Art from Scratch

Dutch textile artist Claudy Jongstra creates from the earth up. Rather than working alone in a studio, she heads a fiber-art atelier in the Netherlands that’s also a farm for keeping bees, growing plants for dyes, and raising a flock of long-locked Drenthe Heath sheep. Following a strict DIY ethic,...

By Susan Froyd

July 4, 2013

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Dutch textile artist Claudy Jongstra creates from the earth up. Rather than working alone in a studio, she heads a fiber-art atelier in the Netherlands that’s also a farm for keeping bees, growing plants for dyes, and raising a flock of long-locked Drenthe Heath sheep. Following a strict DIY ethic, Jongstra and her team produce monumental felted wool-and-silk tapestries from their homegrown, hand-dyed fibers; the works are both timelessly ancient in tradition and thoroughly modern in appearance, and have graced the walls of great museums, the Dutch presidential residence, New York’s Lincoln Center and countless public buildings.

And now they’ll hang at the Museum of Outdoor Arts: Jongstra, who started out working with such couture designers as Donna Karan and Christian Lacroix, will be at the museum today for the opening of her show, Claudy Jongstra, at a reception from 5 to 9 p.m. An artist talk with Jongstra and atelier members precedes the opening, at 4 p.m.; both events are free and open to the public. The exhibit continues through July 13 at MOA, 1000 Englewood Parkway, in the Englewood Civic Center building. For more information, visit moaonline.org or call 303-806-0444.
Sat., April 13, 5-9 p.m.; Tuesdays-Saturdays. Starts: April 13. Continues through July 13, 2013

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Susan Froyd started writing for Westword as the "Thrills" editor in 1992 and never quite left the fold. These days she still freelances for the paper in addition to walking her dogs, enjoying cheap ethnic food and reading voraciously. Sometimes she writes poetry.

Contact: Susan Froyd

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