Artist Shula Mustacchi's Fiber Art a Hit

Artist Shula Mustacchi is wooing folks at the  this month with her "Joseph Coats" collection of Fiber Art, on display until Nov. 29 in the main gallery.

 "This is one of the best shows I've ever seen," said Milton Katz, a 92-year-old Port Washington resident. "It must have taken infinite patience to do this. How can you sit down and write all of this? It makes sense too. It's a whole story."

Indeed, Mustacchi – inspired by a bible study class – crafted her work by writing out freehand the bible story of Joseph and his brothers in fine print around the coats or tunics displayed in her artwork.

"It seemed to me that the coat was there in the text, waiting to be born," said Mustacchi.

Johanna Hurwitz, 60, a children's book writer from Great Neck, enjoyed the exhibit. "The work is spectacular," she said. "It jumps off the wall at you."

For the mid-November reception for the artist, the Mustacchi family flew in from all across the globe.

"I think it's marvelous," said daughter-in-law Amit Mustacchi, 60, a social worker from Israel. "It's outstanding, it's breathtaking. Knowing her for so many years and seeing how she develops her art, it's fantastic. It's very special. She always manages to take me by surprise with her creativity and her ideas."

Other pieces of artwork in the collection include her "Chuppot" wedding canopies and carpet-like tapestries.

"I like her work very much," said a local art teacher who came to see the show.  "I think it's very unusual. You think about paintings as being about paint. But this is a combination of all these wonderful textiles and the writing and the collage also. It's very interesting. And she's made it so personal with her interest in bible study that she's incorporated into her work. It's very thought provoking."

Mustacchi is a graduate of St. Martin's School of Arts fashion department. She also studied for four years at the Victoria and Albert Museum's textile department.