“Open your eyes to the possibilities around you!” Students in Jo Campbell-Amsler’s Natural Baskets: Grow & Weave class last week did just that by starting from the ground up, exploring a variety of natural materials that could be used for basketmaking. Using willow, bark, iris and daylily leaves, roots, vines, sticks and branches, several rib-style baskets took shape in students’ hands during this four-day class. Creating a basket from gathered materials embodies mindfulness. From the harvesting to the weaving to the enjoyment of using, these baskets continue to give back to the maker. Retaining their natural colors and sweet, grown-in-the-sun scent, they hold well-cultivated memories. Taking note of what’s around you and how you can incorporate it into your art, […]
Three classes: Parts two and three
Following up from our previous post, the final two classes of three, Beads! Glorious Beads! and Embroidery: Basics & Beyond, both taught by Francie Broadie, show the continuation of fiber fun from the first week of August. Some beads stand alone, but in the beadwork class it was all about creating one or more beaded beads each day. Using multiple stitches, students experimented and explored different designs and shapes. A dodecahedron made with beads? Of course! Swapping beading needles and threads for embroidery needles and floss, Francie then welcomed a new group of students to a two-day class in embroidery. It’s been a number of years since we’ve offered a class dedicated to this particular subject. Adding a modern feel […]
Three classes: Part one
With three classes in session during the first full week of August (Finding our Way: A Dyeing Journey with Stephanie Robertson and two classes, Beads! Glorious Beads! and Embroidery: Basics & Beyond taught by Francie Broadie), there were just too many fun things to show in just one post. Stephanie’s class had a 5-day or 7-day option, giving students the ability to extend their time in the studio and continue to experiment with silk screening, mono-printing and direct painting. There are opportunities for rust and indigo dyeing, shibori, ice dyeing, sun printing and every year, new explorations. It is so exciting to see the stages of the printed fabrics with new layers of colors and designs being added each time […]
Wonderful and better
It was a wonderful week of Rigid Heddle Weaving with Deb Jones and the only thing that could have made the week better was to have an Open Quilt Studio at the same time…so we did! Some of the weavers were beginners and some had previous rigid heddle experience, so there were intermediate-level techniques and project ideas, including weft-faced weaves. Beginners started with scarves, then made a sampler, then had time for at least one more project. The instructor, Deb Jones, first came to Sievers as a student in Franie Philps’ Intermediate Spinning class in 1991. She continued to take spinning-related classes with Deb Menz as well as weaving, marbling, papermaking, feltmaking and coiled basketry. In 1999, less than a […]
Swirls, curls and waves, oh my!
So many designs…so little time! In the Marbling: Paper and Fabric class with Nancy Akerly and her assistant, Joyce Gitter, three days allowed for the exploration and creation of many designs and techniques including French Curl and Spanish Wave, but we’re sure the possibilities of so much more continues to swirl through the minds of the students even now. Step-by-step the process for each design is thoroughly explained and practiced. Even unexpected results can become favorites! Besides marbling on plain and printed papers, students used cotton, silk and rayon for fabric pieces, scarves, shawls or small garments. What a creative, fun and color-filled class providing (almost) instant gratification! Thinking about marbling brought the Stavkirke to mind and its altar with […]
Postcards from the island
It’s time for a few postcards from the island while the summer is fully upon us! They all would read, “Having a great time…wish you were here”!
An isle, an island and more
In the spirit of long distance fellowship between islands and the joy of knitting and color, we were excited to have two classes focusing on Fair Isle knitting. First, learning the traditional methods and techniques by knitting a small sweater, suitable for a teddy bear, in class with Mary Germain and Sandy De Master. Then, immediately following, was Janine Bajus’ Fair Isle Vest Design class. Students developed their own colorway from inspiration photos, knit several swatches and then planned their vest design. Fair Isle, the most geographically remote inhabited island in the UK, is famous for its knitwear. Sievers is honored to help keep their island traditions passed along and practiced on our island and beyond in the hands of […]
Over, under and around
Simply put, weaving can be described as over, under and around. We’ve had all of that since the last week of June through early July. We began with Introduction to Overshot taught by Nancy Adams along with Jeanette Biederman’s Splint-Woven Basketry class and then most recently, Covered Coiled Baskets with Lynn Stracka Schuster. As an introduction to overshot weaving, the samples Nancy wove to inspire her students were appropriate for using the four-harness Sievers looms. All of those threads passing over and under each other many times in the students’ projects resulted in stunning handwovens. Now that they’ve been introduced, we hope overshot is a new weaving friend! Over, under and around makes a basket, too! To consider all the […]
