88 | SEPTEMBER 14 • 2023
fiber-based work,” she said.
“My color palette is an abstract articulation of a
physical experience. I use color and form to ground me
back in the body. Color helps me connect back to the
thing that I’m exploring.”
Although pieces were not juried into the show, they
were curated by Melissa Webb, a Cranbrook alum, and
Kip Parks, an artist in Hamtramck and Fibers Studio
coordinator at the U-M Stamps School of Art and
Design, where Shulman works in development and
alumni relations.
“
Any Fiber Club member could submit a few pieces
for consideration, and the curators worked with each
artist to pick the right piece,” she said.
Because there are no
fees associated with Fiber
Club membership, the
show is being funded
with $1,300 awarded
by CultureSource, a
nonprofit alliance in
southeastern Michigan.
“Landing back in
Michigan, I saw a need
to create a community in
Detroit that could exist
outside of an institution,”
Shulman said. “I got this
off the ground from my
network of people I knew
in the city who expressed
an interest in fiber arts.
Twenty-five people
showed up for our first
meeting.”
Raised in a Jewish
household and having a
bat mitzvah, Shulman,
35, said that joining people together is her reflection of
religion.
“Where I connect to my religion is my community
connection,” the artist said. “My culture in community
was taught to me from a very early age. That is how I
move through the world. I want to connect and pull
people together.”
Shulman also is joining with other artists as she
exhibits two fiber works in celebrating the remodeling
of the Downtown Synagogue. Her two wall hangings
are titled “Totem v.2 (Innards)” and “Totem v.3 (Rib
Cage)” in the show of many artists that is up until Nov.
1.
Shulman lives in Detroit with partner, Drew Davis, a
ceramicist and teacher. She explained that her two dogs
provide exercise she misses after stopping her rowing
Details
Mending the Net can be seen at Convent Detroit, 13301 Mound
Road, noon-4 p.m. Sept. 15-17, 22-24 and by appointment. The
closing reception runs 4-7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 28. An open Fiber
Club meeting is 6-8:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 19, at Convent Detroit.
fiberclubdetroit@gmail.com.
Different views of “Heavy/
Hollow v.1”
continued from page 86
ARTS&LIFE
ART
commitments, an important part of her interest in sports.
“I’m attracted to fiber because it’s responsive and (represents) the
mark I can make,” Shulman said. “It’s expressive and malleable. There’s
something about moving backwards and forwards with the material
without cutting and erasing it. The feelings fiber brings are generative and
experimental and open.”
As Shulman thinks about her work and the group, she has developed
a hope for Fiber Club members, whose work in the show is not directly
for sale. Instead, interested visitors will be told how to get in touch with
artists.
“I am interested in how we can use this organization and huge
community we’ve created to resource these artists,” she said. “They are
part of this community in ways they need. Everything that’s been done is
based on the generosity of our members.”