The Loosely Knit Alliance

The Collaborative Works of Laura Morrison & Gail Smuda

Library Arts Center 2024

The Loosely Knit Alliance

The COLLABORATIVE WORKS OF LAURA MORRISON + GAIL SMUDA

Library Arts Center Gallery | August 10-October 4, 2024

with an opening reception Friday, August 9, 5-7pm

Laura Morrison and Gail Smuda have worked together as The Loosely Knit Alliance for over 16 years creating mixed media works with a feminist perspective and a focus on artist made books and fiber works. Touching on a variety of subjects such as women’s work, healthcare, family, time and local history, this exhibit interweaves their joint efforts with individual artworks. This collaborative experience has fostered new conversations between the artists and their work.

Artists Laura Morrison and Gail Smuda with their work “Time Flies”.

The fiber installation “At Loose Ends” created by Morrison and Smuda, represents the daily strain of working to keep up with household tasks.

The artists’ limited edition “Concord 250 Book Series” was created in celebration of the 250th anniversary of Concord, NH with many images sourced by Concord Public Library’s collection of Concord memorabilia.

Concord artists and close friends Laura Morrison and Gail Smuda have worked together for over 16 years, creating mixed media works with a feminist perspective and a focus on artist-made books and fiber works. This body of work will be showcased in the upcoming exhibit, “The Loosely Knit Alliance: The Collaborative Works of Laura Morrison and Gail Smuda,” opening at the Library Arts Center in Newport, NH, on Friday, August 9, with an artists’ reception from 5-7 pm. The exhibit runs through October 4, 2024.

The artists initially met at a NH Women’s Caucus for Art meeting, where they quickly became friends. Twenty years apart in age, Smuda first served as a mentor to Morrison, who was just starting out as an artist. They connected so closely through their feminist point of view, aesthetics, and use of materials that they decided to meet weekly to talk about art. These weekly meetings led to working collaboratively. When they began showing the work they created together, they formed the collaborative “The Loosely Knit Alliance,” which gave a nod to their love of working with fiber.

Working on the exhibit has been an immersive collaborative experience that has fostered new conversations between the artists and their work. Interweaving their joint efforts with individual artworks, the exhibit touches on a variety of subjects such as women’s work, healthcare, family, time, and history.

The artists will share insights about their work on Saturday, August 17, from 10-11:30 am at the Library Arts Center, along with tips for successful art collaborations in their talk, “Shared Visions: Art Collaborations,” which is free and open to the public. You can learn more about the artists at LauraMorrisonArt.com and GailSmuda.com

The Library Arts Center would like to thank our generous corporate sponsors for this exhibit:

The Loosely Knit Alliance:
Laura Morrison & Gail Smuda
Gatsby’s Women
spool organizer, wool fiber, lace doily, paper and ink
Quotes from The Great Gatsby are rolled onto spools. The story unfolds from the spools in random order creating a new narrative each time.

The artists’ limited edition book “Sawmill” highlights the women who worked at a Concord, NH sawmill on Turkey Pond during WWII.

Laura Morrison
Don’t Touch
organic cotton yarn and mannequin

The Loosely Knit Alliance: Laura Morrison + Gail Smuda
Time Flies, cage, found clock, beads, nest, shredded paper, wire

Library Arts Center 2024

IN THE WEST GALLERY

The Cup of Comfort Exhibition

Featuring Works by the

NH Chapter of the Women’s Caucus for Art (WCA/NH)

Artists' Talk + WCA/NH FALL MEETING

Saturday, September 28th | 11:30 am to 2:00 pm
Library Arts Center Gallery
*please NOTE this CORRECTED date, as it was originally advertised as Sept. 14th

Working in a variety of mediums, WCA/NH artists explored the theme of ‘comfort.’ They were challenged to seamlessly incorporate a provided cup image and consider what ‘fills their cup’ to support their mental health.

“The Cup of Comfort” exhibit builds on previous WCA/NH art challenge exhibitions: “Busting Out: Powerful Women” (aka “The Bra Show”); “Kick-Start” (“The Shoe Show”); and “Head’s Up: The Many Hats Women Wear” (“The Hat Show”). Instead of starting with a piece of clothing as their starting point for inspiration, each artist began with a simple cup image and was asked to do a little soul-searching.

“In this age of high anxiety where most people feel extremely fragile, the purpose of this exhibit was to give the artists an opportunity to think very deeply about what gives them comfort,” shared WCA/NH member Laura Morrison, who coordinated the exhibit with the Library Arts Center. “In making the art, they may discover more things they can do to support their mental health, and perhaps their work will inspire others to take their own journey.”

The artists will share their work in an artists’ talk at the WCA/NH Fall Meeting on Saturday, September 28th, from 11:30 am to 2:00 pm at the Library Arts Center. Attendees can view the exhibit, enjoy social time, and learn more about what is happening at WCA/NH. There will be supplies on hand to create art for the 6000 Circle Project while enjoying the artists’ talk about the WCA/NH Cup of Comfort exhibit. The meeting is open to all artists.

WCA/NH is part of a national organization that promotes the advancement of women in the visual arts through educational programs, networking, and exhibition opportunities. Learn more about WCA/NH at wcanh.org.