‘I did it dye way’

Filled with colorful fabric expressions that represent her genre-defying personal style, JoAnn Ballantyne’s “Eccentric, Eclectic, Embellished” show opens at Lincoln City’s Fiber Arts Studio Gallery this Friday, Sept. 3.

The exhibit, subtitled “Projects My Way,” will feature an in-person reception on Friday, Sept. 10, from 5 to 7 pm at the Lincoln City Cultural Center.

Ballantyne creates in many art mediums, but she always returns to her love of fabric. She credits childhood memories of a beautiful bright blue coat her mother made with the beginning of her affair with color, textures and wearable art.

“I love to collage several fabrics and let them play with each other,” she said.

Appliqued collage art hangings, clothing incorporating her photography with embroidery embellishments and statement pieces inspired by a poem she has written or book read are all part of her collections.

Ballantyne’s personal style has evolved from 1960s tie-dyed hippie designs; ’70s disco outfits; her daughters’ little girl fashions through the ’80s; professional suits in the ’90s; and now her colorful, eclectic retired-beach look.

She retired to Lincoln City in 2016 having lived in Oregon since 2005. She has been an active member of the arts and activities communities and is an avid photographer, writer and walker. She has taught classes in sewing techniques, felting and fabric collage. Her creations have retailed extensively in California boutiques and her art pieces and paintings can currently be found at the Beachstone Gallery inside the Artists’ Studio Association in Lincoln City. 

Each piece is as individual as she.

“Eccentric, Eclectic, Embellished” will be on display through Oct. 31 at the Fiber Arts Studio Gallery, located inside the Lincoln City Cultural Center at 540 NE Hwy. 101, open from 10 am to 4 pm, Thursday through Sunday.

For more information, go to lincolncity-culturalcenter.org.