So who is Phillippa Kay Lack? Why should you look at her fiber art?

What you are about to read is not a formal, canned artist statement; it is a very personal account of me and my work. As I am not a very formal or structured (some say all over the place!) person, this is a more relaxed narrative…

Born in Jamaica of very mixed ethnicity, paternal great grandmother born into slavery, maternal great grandfather a Scotsman, family once very wealthy, but all the money now gone, a nomad of sorts, living in various regions of the US for the past 30 years. I have a very supportive husband and two wonderful children, who sometimes think my work is OK, or at worst, weird! Sometimes, they even think it is very good…Perceptive, passionate, helpful, honest, impatient, intuitive, loving, loyal. This is Phil Lack.

What inspires you to create fiber art is a question I’m often asked. I’ve always painted; Living in a tropical country fostered my love of vivid, brilliant color. At school, I was fortunate enough to have art and embroidery classes almost every day, and though I was somewhat of a rebel, I enjoyed learning the more formal aspects of art. My teachers would be pleased that I actually absorbed what they were saying, between various pranks played on unsuspecting classmates…

On a visit to France, I discovered painting on silk… The exquisite challenges of painting on this sacred fabric have intrigued me for some 22 years. They say that silk is the fabric you wear when you talk to God; this I can well believe. I can get lost in the process, and have to be reminded to come back to earth for more practical aspects of life.

The fluid surface of the silk dares me to play with its shifting textures. The fibers hold and release the tropical colors of my childhood in their own quixotic alchemy. From the sheer transparency of silk chiffon to the deeply-plied silk charmeuse, each fabric takes the precious French dyes from my brush like a willful child.

Once you've touched your brush to the silk, you are committed. Whether it is wall décor or clothing, there is no changing your mind, no backtracking. Brush, dye, silk … the path is unforgiving. But this immediacy allows me to flow with the moment, be completely present. An error becomes another choice, a different commitment, another path to walk. An initial vision, which at first seems to be mine, becomes its own master.

Join me on my journey of discovery!

Influences and Exhibitions

• Certificates of Achievement from the Royal Drawing Society, London, England
• Senior Cambridge University honors certificate in Art
• Alameda Bank, Alameda, CA gallery exhibition
• 595 Market Street, San Francisco, gallery exhibition
• Award winner, SE Wyoming fine art show, five years
• Wyoming Arts Council shows: My Back Yard and All Dressed Up
• Phippen Museum, Western Threads 2003
• Northern Colorado Weavers Fiberarts show
• Featured artist in book, The Best of Silk Painting by Diane Tuckman and Jan Janas
• Windows on Wyoming exhibit, Townsend Hotel, Casper, WY/ Nicolaysen Museum (acrylic panel 40x60 inches) Summer 2006

 Associations

• Surface Design Association representative for the state of Wyoming
• Silk Painters International
• Silk Painters Guilds, USA and United Kingdom
• Embroiderers Guild of UK
• Art Association of Jackson, WY
• Rocky Mountain Creative Quilters
• Front Range Contemporary Quilters
• Handweavers Guild of Boulder
• Design Group, Boulder, Colorado
• Artistic Alchemy, Fort Collins, Colorado

juried shows

• Cross Currents, an exhibition of contemporary art, Walter Anderson Museum of Art, Ocean Springs, Mississippi
• Eleventh Annual Exhibit of Fine Art by Women, Woman's Work, Woodstock, Illinois, honorable mention
• Art West Open, Jackson, Wyoming
• Platte Valley, WY Arts Council Art Show
• First place, hand painted custom silk ensemble, 1999 International Fashion Show, Fiesta en Santa Fe
• Participant Artwear 1999, 2002, 2006, 2008 Fort Collins, Colorado
• Silk Painters International fine silk art show, National Academy of Science, Washington, DC, Summer 2000
• Silk Painters International juried fashion show 2000, 2002, 2004
• Silk Painters International fine silk art show, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, Summer 2002, Santa Fe, Summer 2004
• Lines into Shapes, Art Center of Estes Park, CO 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007
• Textile Center of Minnesota wearable art runway show, 2005
• Northern Colorado Artist Assoc. national juried show, 2002, 2004 (Janie O. Smith Memorial Award), 2005
• Gilpin County, CO Arts Association 2005, 2006 season show (first place fiber, 2006)
• Atlanta, GA Orchid Society show 2004 (silk banner)
• UK Silk Painters Guild 2005 (silk banner)
• Governor's Art Show, Cheyenne, WY 2005
• Steamboat Springs, various shows
• Atlanta and South Metro Orchid Societies 2004 and 2005 Fall show. Silk Banner
• First place, textile, National Capital Orchid Society’s 58th annual show, October 2005. Silk banner
• Second place, textile, National Capital Orchid Society’s 60th annual show, October 2007. Silk scarf
• People’s Choice award, Handweavers Guild of Boulder holiday show December 2005 silk banner
• Hilton Head Art League 2006 national juried art show, 2006
• Louisville, Colorado, Art Center show, 2006
• Cheyenne Artist Guild 2006 show, first place and honorable mention
• First place, mixed media Celebration of Color, No. Colorado Artist Association 2006
• Nicolaysen Museum, Post Cards from the Wild, Wild West Art Exhibit and Auction 2006, 2007, one in permanent collection
• Small Works, Big Ideas, The Art Center at Fuller Lodge, Los Alamos, NM 2007.
• Creations in Metal/Jewelry , The Art Center at Fuller Lodge, Los Alamos, NM 2008
• RAGS gallery show, Tacoma, WA (YWCA benefit) 2008
• Cutting Edge of Fiber Art , Acorn Gallery, Arroyo Seco, CA
  Altered Threads, Front Range Contemporary Quilters, Pueblo, CO, 2008
  Artwear, Fort Collins, CO 2002, 2006, 2008

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