Curators in Conversation – Lorna McMaster: Art & Environmental Stewardship

Fiber artist Lorna McMaster chats with Katie Wood Kirchhoff, Alice Cooney Frelinghuysen Curator of American Decorative Arts about felting, seed saving, and sustainable practices in the arts and agriculture.

McMaster creates portraits and landscapes in felted wool that call attention to the artist’s commitment to seed saving as an act of environmental stewardship. McMaster’s compositions aim to raise awareness about the ways humans, animals, and plants can adapt and live symbiotically as part of a global community. The exhibition “Lorna McMaster: Stewarding a Seed Collection” will feature 14 needle-felted wool panels constructed from home-grown wool bred specifically for the fiber texture that makes her felt work so unique. A 15th panel, inspired by the gardens at the Museum, rounds out the exhibition, which will be on view at Shelburne Museum from May 11 through October 20. McMaster has spent decades working and teaching in multiple disciplines of fiber arts and seed saving. During the pandemic, McMaster started the Heartfelt Seed Project to educate others about seed saving through the arts.

Join us via Zoom on April 23 at 6 p.m. Eastern. A live Q & A will close the program.

Free; advance registration required.

The webinar will have captioning, American Sign Language interpretation, verbal description, and a transcript available of the recorded event.