Irene Sutton Fiber Arts Show Submission Form

Call to Artists!
7th Annual Irene Sutton Fiber Art Exhibition
Theme for 2019 is “Lift Your Voice”

Set your artistic voice free!  Pick your favorite fiber medium or mix it up! Create a tribute to a powerful leader or loved one, illustrate a favorite phrase or quote, depict a favorite song or performer.  Honor a person who speaks up for others or for justice, show an action that speaks louder than words, or relay to us who or what inspires you to lift your voice.  Fiber art pieces can be 2 or 3 dimensional and between 5-12 inches in any direction.   Please consider creating a work of art and lifting your voice for a message or cause that inspires you!

About Irene

Irene Sutton was a woman ahead of her time. She was a feminist and strongly independent. She could be a force of nature wrapped up in a small 5’ body! Married to John Owen for over 61 years until her death in 2005, they created a true partnership of mutual love, respect and team decision-making. They raised their children to be strong and independent as well. Their children always knew they were a united front.

Born in April, 1923, to immigrant parents, Irene’s childhood and teen years were spent in Flint, Michigan. Upon arriving in the United States, her father, John, a musician and master machinist, began a longtime career as a master craftsman with the GM Automotive Parts Division. He taught music lessons in the evenings at their home. Her mother, Esther, a former seamstress in a shirtwaist dress factory in Leeds, England, founded her own custom tailoring business in their home as well. The Great Depression struck while Irene, her mother and brother were visiting family in Leeds. They stayed for a little more than a year in Leeds while her father struggled to keep his job with GM. The highlight of that time for Irene was having a chance to see the Queen Mum drive by in a horse drawn carriage. Upon returning to the United States aboard a ship, the three members of the Sutton family had to enter via Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty. They had to wait a few days for her father to pick them up with the necessary paperwork and were only fed blueberries in sour milk…it was such an distressing experience that Irene never ate blueberries again. Irene grew up working alongside her mother in her tailoring business and with her father as the pianist during music lessons. She developed a strong love and passion for both sewing and music as a result of these experiences. These two passions helped to shape her life and ultimately the lives of her children and grandchildren.

This little bit of Mom’s history already has Terry’s brain storming with all kinds of fiber art interpretations that would illuminate Irene’s life…a ship at sea, an untouched blueberry pie, a dressmaker’s form, a piano, sheet music, a vintage motor car, a horse drawn carriage, or images of her family. 

Who will you choose to illuminate this year?

Get your creative juices flowing! Pick your favorite fiber medium or mix it up! Create a tribute to a special woman in your life, quilt a self portrait, honor women of the world, or whatever speaks to your feminine side. Pieces can be 2 or 3 dimensional and between 5 – 12 inches in any direction.  Illuminate women who inspire you.  

Submissions accepted September 1 – 15. There is no submission fee. Exhibition runs October 1-31, 2019. Your submission is on display for a full month as part of the exhibit. You may choose to sell your piece or not. If you want to sell your work, you will be asked to set a price when you drop it off. We ask those who come to see the exhibit to vote for the best of show and best interpretation of the theme.

We will award the Best of Show and the Best Interpretation of the Theme winners a Silk Road Textiles Gift Certificate at the end of October. The winning pieces can be on display in the shop for up to 12 months if the artist desires.

Silk Road Textiles hosts the Irene Sutton Fiber Art Exhibit in honor of Terry’s mom, Irene Sutton Owen. She was an avid sewer, fiber artist and fiber arts teacher for over 65 years.

Even if you do not submit a fiber art piece, be sure to stop in to view the exhibition  & vote for your favorite pieces.

Pick up a submission form for the seventh annual Irene Sutton Fiber Art Exhibition next time you’re in the shop!