Fiber artist Debi Hartranft got her start in traditional quilting, but her works, now on display at the Living Light Gallery, are anything but traditional. Both her wall quilts and three-dimensional works combine quilting, needlefelting, and appliqué, using wool, fabric and recycled fibers, into dramatic, surprising forms. “I see something and I just have to try it … I let my imagination go wild,” says Hartranft of her innovative techniques. Some of her works are in the form of vessels, with titles like “Fiberaki Vase I” and “Raku Small Bowl.” Others, sometimes stuffed or formed over an aluminum core, are in the form of faces (such as “Heaven or Hell”) or figures: torsos reminiscent of dress forms with their resilient fiber surfaces, but also, in their coloring, resembling artifacts of some long-gone civilization. “I just love the different textures,” comments Hartranft. The curvilinear yarn running through the surface of some of the works is recycled from sweaters, felted into the top and stitched into place. 
“They all kind of blend together,” says Hartranft. (Shown at right is a work by Hartranft with a metal sculpture by Dan Witmer in the background.)
Hartranft’s works will be on display through Friday at the Living Light Gallery, 150 N. Prince St., Lancaster. Hours are Tues.-Sat. 11 a.m.-5 p.m.
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Tonight is Y-Rock night at the Chameleon Club! White Rabbits and The Mint perform, in a free concert that will be broadcast live on WXPN. Doors open at 7 p.m, music starts at 8. Check out the Central Pa. Roadtrip page for details on this event and other concerts in Harrisburg and York Friday.
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Spring is slowly moving up the East Coast and so are the festivals. Reading has its own Cherry Blossom Festival, opening Saturday and continuing through April 27. Details are available here.
