Three classes and one message

We’ve had the joy of seeing all the students and their wonderful work in Marbling on Paper and Fabric with Nancy Akerly,  Beginning Weaving with Nancy Adams and Susan Johnson and Independent Study: Splint-Woven Basketry with Jeanette Biederman all within this past week!

Looking back, it was 1999 when we last held a class in marbling.  After 19 years, new were so many detailed designs. The options of printing on paper (from plain to pages from books, sheet music, maps and more) or fabric gave great options for students.  This was the first time marbling has been held in the Walter Studio as 19 years ago, it was about a month away from being finished.  As you can imagine, we could share dozens of photos from each class and this one is no exception.  If you’d like to see more, Nancy posted several on her Liberty Grove Paper Arts Facebook page.

  

  

  

Eight beginning and refresher weavers had the advantage of not only an instructor in Nancy Adams, but an assistant in Susan Johnson to teach, encourage and occasionally alight at a loom in their roles as “weaving fairies”.

  

For second projects, students used variegated, handspun and even corded llama in their weaving.

  

  

What fun to see all the baskets come together!  Whether it was one very special pattern, one really BIG basket or a collection of baskets made in class, they will all be used for holding something.  It could be something practical or it could simply be… your attention!

  

  

     

As always, learning, sharing and laughing are the key to these three classes, as they are for all 37 this year.

We want to share a message from our Washington Island Electrical Co-operative on something that affects all of Washington Island and will for the near future.  About a week ago, the underwater cable that provides electricity to the Island failed, somewhere around Plum Island.  The Co-op has large generators that have often been used, when needed, if power is out on the mainland for an extended time.  These have provided our power these last days.  Sometime during the last week of June, a repair of the underwater cable is planned.  There may be occasional outages until the problem is fully fixed.  One way the Co-op has communicated all the steps they are taking is via the Washington Island Observer Facebook page.  This past week, when the power was out one day for about an hour, the basketmakers kept making baskets and the weavers continued to weave or took a break outside and enjoyed the sunshine.

That’s one of the wonderful things about the work of your hands, you’ve got the power!