Expressions in Fiber & Form Artist Statements & Bios
Miki Howell
I create landscapes and nature-scapes, increasingly made from repurposed and donated fabrics. I rely heavily on my hand-dyed fabrics, of which my favorites are cheesecloth and rayon dryer sheets. My quilting background has provided techniques, tips, and tools, while the diverse art community continually inspires new ways to embellish and finish pieces.
Nature-scapes employ the “chenille” or “stitch and rip” technique, which is created from layers of fabric stitched in channels, ripped, then deliberately distressed to create even more texture. Landscapes are shaped by layering fabrics on a base and securing them using free-motion quilting. Two favorite techniques I employ in landscapes are creating new fabric from bits of fabric and threads, and “chenille”. I enjoy tucking reflective metallic or iridescent fabric into both types of pieces.
About Miki
Miki is a fabric artist living in Carlisle who was raised in rural Japan. Her work finds the spectacular hiding inside ordinary, everyday moments and brings those moments to life in cloth.
She has been an active quilter for 28 years and has spent the last 5 years creating her fabric scenes. Her faith as a child of the living God is at the heart of who she is, and she tries to convey that sense of meaning and wonder in everything she makes.
Outside of her art, she enjoys time with her family, volunteers in the visual art ministry in her church, is a CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate) in Cumberland County, and is excitedly awaiting the arrival of her next puppy, who will be trained as a therapy dog for work in nursing facilities.
Jóh Ricci
My work reflects a passion for fiber art and is where I feel most comfortable. Self-taught in a variety of techniques, I continue to seize the true spirit of my artistic expression using colorful threads, cords and yarns, manipulating them by hand, into thousands of tiny knots. This creative process is tedious, time intensive and requires patience, although there is something magical about the feel of the material running through my fingers, the rhythm of making knot after knot, and the idea of making something from nothing.
While the need to explore other techniques was a driving force to experience additional possibilities of creative expression, I remain committed to knotting, although I continue to weave, crochet and bead. Recently, I began exploring twining and coiling techniques, all requiring similar ways of working towards developing craftsmanship that I could be proud of.
My inspiration stems from diverse sources that begin the creative journey. There are endless possibilities of forms, shapes, colors, patterns and textures to explore, allowing me to be playful, as well as challenged to create art that transcends my expectations, expresses my individuality and nurtures a journey of self-discovery.
About Jóh
Jóh Ricci is an artist and instructor living in Gettysburg PA. Her fiber art awareness took root at an early age when a Great Aunt taught her to crochet; it was then she began playing with yarn; creating her first Afghan in shades of green.
Ricci went on to pursue a degree in art, earning her BFA from Kutztown University. She took a weaving class as one of her electives, which she took to like a fish to water. Encouraged by her Professor, she was literally hooked and continued to focus on weaving. Throughout the years, her interest evolved from weaving, to hand bead-weaving, and ultimately knotting. She has developed a unique artistic style, creating one of a kind organic forms and vessels.
A recipient of numerous awards, Jóh’s work has been included in numerous magazine publications and fiber art books, as well as several private art collections, including The Kamm Teapot Foundation. She has exhibited her work at some of the most prestigious juried shows including The Smithsonian Craft Show (Best of Show), The Philadelphia Museum of Art Craft Show (Award of Excellence in Fiber), as well as invitational exhibitions and juried gallery shows across the US.
Beth Reese
I have been making things for as long as I can remember—creating is essential to me. My work is rooted in a desire to understand connection: the unseen networks that bind living things together, the ways our actions ripple outward into the lives of others, and the vastness of what exists beyond our comprehension. These concepts guide both the imagery and emotional landscape of my work.
In building mixed media collage, I create layered, gelli-printed papers rich in color and texture, which are cut and formed into shapes. These elements are arranged onto backgrounds that develop a sense of history, with details gradually emerging to complete each composition.
Quilting influences my work through its tactile comfort, its traditions, and its balance of structure and repetition —bringing together my analytical and artistic sensibilities.
Inspired by botanical forms and natural patterns, I weave organic shapes together with geometric forms of grids, compass points, and mandala compositions. These allow me to explore the human search for guidance and meaning.
My work is both a meditation and a deeply fulfilling practice. Through creating, I hope to strengthen connections and extend light and beauty outward, while inviting viewers to discover their own personal resonance within the work.
About Beth
Beth Reese is a mixed media artist based in Harrisburg, PA, working with paper, paint, and fiber. She studied fine art at Edinboro University and has since developed her own distinctive style and process.
She has exhibited at venues throughout the local area, including galleries, coffee shops, restaurants, and other public spaces, and has shown her work at CALC for over ten years. She was recently awarded Best of Show at the Smith Galleryin Lemoyne, PA.
This exhibition features an expanded body of her work, presenting a more indepth view of her practice.
Her work is conceptual, exploring intuition and connection. Her expression is through layered collage and quilting, uniting organic forms with geometric structure.