Weaving two by twos refers to the foundation of weaving pairs at the start (and end) of a Navajo textile, which is characterized as a child taking their first steps. With our most recent weaving classes, Navajo Weaving with Betty Glynn Carlson and Beginning Weaving with Nancy Adams and Susan Johnson as her assistant, weavers took those first steps and beyond. Using authentic Navajo patterns and wool yarns, students new to Navajo weaving worked on a small piece while those who had works in progress or wanted to explore techniques they had not tried before had the opportunity to do so with Betty’s guidance. Warping the loom as well as weaving isn’t (or shouldn’t be) measured in hours, but in […]
Niches
In the recent class, Cartonnage: Puzzle Box with Nancy Akerly, students made an array of interlocking small boxes set within a larger, lidded box. Hidden underneath the five inset boxes is a secret compartment. Each serves as a niche for special items, collections or whatever the imagination holds. After being unable to teach in-person last year, Nancy created a number of Zoom classes through her website, Liberty Grove Paper Arts which has links to her videos and much more. We’ve heard from several people that these classes were just what they needed during 2020. We were so glad it worked out that Nancy and her students could return to our studio this summer and the boxes they created in this […]
Learning and making
Learning something new and making by hand is an exciting adventure. That being said, we’ve been fortunate to witness a lot of good adventures this year, including those in our August classes. Lynn Stracka Schuster guided several new basketmakers in her recent Covered Coiling Basket class. When travelling down a new path of learning, it’s good to have an experienced guide, and Lynn is that and more. This is her 40th year of teaching at Sievers. Lynn likes to tell the story of finding a notice about Sievers while studying art in college and realizing it was in Door County, a family vacation spot. A short time later, after graduating, she paid Walter Schutz a visit and he said that […]
A good blend
From the very beginning, Walter Schutz felt Washington Island was the ideal place for learning and specifically as a place for Sievers School of Fiber Arts. He wrote in 1979, “What could be more ideal than creating in pleasant surroundings such as these?” Also, “…a positive cultural advance – the Island is ideally suited for this. I am convinced (Sievers) would not be as successful in other places…” and, from 1984, “I hope, too, that it will help you regard the Island with more reverence, help maintain its rustic, unspoiled atmosphere and above all keep it, as much as possible, the sort of place it is. It truly is ‘north of the tension line’ (and) opens the door to the […]
Three at a time
We’re back on schedule now with this post which covers three classes held in early August; Beading: Composing Components with Francie Broadie, the Beadwork Alumni Studio and Finding Our Way: A Dyeing Journey with Stephanie Lewis Robertson. We were very happy to welcome Francie and this new class to our 2021 schedule. Francie first came to Sievers in 2009 as a student in a Diane Fitzgerald beadwork class and has gone on to take many more beadwork as well as several fabric printing and dyeing classes here. She taught a workshop at the Sievers Gathering in 2018 and was scheduled to offer Composing Components in 2020. This was another new class that was long overdue! Students worked on creating rings, […]
Two at a time-part two
We’re back to the last week of July and two “painterly” classes, Weaving: Paint Your Warp! with Lynn Novotnak and Marbling Intensive: Paper & Fabric with Nancy Akerly. Both had the opportunity to experiment and play with color and there were many new and exciting reveals in each class. Students in Lynn’s class began by painting two tencel warps, one to weave while here and another to take home. This was one of the new classes scheduled for 2020 and after being put on hold, it was a delight to welcome Lynn as an instructor. Her first class as a weaving student at Sievers was in 1999 and she has taken many weaving (and knitting) classes since then. The first […]
Two at a time-part one
These summer weeks are going by so quickly! In a few days, we’ll have reached the half-way point in our classes for the 2021 season. To continue to catch up with the past several classes, there will be three consecutive “Two at a time” posts to bring you up to date. We start the week of July 19 – 26 and two classes taught by Mary Sue Fenner, “One-Of-A-Kind Jacket” and “Sew a Patchy Vest”. Learning from Mary Sue and using her mix of contemporary and classic methods brings the fabrics, patterns and students together in a special way. Her array of garments is inspiring, fun, eclectic and amazing. Students brought fabulous fabrics for the 5-day jacket class and worked […]
Catching up
It’s been three weeks since our last post so it’s well past time to catch up with what’s been happening at Sievers. After a short break in classes over the Fourth of July, Sandy De Master and Mary Germain were here for their Baltic Knitting Extravaganza class. Knitters new to Latvian and Estonian knitting began with a lined, ornament-sized mitten and went on to design their own pair or other project. The hardest part is deciding which of the many great color and motif inspirations to choose! These mittens deserve a hand (and these hands deserve the mittens)! What can we say about Rigid Heddle Weaving with Deb Jones? It’s a fast-paced weaving experience, complete with excellent instruction, beautiful yarns, […]
