Textile Center’s new Studio is an interactive workshop space for rotating exhibits and educational programs, with an emphasis on process. The flexible space allows for nimbleness in featuring cutting-edge fiber art installations that don’t fit a traditional gallery model. Studio currently showcases “fig panels” that were created through Lori Weitzner Design. According to Weitzner, this special fibrous material is made in a village in Mexico by an extended family. Fig tree bark is harvested in strips and dyed. The pattern for the intricate latticed look is formed by hand and pounded into place. The parts of the tree that don’t get used for the bark are used for other things in the community so that nothing goes to waste. The material has been used by Weitzner in creating room screens, lampshades, and even shoes. Textile Center framed panels of this fig material for display in the new space.
