Barbara Brecher, a local fiber artist and owner of I Felt Fine Design, was honored with the Kavanaugh Award at the 35th Annual Uncommon Threads Runway Show at the Fine Line Creative Arts Center in St. Charles, Illinois. Uncommon Threads is a celebration of wearable art that highlights fiber artists from across the country. Brecher was one of 19 artists around the country who were juried into the runway show after answering a national call for entries.
The award is named in honor of Denise Kavanaugh, who was a founder in 1979 of the Fine Line Creative Arts Center. Juried by fiber artists, the prize is based on originality, construction and creativity.
The Best of Show award was given to A Very Special Day, a two-piece wedding dress. The fabric for the dress was made through a unique felting process which Brecher developed over the last 20 years. She layers silk and metallic fibers on a silk base and then fuses them by felting fine merino wool through all the surface materials. With her innovative dying and painting techniques and thoughtful, creative designs, she makes it possible quite literally to wear a piece of art. Her pieces display captivating texture and a lively range of vivid color.
Photo: A Very Special Day wedding dress was awarded Best of Show at the 35th Annual Uncommon Threads Runway Show.