Textile exhibit in black and white

The Sonoma Community Center is hosting the upcoming exhibit “Lori Goldman in Black and White” featuring an array of textile sculptures and handmade garments. The exhibit will be on view May 1 to 29 in SCC’s Gallery 212.

The public is invited to the opening reception from 5 to 7 p.m. Friday, May 1.

Goldman has been creating with fiber since the age of 12. The meditative processes of knitting, felt making, crocheting, coiling and hand sewing are instrumental to her artistic practice. She uses these techniques to create soft sculptures and pictorial panels, woven from cotton, wool, twine and thread.

Works such as “Tree of Life,” a three-dimensional panel, reveal Goldman’s interest in nature and how lifecycles from birth through death interact with nature. In her work, even natural themes are rendered in black and white to create a strong visual impact. The largely black-and-white show will be punctuated by a collection of colorful, handknit sweaters.

She finds inspiration in garments of all kinds – even simple lost socks from which many of her works are made. “I’m inspired by the women of Gee’s Bend, Alabama, and their ability to transform the ordinary into something extraordinary,” said Goldman. “In my sculpture, I use remants of laundry, specifically lost socks. The never-ending search for that missing sock has greater meaning – perhaps the longing for what disappears. I’m fascinated by that process and the patina of wear.”

Goldman holds a BA in textiles and an MA in sculpture from San Francisco State University. She teaches at the Academy of Art College in San Francisco.

Goldman also works wonders with wire. In conjunction with the exhibit, she will offer a six-week course at the Community Center, “Textile Techniques in Wire” from 6 to 8 p.m. Mondays, running June 1 to July 6. To register, call the Sonoma Community Center at 938-4626, ext. 1.

The Sonoma Community Center is located at 276 E. Napa St., Sonoma.