Fabric Artists Display Work at Chappaqua Library

Susan Schrott of Chappaqua was introduced  to textile art "when I was a young girl," she recalls, and "both grandmothers put thread and fabric in my hand." This Sunday, she'll formally introduce Westchester to a display of textile art at a reception to mark the Chappaqua Library's holiday exhibition, "Fiber Celebration." Among the artists on display will be Ann Louise Lyman of Tarrytown with her Sunset Sky.

The exhibit, which opened Nov. 27 and is scheduled to run through Jan. 8, displays the work of almost 50 members of the Studio Art Quilt Associates (SAQA), a nonprofit organization promoting fiber art.

In her own work, Schrott uses colorful hand-dyed and surface-designed textiles, threads and mixed media to create her abstract works. "I celebrate and create images of women who are courageous, joyful and inspirational," Schrott says.

Schrott, a psychotherapist, is a member of several organizations, including Fiber Revolution, Studio Art Quilt Associates, The American Quilter's Society, the Salon Seven and the International Quilters Association, as well as SAQA. With 2,500 members in 31 countries, SAQA celebrates the art quilt movement through juried exhibitions of artist members' works at museums and galleries worldwide.

Sunday's reception will run from 1 to 3 p.m. and will include an opportunity to meet with some of the artists whose works are on display.

All told, Westchester artists make up a third of those displaying at the library. In addition to Schott (Woman With Orange Hair, Woman With Three Birds) and Lyman, they also include: Barbara Sferra of Katonah (Butterscotch October), Maxine Oliver of Yorktown Heights (Best Friends Forever), Randy Frost of Bronxville (Lace Party), Benedicte Caneill of Larchmont (Botany Meets Geometry), Kendell Storm of White Plains (For You), Carolyn Spiegel of Scarsdale (Window) and Linda Schoenfeld of Purchase (Vogue on the Beach).

Also, Vivien Zepf of Thornwood (Thanksgiving), Arle Sklar-Weinstein of Hastings-on-Hudson (Mott Street Opera: Garden of the Faun), Nancy Beckerman of Pound Ridge (We Dance Alone), Beth Carney of Yonkers (Fractured Chaos), Tamar Drucker of Ossining (Spoon and Fork), Martha Levites of Goldens Bridge (Sleeping Softly), Lori Light of Peekskill (Tidal Pools) and Jeri Riggs of Dobbs Ferry (Quiet Night).

Art quilts are descendants of the venerable folk art quilt, contemporary works that tap into a wide range of tools from the world of visual arts, including painting, printmaking, photography, graphic design, assemblage and sculpture.

The Chappaqua Library exhibit, curated by Larry D'Amico, features 50 such works in 12-inch by 12-inch quilts hanging in the gallery. It's open Monday through Thursday from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., Friday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from 12:30 to 5:30 p.m.