‘Primal Need’ Inspires Fiber Art Exhibit at BlackRock

Artist Karen Schultz was inspired by a “primal need for soft materials” when creating work for the fiber art tribute show on view .

The fiber art exhibit continues through Aug. 20.

Schultz has been quilting for the past 30 years. She dyes her own fabrics and likes to incorporate bold contrasts and subtle tone shifts — bold shapes with fragile lines, repetition and randomness, tension and calm.

Schultz said the origins of her cloth fascination could be traced to a blanket she lost when she was 4. She said her parents didn’t like the idea of her lugging it around, so the slowly cut away at it until she was left with a four-inch square — which she lost. 

“Perhaps I have been trying to sew that blanket back together again ever since,” Schultz said in a press release.