SEQUIM — She knits. She weaves. So what?
So a lot.
Blending fibers brings power to women — and whole societies — says Renne Emiko Brock-Richmond, coordinator of “Amalgamate,” an exhibition up now at the Museum and Arts Center, 175 W. Cedar St. in downtown Sequim.
To amalgamate means to blend two or more things to build a strong whole, Brock-Richmond said.
In her artist’s statement, on display in the museum alongside wildly colorful woven works, she explains fiber’s roles in history.
Mohandas Gandhi encouraged the people of India to spin and weave their own cotton rather than sell it to the British, who had been milling fiber in England and forcing the Indians to buy it back.
When the people kept their cotton, and clothed themselves, they took a step toward liberation from British rule.
Likewise, women in America and Europe who spun fiber into yarn could remain independent, Brock-Richmond said.
Spinning, weaving and sewing meant money — and freedom to decide one’s own destiny.
A weaver didn’t have to find a man to marry in order to survive.
Apparel not fashion
Local weavers also tell their stories in the Museum and Arts Center exhibit.
About 15 have work on display.
Brock-Richmond brought many of the women together; they’re members of the North Olympic Shuttle and Spindle Guild who’re displaying scarves, jackets, capes and other art from fiber.
“A lot of the women in the guild just started doing this, because they have time. They tell me, ‘I always wanted to learn how to weave,”‘ Brock-Richmond said.
Then there’s her own creation: the “fire suit.”
“It’s my personality,” she said of the orange-red-gold ensemble.
“I’m drawn to those colors.”
For Brock-Richmond, 38, color and clothing are art that announce that someone fabulous has just entered the building.
When you wear your true favorite color — not necessarily what’s in style this season — you show the world your best self.
“I make apparel,” added Brock-Richmond, “not fashion.”
Fashion, to Brock-Richmond, is clothing that’s meant to go out of style and into the trash.
Apparel, in contrast, lasts.