolation from the picture plane could demand considerable understanding from a viewer commonly regaled with a plethora of eyecatch-ers. But only an imaginative composer would knowingly ask as much. These are thoughtful and rewarding paintings by an artist who deals sensitively with ideas in terms of exigent facts of time and location. |