Fiber Arts Create Detailed Works with Traditional Techniques at Crystal Bridges at the Massey

The Embroiderers' Guild of America's exhibition features textile art works

BENTONVILLE, Ark., April 16, 2009 Using textiles for canvas, a new type of art
work will be on display at Crystal Bridges at the Massey in an exhibition from
The Embroiderers' Guild of America. Through the Needle's Eye displays fiber
arts created with needle and thread. The exhibition opens at the Massey on
Friday, May 15.

Unlike any exhibition seen at the Massey so far, Through the Needle's Eye
showcases embroidered art including clothing, jewelry, vessels, games, books,
maps and sculptures. The exhibition's mission is to not only share the craft of
embroidery, but keep stitchery traditions alive that might otherwise be lost.

"This exhibition helps preserve and expand the American tradition of
needlework," Crystal Bridges Youth & Families Program Coordinator Janelle
Redlaczyk said. "Through the Needle's Eye keeps the heritage of embroidery
alive and shows the skill and precision used in creating fiber art."

The Embroiderers' Guild of America juried the exhibition with help from Edith
Anderson, Feisner fiber artist, teacher and author of Color Studies; Lee
Malerich, a contemporary fiber artist and teacher; and Gail Harker, an
international textile artist and teacher. Arkansan Wanda Linsley's textile
work, Passages, is featured in the national exhibition and depicts an elderly
man and young boy trekking through a thick, brightly-colored fall forest toward
a blue sky.

Textile art has a rich history. Used around the world for centuries, fiber arts were
created for both practical and visual purposes, and, until recently, were considered a craft rather than an art. Only since the 1970s have textiles been
counted as fine art, when fiber art began to gain popularity in the fine art
world.

Through the Needle's Eye will be displayed through Aug. 9. Like all exhibitions
at the Massey, it will be accompanied by a series of Learning Experiences
educational programs for the public developed by Crystal Bridges that involve
guests in a variety of ways. Most are free and open to the public.

Program highlights include four ArtBuzz programs that engage guests in the
exhibition. Artbuzz is a free drop-in public gallery talk best for adults and
teens no registration. Free coffee and biscotti provide the buzz!

Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art is pleased to continue A Look at the
Building series with A Walk in the Woods. Scott Eccleston, manager of parks
and gardens, will present a behind-the-scenes lecture revealing some of the
secrets found in the forest surrounding Crystal Bridges. He will also discuss the
ideas behind the footprint of the building and the history of the woodlands.
The event will be held Thursday, June 18, at 5:30 pm at the Bentonville Public
Library. It will be free and open to the public. (Editor's note: A complete
schedule of events at the Massey and in the community begins on the next
page of this release.)

Crystal Bridges at the Massey
Located on the first floor of the historic Massey Building just off the square in
downtown Bentonville, Crystal Bridges at the Massey is the temporary exhibit
space for Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art. The facility offers the public
an opportunity to view traveling exhibitions, get updates on the latest
construction news from the Crystal Bridges Museum site, view architectural
models and renderings of the museum complex and participate in
programming for adults, youth and families. Hours of operation are Thursday
through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.

For more information about Crystal Bridges at the Massey, go to
www.crystalbridges.org or call 479-418-5700.