Sievers School of Fiber Arts

Learn, refresh and reflect

Sit back and enjoy the view

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Now that the students in the Bent Willow Chair class are home, we trust they are all sitting back, enjoying the view from their new chairs and feeling the satisfaction of building them by hand, with the help of instructors, Ken and Michelle Workowski.

From the prepared willow, ready-to-go, it’s only a matter of a few hours before the chair’s sturdy frame is complete. The next day is spent bending and shaping, bending and shaping until you have the right fit.

Ken has been teaching this class at Sievers with Michelle, together as a team, since 2005. The year prior, he had assisted then-instructor Rich Prange in our Bent Willow chair class. That’s a total of about 175 chairs made by students through the years imprinted with Ken and Michelle’s expertise, encouragement and helping hands.

These chairs can fit inside a van, SUV, on a trailer or in the back of a pickup truck. On the way to the ferry dock and their homes, they might have been riding by some of these early fall colors and Island scenes.

We like to think a little of the essence of Washington Island and Sievers is part of and goes home with each bent willow chair and every other piece of fiber art made by students in the studios!

Comments

  1. Ken and Michelle were absolutely wonderful to work with, without a doubt the most enjoyable adult classroom situation I have ever been in.
    It was just great fun !!! 10 star rating !!
    Multiple thumbs up
    Thank you so much

    • Hi Marty,
      Thanks so much for your nice comments! Ken and Michelle are a wonderful team and we’re glad it was a great experience. Enjoy your chair!

  2. Beautiful pictures and wonderful chairs. Our chair, from September 2019, is still being enjoyed on our patio!
    Wish we were on the Island!
    Best wishes,
    Janet and Joe Mrazek

    • Hi Janet and Joe,

      I’m glad to know you’re still enjoying your chairs and hope these photos of the Island make you feel even a little bit like you’re here.

  3. Oh such simply gorgeous photos. Maybe I’ll try to get up there to make one of those chairs sometime, or at the very least, take a class as fall arrives. Hope you all have a lovely one. Always happy for more photos, Carolyn!

    Mary Dow

    • Hi Mary,

      Thanks for the nice note about the photos and the class. The colors are really starting to show these past few days…more fall scenes to come!

  4. I’m sending this email to a friend who would LOVE to make this chair! And the pictures are breathtaking! Thanks so much for sharing these with us…..

    Karen Olson