With a little quiet time in the shop the other day and the camera at hand, the opportunity came up to focus on some additional items that Sievers students and teachers have sent us on consignment. We’ve tried to capture at least one representation of the many baskets, beadwork pieces and types of jewelry that are in the Sievers Shop this year. In this photo, from left to right are a pine needle basket, a birch bark star ornament, a black ash miniature basket/pin cushion, a birch bark basket and a lidded pine needle basket. These are one-of-a-kinds (but we do happen to have several of the the birch bark ornaments). Prices from left to right and corresponding to the […]
Sunrise to sunset
Daryl Lancaster’s class, “Garment Construction Intensive” allows students to transform their hand-dyed, handwoven or other special fabrics into outstanding wearables. In order, it was Garment/s (yes!), Construction (yes!) and Intensive (yes!), with the students taking all three words to heart, working day and night. Each time we visited the studio it seemed as if everyone was either cutting, pinning, sewing, pressing or modeling. And why not, when the results are worth every minute! It starts with planning where the pattern pieces should be placed on the fabric, especially if you want to capture certain features of special yardage. All the fabrics and new skills learned come together through the week, resulting in creative, custom results. Besides spending time sewing, one […]
Vegetable or Mineral
During the visits between Karen Tembreull’s Explorations in Twining class and Kay Rashka’s Metalwork Jewelry Boot Camp last week, exclamations of “these two classes couldn’t be more opposite” were heard. That may be true when it came to the materials used and the manner in which they were manipulated, but the work was equally matched in artistry. These petite, twined baskets started with a vintage spigot handle as a base and incorporated cedar bark, waxed cotton, rush, roots and freshly cut Siberian Iris leaves from the Walter Studio garden. A variety of shapes and combinations of materials made for unique treasures. Karen brought bundles of prepared barks to use in the baskets and several examples of her own twined pieces. […]
1000 Words
The adage, “a picture is worth 1000 words” is the theme for this post featuring photos from our early August companion classes, Diane Fitzgerald’s “Beading: Inspiration from Everywhere” and Stephanie Lewis Robertson’s “Making Your Mark: A Fabric Journey”. As it turns out, one thousand words equals about two full pages of writing. We will forego all those words and share photos from the classes instead. First, just a bit about each class. The beaders had selected a theme that appealed to them personally, researched it, then developed a concept and based on that, created beadwork in class. In Making Your Mark, students used simple silk screening, direct painting on fabric, dyeing, block printing and more to create designs on cloth. […]
One of a Kind
“Just” another week at Sievers…two fashion shows, daily potluck class lunches and a dinner, more than 66 one-of-a-kind garments made by Mary Sue Fenner and at least 22 of Jeanette Biederman’s baskets for inspiration. Plus, at the end of the week, the students went home with the new garments or baskets they made. Wow! An impromptu invitation from the Red Cup Coffee House quickly evolved into the first fashion show of the week. You can see a selection of the garments on our Facebook or Instagram pages, some of which were made by the students and some by Mary Sue. (There are basket photos there and more from the final class fashion show, too!) Using their own handwoven, hand-painted, hand-dyed […]
Small packages
Don’t you think some of the best things come in small packages? “Small packages” as in Japanese Temari and Cartonnage (box making) at Sievers this past week. In the Temari Techniques class, Judith Yamamoto and assistant, Kathy Broer, introduced the art to some students new to Temari and challenged others with more experience to work with complex patterns and to create tiny, jewelry-sized Temari. In Cartonnage: The Magic Box, students focused on the Karakuri Bako, a Japanese box which contains a hidden compartment. Using bookboard, Japanese papers and a good eye for accuracy, these special double-hinged boxes came together with the guidance of instructor, Nancy Akerly. (You can see more of Nancy’s own work at Liberty Grove Paper Arts.) These […]
Going Well Beyond
It’s time to catch up on the two classes that took place before the Gathering, Beyond Beginning Weaving with Nancy Adams and Garment Construction Intensive with Daryl Lancaster. The beautiful handwovens as well as the exceptional garments created went well beyond anything either class description could convey. Nancy guided her students through weave structures such as shadow weave, overshot and log cabin for shawls and elegant home handwovens. This class was woven together in other ways, with friendships formed at Sievers. One of the students celebrated her 80th birthday during the week. What an inspiration! Daryl brings so much to her class…her treasure trove of garments, skills and positive energy. New students work on the tailored “Daryl Jacket” and returning […]
In contrast
There’s been a definite contrast this past week between Kay Rashka’s Metalwork Jewelry Boot Camp with students using hammers, drills, motorized hand tools, torches and all sorts of shiny and possibly even sharp-edged components for fabricating jewelry and Betty Glynn Carlson’s Navajo Rug Weaving class where students quietly and reflectively place each strand of authentic wool yarn within the warp. Come along for a tour! With Kay Rashka’s instruction, each student leaves with a collection of interesting, personalized and textured art jewelry. Navajo Weaving in itself is a journey, using unbroken warp threads and meaningful designs woven out of (often) specific naturally dyed wool. To finish one piece in this 5-day class is a real accomplishment. Some of the students had started a rug in a prior year […]
