Cafe Botanique, January 26 - Gates Hall

Chambers of Silk - An Artistic Collaboration with Plant and Insect Life

 Jill Powers, Fiber Artist, Boulder CO

Silkworms have been domestically raised on Mulberry leaves for thousands of years. Observing the beauty and fascinating life cycle of the silkworms up close led Colorado artist Jill Powers to envision a project encompassing her sculpture and the creation of the silkworms’ cocoons. Her presentation is a visual journey into the plant and insect world of raw silk, from an artist’s perspective. Using the forms of antique silk weaving shuttles, Jill designed and created small chambers out of kozo bark fiber to house the final stage of cocoon creation. She raised over 90 silkworms in her studio, and made a series of sculptures around the chambers where the cocoons were spun. “I think of the silkworm as an ancient textile artist…and my secret collaborator.”

Jill Powers is an artist with a Master’s degree in fibers from Tyler School of Art. She is on the visual arts faculty at Naropa University, and teaches her own workshops and retreats specializing in unusual natural materials. Her work has been shown nationally and internationally and has been featured in “500 Baskets,” “The Fiberarts Design Book,” The Crafts Report, American Style Magazine, and the New York Times. Her work won Best of Show in the Millennium Show at the American Museum of Papermaking in Atlanta. 

Thursday, January 26

Denver Botanic Gardens – Gates Hall

6:30 – 8 p.m.

(Click here to reserve your seat)