Findlay works with simple cotton sacks used by sea-scallop fishermen for storing meat after shucking. She dyes the bags using natural dyes or “kakishibu,” a Japanese dye technique involving fermented persimmons. Then she builds figures from the inside out, forming shapes, crumpling newspaper, molding forms, and wrapping and stitching until a figure emerges.

Findlay said, “The materials I use reflect my deep sense of place, of community, of creatures, of memories and dreams. My figures emerge from my meditative journeys, with stops, starts, revisions, dances, songs, words, wings and wind. The well-worn pathways go back and forth across the landscapes of my imagination, with hidden histories of pain and joy, detachment and love, intimacy and solitude.”

Munson is a minister with the United Methodist Church of Brunswick. She combines a life of expressions in both art and faith. She, too, experiments with dye immersion and subtraction to produce a palette of silk and cotton fabric scraps “too intriguing to discard.” She fashions cloth into works that speak about the dichotomy of “forgiving” and “unforgiving” fabrics and of piecing them into a cohesive whole.

Spaulding has two quilts on view that depict “the intricate patterns and colors of organic matter and the natural patterns created by growth and surface degradation.” She is drawn to barns, trees, rocks, weathered wood, water, doors and aerial views of fields.

Spaulding noted, “I am more interested in the essence of a place then in capturing the details, and work to preserve a more abstract expression of shapes, forms and lines.”

Since all three artists enjoy using natural materials as inspiration or to dye and color their fabrics and fibers, their talk from 2-5 p.m. Wednesday, August 28, will interest artists, colorists, quilters and fiber enthusiasts. Refreshments will be on hand.

For more information, visit www.mainefiberarts.org or phone 207-721-0678.

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