Art: Colorful, impactful textiles on display at the Ohio Craft Museum in March

When it comes to textiles, there are myriad possibilities.

A delicate baby blanket, a hanging quilt that calls attention to climate change, a whimsical figure made of hand-dyed wool, enormous felt bowls and a queen-size coat built of muslin, textiles and embroidery floss.

All these and more can be found in “Traversing Textiles,” continuing through March 30 at the Ohio Craft Museum.

Char Norman, a fiber artist herself, selected the 59 works by 20 artists (many of them from Ohio) in this diverse and often surprising collection.

The “Circles and Squares Baby Blanket” by Delaware, Ohio, artist Sue Briney, is a gentle and sophisticated weave of pink and blue cotton.

Cincinnati artist Cynthia Lockhart blends purple, red and black textiles with colorful beads in “Climate Change: Set the Atmosphere,” a work that swirls with motion and an element of danger.

Judy Rush, a Bexley artist, creates whimsical hand-dyed wool figures like the androgenous bicycle-riding “Them” as well as gorgeous, epic bowls created from hand-dyed wool, glycerin, gelatin and wet felt. These colorful pieces call to mind the floral sculptures of Dale Chihuly but with a matte rather than shiny finish.

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Taking center stage in the gallery is “The Coat of Sheer Empowerment,” a larger-than-life coat worn by a mannequin and created by Canton artist Judi Krew. Created from multicolored muslin, textiles, sheer fabrics and embroidery floss, the arresting coat could be a companion to Joseph’s Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.

Krew has several other works in the exhibit including the sober “The School Shootings School Bus Cape.” Printed on the yellow broadcloth coat are strings of white paper doll images, some of whom have a red X drawn through them. Hanging from the cape is a necklace holding a gun.

Norman has selected works with such variety in subjects, themes and materials, that moving from piece to piece is an adventure.

Hilliard artist Dawn Borror is represented with tiny, embroidered scenes from nature.

Janette Knowles of Columbus employs delicate Japanese-style stitch work in her lovely brown-black quilt “We Are Made of the Stuff of Stars.”

In her woven reed sculpture, Elizabeth Runyon of Paris, Kentucky, pays homage to the organic looped forms of American sculptor Ruth Asawa.

Melissa English Campbell of Kent, Ohio, has created minutely woven portraits of women that call to mind the formatted photo portraits of Chuck Close.

Patty Kennedy Zafred of Murrysville, Pennsylvania, presents a grid of miners’ portraits on cotton fabric in “Coal Town: Second Shift.”

Such breadth and diversity in textile art is described by curator Norman in her exhibit statement:

“Fiber traverses every aspect of our lives, from clothing, household goods, toys and storytelling to shelter, insulation and fiber optic cables … The use of fiber is practically as old as man, has evolved from hand skills to mechanized processes, but is once again enjoying a resurgence of basic techniques and appreciation for finely crafted hand work.”

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At a glance

“Traversing Textiles” continues through March 30 at the Ohio Craft Museum, 1665 W. 5th Ave. Hours: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Fridays, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays. Admission is free. Call 614-486-4402 or visit www.ohiocraft.org.

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: 'Traversing Textiles' exhibit features 59 works at Ohio Craft Museum