Fiber art by Liz Hubbard in Modoc Gallery
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Fiber art inspired by local landscapes will be on exhibit through October in the Klamath County Museum’s Modoc Gallery.
Ancient rock art seen at various places in the Upper Klamath Basin and other regions of the West are the inspiration for fiber art works created by Liz Hubbard of Bonanza.
“I fell in love with the petroglyphs in Petrified Forest National Park and began a quest to see all the rock art I could find,” Hubbard says. “I joined groups on Facebook with like-minded petroglyph lovers, and I bought a small library about rock art.”
A sample of Hubbard’s work will be on display through September and October in the Klamath County Museum’s Modoc Gallery.
An opening reception for the exhibition runs from 10 a.m. to noon Wednesday, Sept. 11, in the museum at 1451 Main St.
Hubbard describes herself as “firstly a ranch wife,” but finds a way to balance daily chores with artistic pursuits.
“Fiber arts are my first passion,” she says. “With an unlimited amount of free material provided by our sheep, I started first with handspinning, knitting, and dyeing with commercial and natural dyes. Making felt with wool came next.”
As her interest in art grew, Hubbard says she took time to revisit rock art sites in the Klamath Basin.
“These were places I had grown up with, but now I was seeing them in a whole new light,” she says. “Many of the pieces currently in the Modoc Gallery highlight rock art around Oregon and her borders – the Lava Beds, Adel and the Columbia River Gorge mostly.”
Hubbard’s exhibition includes a three-piece series in mixed media of oil paint and felt that was inspired by a Modoc War tour map. The original map was commissioned by Daniel Woodhead of San Francisco, and is distributed through the Museum and various other entities.
“I had just finished reading “Hell With the Fire Out” by Arthur Quinn, and had spent a day wandering through the Stronghold,” she says. “With these mental images still fresh, I picked out three locations on the tour map to paint. I added felt work to convey emotions behind the painting.”
Hubbard describes her rock art-inspired pieces as “fiberglyphs.”
“I hope that when people look at my work they get a twinge of the awe that I feel when I stand before centuries-old chipped and painted rocks – the mystery of when and why, and the wondering of lives so long ago.”
She also hopes her work will encourage people to think more about the importance of protecting ancient rock art.
The Modoc Gallery is open during regular museum hours, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. Admission to the gallery is free.
For more information contact the museum at (541) 882-1000.
