Whether students were gathering willow from outside the Walter Studio to incorporate in their baskets or perfecting seam finishes inside their handmade garments, the finished pieces in both Jo Campbell-Amsler’s and Daryl Lancaster’s classes were beautiful, inside and out. As you can see, the willow in the Sievers patch has grown tall this year. Here, Ann and Stef are pictured in front of the tallest portion, approaching 9 feet. Some of this willow, along with the materials Jo brought for class was used to make a variety of rib-style baskets, trays, a creel and more, inspired by Jo’s own work. Willow basketry is just one beautiful way to bring the outside in! If the inside of your handmade garments are as beautiful as […]
September at Sievers
September at Sievers features classes in four different types of weaving and one each in jewelry-making, garment construction, willow basketry and willow furniture. The month began with the study of color as it applies to weaving in Judie Yamamoto’s Weaving The Rainbow class. From color theory exercises and examples to the opportunity to weave samples for reference along with a project of their choice, Judie shared her excellent understanding and sense of color with the class. In Kay Rashka’s Metalwork Jewelry Boot Camp, although the sheets of copper, silver and brass shine, it’s really the faces of the students showing and wearing the jewelry they’ve made that shine brightest. Whether hand-etched, drilled, stamped, layered or textured (or all of the above), these one-of-a-kind pendants, earrings, bracelets and rings are as riveting as they […]
Straw into gold
Well, maybe not technically spinning straw into gold, but the students in Deb Jones’ Beginning Spinning and Rainbow Dyeing class took simple wool fibers and turned them into something equally precious to a beginning spinner, their own handspun and hand-dyed yarns. By the end of the first afternoon, these beginners were spinners! You can see more photos from the class as Deb has posted them on The Fiber Garden Facebook page. Her next stop, along with other Sievers teachers (Nancy Frantz and Mary Germain), students and friends is the Wisconsin Sheep & Wool Festival from September 7-10. Spinning is one of the classes that’s been offered at Sievers each year since the start. One of those first classes in 1979 is shown in the black and white photo. Dyeing was added later, using […]
Fiber eclipse
Although we witnessed a darkening of the sky (some of it due to general cloud cover and a small rain shower) during the total eclipse on August 21, it turned out that these crescent shadows were our most visible evidence of the event at Sievers. With one of the definitions for eclipse or eclipsing being “to surpass; outshine”, we felt that for us, the classes held that week joined our other 37 classes in their own “fiber eclipse”. Watching the baskets in Jeanette Biederman’s Independent Study Splint-Woven Basketry class come together is always inspiring. Sunrise to sundown, busy hands were weaving colorful patterns. Luckily, there’s no need to hide your eyes from this kind of eclipse! Not to be outshone, students in Daniel Essig’s two classes, Tools of the Trade […]
Weaving times two
It’s not often we can have two weaving classes in session at once, but this past week it worked perfectly to have Ruth Manning’s Tapestry Weaving class and Nancy Frantz’s beginning table loom weavers here at the same time. The tapestry weavers did some outdoor sketching as one means of design inspiration for their woven landscapes. How exciting to see these small gems be revealed, row by row. Ruth’s own samples along with what the students were working garnered many “oohs” and “ahs”. A visit between classes had one group of weavers impressed with what each were doing in just three or four days of class time. To learn the basics of weaving and complete a project […]
Adornments
It is always a treat for us when Diane Fitzgerald and her class is here. Each day, she and all her students are adorned in a variety of necklaces, bracelets and earrings showcasing the most wonderful, creative beadwork. Every day of class had a different focus with time afterwards to explore the possibilities. A pre-arranged exchange between students gave them all a chance to share some of their work with the rest of the “flock”. Shrinky Dinks© made for lovely, ruffled flower necklaces, or you could adorn yourself with these crystal flowerets. A definite theme prevailed during the week for the class, where the students are known as the “Flamingo Beaders”. Pink everywhere, ranging from a flamingo tablecloth, paper plates and napkins in the kitchen, to numerous mascots, to […]
Compare and contrast
Intricate designs in Japanese Temari was the focus of Judie Yamamoto’s recent three-day class. Sorted into categories such as “Complex 8” and “Complex 10”, students learned how to create the lush swirls and precise motifs on these elegant Temari. Lines carefully measured and marked across the circumference of the ball provided the starting points for the decorative stitching. At the same time, Stephanie Robertson’s Making Your Mark: A Fabric Journey class was in session. Compare the use of color, the variety of designs and the joy of the process. In contrast, no measured and precise lines while dyeing. Instead, the wonderful gift of experimentation and surprise (generally happy surprise) with each unveiling. If the original concept for the fabric doesn’t appear, there’s always indigo for over-dyeing! […]
Happiness is…
…a colorful quilt. ….being inspired by nature. …warm woolens. …wildlife in the backyard. …watching clouds and sunsets (especially the ones on Washington Island). As promised last time, the Open Quilt Studio “challenge quilt” border fabrics were on before class was over. Everyone likes…a colorful quilt. In Susan Hoffmann’s Landscape ‘Painting’ with Fabric class, students worked with the same set of fabrics. Although they all started with the same theme, there were as many variations as students, each person creating a unique woodland scene and …being inspired by nature. The Spinning Art Yarns class taught by Deb Jones used a variety of fibers and combined them into special and fanciful yarns by using the drum carders, picker, spinning wheels and plying in order to have some one-of-a-kind…warm […]