TOPSHAM — Maine Fiberarts will present a gallery talk and reception with sculptural knitter and author Katharine Cobey on Sunday, Feb. 13.

An open-house reception will run from 2-5 p.m. The “Knitting Great Shapes”  gallery talk will take will place from 2:30-3 p.m. at the Maine Fiberarts Gallery, 13 Main St. The event is free and has a snow date of Feb. 20.

 The gallery talk with Cobey is part of the region’s Longfellow Days, the annual celebration of poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Cobey embodies this year’s theme, Longfellow and the Maine Crafts Tradition: Virtue, Independence, Equality, given her distinction as a 2010 Maine Master Craft Artist.

Nationally recognized for her contributions to the art and stewardship of American knitting, Cobey is also lauded for her large-scale sculptural knitting installations and as a dedicated teaching artist.

“Knitting is a sculptural technique that can construct shape at the same time it determines the surface texture, color and patterns,” Cobey said.

Knitters build their own material as they shape their project, unlike sculptors working with marble or wood where artists must adapt their concepts to the grain of the material, she added.

Cobey has written the book “Diagonal Knitting: A Different Slant,” which is featured in the current issue of Vogue Knitting Magazine. Several of the pieces found in her book will be on view at Maine Fiberarts Gallery through Feb. 25.

Exhibitions at the Topsham Center/Gallery change every two months. Hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Friday; and 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday. For more information, visit www.mainefiberarts.org or call 721-0678.

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