Robert Hillestad-Fiber Artist

Robert Hillestad"The Picture Show, presenting Nebraska artists in the permanent collection of the Sheldon Memorial Art Gallery, Lincoln, Nebraska."

[NARRATOR] "Is it an aerial view? I microscopic image? Or a mushroom patch? The fiber art of Robert Hillestad, professor of textiles, clothing and design at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln suggests all of these. But fiber art is not always been included with the other fine arts."
[Robert Hillestad] Perhaps it's because that fiber is so much a part of our life and it's used for so many things in our environment that it might have become a bit commonplace in terms of persons' perceptions and so it... it doesn't stand out as being unusual enough to ignite the interest of persons. But in the last few years fiber has become much more recognized."
[NARRATOR] "Robert Hillestad finds inspiration in the inherent qualities of the materials he works with and from his travels to foreign lands. This fiber art, he says, is a visual diary in which he makes frequent entries. His titles reflect the travel. Evening in Bombay or Persian Garden Study."
[Robert Hillestad] "In fact, a lot of them remind me of gardens. Occasionally if one's lucky on some... some flights one might fly in over gardens. For example, there's one title, An Afternoon in Brighton, which is a resort city outside of London, and that particular piece reminds me of an afternoon that I spent in Brighton looking at some of the flower gardens."