Review

Pillows, Recycled Kimono Cloth.

Linda Flake
Three Friends of Winter/Three Friends in Art
(Group Show)

5-6:30 p.m.

Locust Street Gallery
(Kathy Barnard Studio)
1605 Locust St.
Kansas City, MO
816-472-4977

Hours: 5-6:30 p.m. today, Wednesday and Thursday; also by appointment.
Runs through: Dec. 22.

Artist's site: http://www.kimono-art-studio.com
Gallery site: http://www.kathybarnardstudio.com

It's true that this space has featured several fiber artists within the past week. Maybe it's that as the weather turns chilly and damp, there's something comforting about tactile works.

It's also true that Kansas City's art scene is so varied that I could feature fiber artists for a week or more and never come close to a visual or thematic rerun. Take, for today's example, Linda Flake's portion of the Three Friends of Winter/Three Friends in Art show at Locust Street Gallery.

Flake's art is a series of collaborations with artisans she will never meet ... and with untold legions of silkworms.

She recycles vintage Japanese obi sashes, haori jackets and kimono, transforming the fabric  into works ranging from the purely decorative to the elegantly functional -- such as the pillows pictured above. The list also includes (but is not limited to) room dividers, wall pieces, lamps, even clutch purses.

The Asian theme echoes in the first half of the show's title. In Chinese art, the Three Friends of Winter are plum (grace and sweetness), pine (long life and family love) and bamboo (purity and integrity). The Three Friends in Art, meanwhile, are Flake, Kathy Barnard (whose glass studio houses the gallery) and jewelry maker Susan Mahlstedt.

Also in keeping with the Asian reverence for old things, Flake does not hide the effects of time on the fabrics she uses.

I disassemble all the cleaned garments by hand, iron all the pieces flat, then begin my design process, she writes. Once my art is complete, the observer may notice subtle remains of the testimony of the fabrics past life. There may be a faint crease, a teeny line of needle holes from an original hand-sewn seam, or a faint smudge or fading. I consider these beauty marks to validate its historical spirit.

It's comforting to know that there are people, like Flake, who value "experienced" items over the Latest New Thing ... and who are willing to put their time and inspiration to work repurposing vintage materials into original art -- and yes, this is original art in every sense. While the silk weavers were responsible for the cloth patterns themselves, and the kimono designers for arranging them in their original forms, Flake's vision and skill in rearranging those patterns makes these pieces her own.

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