Local Color Gallery in Belfast welcomes fiber artist Sarah Leighton

Local Color Gallery in Belfast welcomes fiber artist Sarah Leighton as guest artist April 21 through May 17. Leighton will speak about her work during Fourth Friday Gallery Night on April 25 from 4 to 7 p.m., with her talk beginning at 5 p.m.

Leighton grew up in Midcoast Maine, where her French-Canadian grandmother — or “memere” — was an avid rug hooker during Maine’s long winters. When her grandmother passed away in 2014, Leighton honored her memory by taking a rug hooking class and was, as she puts it, hooked. She started slowly, doing one project a year in a traditional or primitive style using only wool strips.

As she grew more comfortable with the craft, her style and technique evolved. Her work now spans primitive, contemporary and abstract styles. Primitive pieces use only wool cloth strips, while her contemporary and abstract work incorporates yarn, sari ribbon and velvet. One of her biggest regrets is never learning to hook from her grandmother; today she works exclusively with her grandmother’s hook. In 2021, Leighton received a Springboard Artist Grant from the Maine Arts Commission. She lives in Belfast with her husband, Ryan, and their yellow lab, Nixie. When she is not making art, she works for an environmental nonprofit and volunteers raising money for IgA Nephropathy research.

See leightonfiberart.com for more information about the artist.

Local Color Gallery is at 135 High St., Belfast. Hours are 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday. Learn more at localcolorgallerymaine.com, or call 207-218-1249.