HANGING BY A THREAD: MISSOURI FIBER ARTISTS EXHIBIT NOW AT UNIVERSITY MUSEUM AND GALLERY

Some are astonishing, like Marilyn Grisham's "From the Grey Area," a 90-by-60-inch, three-panel hand-woven tapestry made of cotton, wool, rayon, and metallic and mixed fibers. It shimmers and invites the viewer to explore contours that seem to have been taken apart and put back together in a new way.

One, "Feminine Protection," which might be an artist's conception of a stripper's dishabille, is an outrageous joke.

Others are functional pieces. Barbara Overby's "Six Napkins and a Towel" is exactly what it purports to be, but these are extraordinary kitchen accessories.

The works are part of a 32-piece Missouri Fiber Artists traveling exhibit now on display at the Southeast Missouri State University Museum and Gallery.

As a group, fiber artists are people who "like the feel of material in their hands rather than an illusion of an image," says gallery Director Pat Reagan-Woodard, a fiber artist herself.

"...You construct the image. It permeates the whole object. There usually is no barrier, no brush."

Grisham's tapestry "From the Grey Area" is one of Reagan-Woodard's favorite pieces in the show, for its complexity and artistry. "One weaves a tapestry like you'd play a harp," she said.

"Paper Quilt" by Becky Allen of Branson is another beauty, a delicate design constructed of handmade paper and angled just so on a bold background of black and white.

Most of the functional works are quite straightforward: A shawl by Nellice Gillespie of Glen Allen stands out for its craftsmanship, and Ann Barker's "Golf Anyone?" consists of a stylish tam-o'-shanter and wood covers that probably never will find their way onto a golf course.

Sharon Kilfoyle, who created "Feminine Protection," also is represented by "Felted Shawl," an playful, colorful Angora wrap trimmed in silk.

"I think this artist has a wonderful sense of humor," Reagan-Woodard says. "She approaches the medium like a child might."

A few of the works are three-dimensional. "Shades of Silver" is a pod-shaped basket wound with copper rods and nicked with feathers.

One, "Wise Women Grow Old Gracefully," is a reliquary, a tiny memorial box containing found items such as sewing needles and snatches of newsprint.

Perhaps one of the most startling and provocative pieces in the show is Margaret Wheeler's "Faces from Beneath the Earth," which arrived in a wooden box that turned out to be the frame.

Inside one half of the box is a map of the United States showing the boundaries of the lands inhabited by 67 different tribes at the time of Columbus' discovery.

The other half contains a similar map along with a hand-cast, hand-woven face eerily protruding from it.

"One of my definitions of art is, it has to ask questions of the viewer," Reagan-Woodard said.

The exhibit, which will continue through Sept. 30, most recently was at the Margaret Harwell Museum in Poplar Bluff and afterward will travel to the Missouri State Museum in the Capitol building in Jefferson City.

Gallery hours are 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. Arrangements can be made for group tours and special after-hours functions by calling 651-2260.