COMMENTS ON THE FIBER FIELD
I tend to turn the phrase from "fiber art" to art made with fiber" or "artist working with fiber." I consider it a material used to make art. Some artists use fiber exclusively, but many incorporate it with a variety of materials. I do this also. The term then being "mixed media." I am particularly drawn to certain attributes of fiber: its surface, texture, malleability, and flexibility, but several of these are not exclusive to it. Fiber has its own sensuous nature, but so do paint and metal. I'm drawn to them as well. I can't imagine limiting myself to this single medium.

I think that there has been a graying of the area of "fiber art" as a category, as more traditionally trained sculptors embrace and incorporate fiber as a medium. Fiber obviously has its own unreplicatable qualities, but I think it still fits in either the 2-D or 3-D categories of art, and should sit comfortably next to stone, metal or a video monitor, depending on the context of the show presented.