A Kumihimo Gathering
An exhibit at the Bellefonte Art Museum ties together loose threads
Last weekend’s Arctic chill did not keep away the hundred+ visitors to the Bellefonte Art Museum to view the opening of five galleries at the First Sunday open house. Upstairs, paintings by local artists celebrate the beauty of the Spring Creek Watershed, compelling photographs and ceramics by Linda Hale each tell a deeper story, while downstairs, Ray Bilger’s Head Shots portraits in the main hall greet and engage, and the Hubble and Webb telescope-inspired Universe exhibit in the display window changes our perspective.
The two rooms of the main gallery transport you to Japan with the Gathered Threads exhibit of Kumihimo art by Carolyn Kerr. The word Kumihimo means “gathered threads.” The art has long been practiced in Japan to create decorative braids for Samurai armor and to fasten kimonos. Kerr takes the process to another level, creating necklaces that feature braided silk threads, yarns, and other fabrics—like saris—that are embellished with precious stones, silver, Japanese glass beads, and Afghani charms to create one-of-a-kind wearable art.
Carolyn and I met at State College in the mid-seventies when we cooked at Sunseed Café on Pugh Street and New Morning Café on Beaver Avenue. She is an artist with food as well as with thread. She and her husband, Jeff, left the area in the 80s to move to Texas, where Jeff taught at SMU, and then to Miami, where he was an associate professor of management in the business program at the University of Miami. With every move, a different facet of her creative self evolved—a catering business in Dallas and a tropical-themed pottery business in Miami.
About 12 years ago, she took a class in Miami on Kumihimo and got hooked. She has since made two trips to Japan to study with a master and goes to conferences nationwide to learn new methods and connect with her many friends in the braiding world.
Last January, I visited her in their apartment in New York, and when I saw her studio and the sheer volume of her work, I determined to help her find a way to get more eyes on it.
The Bellefonte Art Museum is small but mighty and very broad in scope. Yes, they mostly feature local artists but are eager to portray other worthy works. Lori Fisher, director, and Pat House, founder and emeritus director, agreed that Carolyn’s work would fit the museum's mission well.
The show took 11 months to produce, which meant a lot of emails and a few Zoom calls. But Lori Fisher’s attention to detail put Carolyn’s creations in the best possible light. The gallery was transformed into a window into a Japanese art form, complete with decorative Kimonos displayed on bamboo poles.
On Monday evening, the museum was open for a special member event where Carolyn discussed her process and led the attendees upstairs to a sushi and sake refreshment station and a hands-on threading event. People participated in the Kumihimo process and learned a bit about the intricacies of braiding strands of thread.
The Gathering Threads Kumihimo exhibit is open through January and February at the Bellefonte Art Museum during weekend hours (Friday, Saturday, and Sunday 12-4) or by appointment. Unless you have traveled to Japan and seen Kumihimo there, this will open a whole new world. Don’t miss it.