Manitou Art Center: 'Arachne's Strands' and music with Diedre McCarthy

Check out the brand new show in the Hagnauer Gallery entitled “Arachne’s Strands”.

This show features works by local fiber artists who are currently creating out of the MAC’s Textiles and Dye Lab studios.

We have an ongoing show in the First Amendment Gallery, and music by Diedre McCarthy.

Signature drink for the March First Friday Artwalk: the Blue Margarita!

Deirdre McCarthy is a Colorado based singer, songwriter, fiddle player and violinist; multi-instrumentalist, session player, and live performer.

Her rich, smooth alto vocals the sensuality and depth of her soul. Her songs speak to the universal human experience; the beauty in the struggle, bittersweet memories full of love and regret; and sometimes a bit of indignation.

Deirdre’s songs tend towards old time country, americana, and soul.

Most well known for her time with the late Colorado Springs band Woodshed Red (2013-2020); she has also performed with many other groups and musicians in both Maryland and Colorado.

About Arachne’s Strands:

Throughout the ages, fibers have been an undeniable necessity for human survival.

Evolving the necessity into an expression beyond function speaks to the tenacity of the human spirit and acknowledges subtle yet vital aspects of our lives.

Weaving, spinning, dyeing, sewing and paper making are tools that create hallmarks of civilization. and become the ways in which cultures distinguish themselves.

A group’s handiwork and development of their art and craft tradition describe who they are, where they live, and what resources are available.

Fibers and textiles are present in the stories, histories, and traditions of every culture on this planet. Fibers take many forms. They are used in a myriad of ways, from the functional to the fine art realms.

Arachne’s Strands is a show about the many different facets and forms fibers can take.

Arachne, from Greek mythology, was a weaver who was transformed into a spider.

Originally meant to be a cautionary tale about hubris, it also speaks to the presence and importance of textiles in daily life.

Arachne exists globally in many different cultures by many different names, present and venerated from the African continent to the Navajo Nation.

Arachne is a quiet yet dominant essence in our lives and her presence creates a network which binds us all together.

The artists in this exhibition display and carry on the many different strands of Arachne.