Mica Harrison Loosemore’s memories of her childhood summers are filled with days learning from her grandmother how to sew on her sewing machine. Loosemore’s fascination with creating art carried through her teenage years when she taught herself to knit and crochet.
Upon entering Indiana University in Bloomington, Loosemore decided to pursue degrees in art history and photography. To qualify for the Bachelor of Fine Arts photography track, she was required to enroll in a 3D art class.
Drawing upon her past passion for knitting, she enrolled in a fiber arts course and immediately knew she had found a perfect medium to dive into. Fiber art, often referred to as textile art, includes art constructed from fabric and fibers.
“I thought, ‘I’ll try out this fibers thing’ and completely fell in love, switched tracks, and it’s what I’ve been doing ever since,” said Loosemore, assistant dean of admissions, financial aid and enrollment at the School of Music, Theatre & Dance.
She pursued a B.F.A. in fiber art and was acclaimed for her thesis exhibit, a display of blankets she titled “How do you catalog love?” She gathered blankets from friends and family across the country to showcase how relationships and love are varied.
Throughout her professional years, Loosemore has continued to experiment with fiber art. She has studied and practiced sewing, quilting, embroidery, screen printing and other textile artwork.
An important aspect to crafting a compelling piece, she said, is including several layers to the piece that capture the viewer’s focus on several levels.
“I think for me, as I’m looking at what I’m doing and how I’m creating, I think about that a lot,” Loosemore said. “Is it enjoyable to look at from across the room? If you come up and look at it, you’re going to see more, there’s going to be more there. And, if you really spend time with it, there will be little nuggets of things that will reward the person that really spends time with the piece.”
On top of her personal artwork, Loosemore has dedicated several years to honing her skills to focus on costume design. She found her knowledge of art history contributed to an interest in crafting historical costumes.
For several years, she helped create costumes for the Parallel 45 Theatre, a Traverse City-based professional theater company.
“What I found in working with fibers was that I actually had an eye for costumes,” Loosemore said. “I loved doing that and outside my admissions work, that was where I was finding a lot of my creative spirit and the energy with having a specific project to work on with other like-minded individuals.”
Parallel 45 Theatre closed last year, and Loosemore has refocused her artistic pursuits to her own studio. However, working as an individual, she said, comes with its challenges.
“I think that for me and for many of my friends who I have known over the years, keeping a professional art practice going can be challenging when it’s just you in the studio because you don’t have other people there to drive you,” Loosemore said.
While she no longer finds a drive working with others in theater, Loosemore said, she finds inspiration for her current projects in nature.
In a recent trip to northern Michigan, Loosemore saw countless ways she could translate the natural world into art.
“You look at the landscape and it’s like all these different fibers. It’s the leaves and the trees and all the grasses and the flowers and the layers and the textures, and all that I find really, really inspiring,” Loosemore said.
The natural landscape has driven much of her current work, which is detailed, small-scale embroidery and pieces that incorporate beadwork. When she goes on hikes or walks along the beach, Loosemore said, she picks up shells or washed-up pieces of pottery to incorporate into her artwork.
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“I like layering and feeling the materials and how they’re playing off each other and the color theory. … I love how when you put one color up next to another it completely changes it, and also looking to see, how do you use that to elicit feelings through your work?” Loosemore said.
While most major art museums around the world feature paintings and sculptures, Loosemore said, she sees fiber arts emerging on the forefront of the art scene.
“The fiber section is usually tucked way down away in the corner in the basement (in museums) because it’s historically viewed as more of like a craft than a high art form. I think there’s really been a resurgence of that and trying to change that perception happened in the ’60s and ’70s, and it’s happening again right now,” Loosemore said.
With her busy schedule at SMTD, Loosemore’s artistic pursuits outside of work go through cycles. At times, particularly during the summer months, she energetically pours herself into intricate creative projects. During busier periods, she stretches her “artistic muscles” by creating baby blankets to gift, or simply sits down with a coloring book.
“I’ve always said, I’m an artist first, and I believe that for me and for the students that I work with, that’s something I really think is strong for me. And so, I unwind by doing my art, and some days that’s coloring and some days that’s new creations,” Loosemore said.
