Tucked warmly inside the office at Sievers during these winter days, we continue to work on our 2014 season.
We will welcome three new instructors this year, Julie Lambert (Machine Quilting), John Mullarkey (Tablet Weaving) and Kay Rashka (Etched Metalwork Jewelry). All three come recommended by both existing Sievers instructors and students and we’ve already had the pleasure of meeting John when he visited here for an afternoon last summer.
Julie Lambert started quilting in 1985 and began machine quilting three years later. Now it is her specialty and favorite part of making a quilt. Her quilts have been juried into national shows and received awards along the way including Best Machine Quilting. Julie lives in Erlanger, KY and you can visit her and her quilts at www.julieylambert.com.
John Mullarkey has been weaving and spinning for almost a decade and is a self-taught tablet weaver who is passionate about its’ many virtues. He is primary author of “A Tablet Weaver’s Pattern Book”, has developed software for card weaving patterns, and his designs and work have been featured in national and international fashion shows and in Handwoven Magazine. John lives in St. Louis, MO and you can visit him online at www.malarkycrafts.com.
Kay Rashka has taught numerous metalsmithing and jewelry-making techniques for the past 14 years after first creating her own silver jewelry more than 25 years ago. She is the author of “Bead Meets Metal”, which incorporates her sculptural metal designs with beads and found objects. From Stoughton, WI, you can visit Kay and her jewelry at www.kayrashka.com.
Some of our teachers are returning in 2014 after taking a year off, including Jackie Abrams and Jacki Bedworth, while some remain on sabbatical or are looking at offering classes in 2015.
Because last year’s schedule worked well, we will continue with starting and ending classes on varied days through the week with most classes beginning at 2 pm in the afternoon.
The Sievers Gathering
2014 is also a Gathering year! Established by Walter Schutz as a reunion for Sievers teachers and students, the Gathering has grown through the years into a full weekend of activities, all open to the general public. The dates for our eighteenth biennial Gathering are set for Thursday, September 25 through Saturday, September 27. Daryl Lancaster will be our Guest Speaker on Friday night. The ever-popular Fiber Arts Garage Sale is back (the collection started soon after the last one), demos by Sievers teachers and students, vendors, a music program and more will make for a fun weekend. We will be offering a total of three workshops during the Gathering. New for the Gathering will be two workshops that are longer in length, beginning on Thursday afternoon and running through Friday afternoon: “Surface Design on Paper” with Lorrie Grainger Abdo and “Landscape ‘Painting’ with Fabric” with Susan Hoffmann. Susan has been a student at Sievers and developed her technique after taking classes here from Natalie Sewell. The third workshop will be a three-hour Friday afternoon session making a small-scale “Willow Garlic Basket” with Jacki Bedworth. More information on these workshops and the Gathering in general will be available in mid-summer.
