Sievers School of Fiber Arts

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2023 Sievers Preview

January 11, 2023 By Carolyn Foss 2 Comments

February 1st will be here in only three weeks! That day, all of our 2023 classes will be open for registration and the class descriptions, along with complete information, will be available on our website. The site will be in “maintenance mode” soon, but available again for registration on February 1. Featured on the cover of the 2023 brochure are some of the many colorful splint-woven baskets made by Jeanette Biederman. Thank you, Jeanette, for all the beautiful baskets and equally beautiful friendships you’ve made with us and your students over the past 32 years! Many of our instructors are returning in 2023 and we welcome two new teachers this year, Joyce Gitter and John Rezachek. Both Joyce and John […]

Filed Under: Basketry/Furnishings, Beading/Stitchery/Wearables, Book Arts/Paper Arts, Dyeing/Knitting/Spinning, Fiber Arts, Quilting, Sievers School, Surface Design, Washington Island, Weaving Tagged With: Beadwork, Cartonnage, Dyeing, Eco-printing, Inkle Weaving, knitting, Kumihimo, Marbling, Nalbinding, Paper Arts, Quilting, Sievers, Sievers Class Schedule, Spinning, Washington Island, Weaving

Three of a (fiber art) kind

August 28, 2022 By Carolyn Foss

Perhaps the art and practice of batik, beginning weaving and cartonnage might not have much in common, but from August 15-25, these three (one-of-a-kind!) classes certainly shared the joy of learning, making and being creative. This was the first year we’ve had an Introduction to Batik class since…way back. Our batik classes evolved over the years to a studio week for experienced batik students, so when Anne Landre offered to teach an introductory class with Karen Zeman, we enthusiastically said, “Yes!”. Anne brought many, if not all, of her Indonesian tjaps, which allowed beginners to apply an entire design in wax at one time on the fabric. After applying the wax, the cotton or rayon fabrics were dyed one or […]

Filed Under: Book Arts/Paper Arts, Surface Design, Weaving Tagged With: Batik, Cartonnage, Table Loom Weaving

Swirls, curls and waves, oh my!

July 26, 2022 By Carolyn Foss

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 […]

Filed Under: Book Arts/Paper Arts, Sievers School, Surface Design Tagged With: Cartonnage, Liberty Grove Paper Arts, Marbling, Nancy Akerly, Washington Island Stavkirke

Sievers Pop-Up Shop #2: The write stuff

July 28, 2020 By Carolyn Foss

This is the second in a series of pop-up shops featuring items made by the students and teachers of Sievers. Our “write stuff” shop focuses on cards, papers and books along with reading and writing tools. We’ll start with these paste paper cards which come in a pack of eight for $18.00. A special book to write special words and special writing tools can record special ideas. For handmade books, wrapping or card making, we have a variety of marbled papers. If a ready-made card is more your style, these woodland scenes are based on actual textile “painted” landscapes. When you just have to set down your writing or reading, these might come in handy. In book-related news, although book […]

Filed Under: Book Arts/Paper Arts, Sievers School, Sievers Shop

One or many

September 5, 2019 By Carolyn Foss

Maybe it was one coiled basket or maybe it was many marbled papers and fabrics that were completed in class during the last week of August, but whether it was one or many, it was a delight to see the student’s work progress through the three days of class. Most of Lynn Stracka Schuster’s Covered Coiling Basket students completed one special piece using unique yarns (some used handspun purchased at the Sievers Shop). From a small base, an expanding spiral forms into a one-of-a-kind basket. As Lynn says, “the basket will tell you where it wants to take you”. Lynn brought several examples of her own work illustrating various yarns used, shapes, choices for rims and embellishments. One by one, […]

Filed Under: Basketry/Furnishings, Book Arts/Paper Arts Tagged With: Coiled Basketry, Lynn Schuster, Marbling, Nancy Akerly

Small packages

June 18, 2019 By Carolyn Foss

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 […]

Filed Under: Beading/Stitchery/Wearables, Book Arts/Paper Arts Tagged With: Cartonnage, Japanese Temari, Judith Yamamoto, Liberty Grove Paper Arts, Nancy Akerly

Unique, Tiny, Precious

September 3, 2018 By Carolyn Foss

These are just three of the words used in the descriptions for Mary Hettmansperger’s Expressions in Jewelry and Chad Alice Hagen’s Tiny Book Necklaces classes.   Add to that “creative”, “fun” and “fast-paced” and you have a lot of options for very personalized and special wearables. Starting with sheets of copper or brass and an assortment of found objects in Mary’s class, students then added layers, embossing, hinges and their own style to create a unique jewelry wardrobe.          Not every piece was made to wear as jewelry.  Some of these colorful metals may end up in other mixed-media art work. As Mary’s class description says, there are “endless options…”.  We loved seeing so many of them!       If you love books, you love them in all […]

Filed Under: Beading/Stitchery/Wearables, Book Arts/Paper Arts Tagged With: Chad Alice Hagen, Mary Hettmansperger, Metal Jewelry, Tiny Book Necklaces

Covers

July 23, 2018 By Carolyn Foss

You can’t judge a book by its cover, so they say.  But have they seen the books and covers made in the Miniature Wooden Books class with Daniel Essig?  Using mica for a cover, or wood that has been sanded, carved and painted with milk paint, these 2″ – 3″ tiny treasurers were then showcased by creating small special displays, some of them including 100 year-old cedar shingles from an Island house.           A visit from the quilt class gave a chance for the book-making students to share their pieces, cover-to-cover.       If you’re under the covers, you might be under a quilt, and who wouldn’t want to be under one of these special and vibrant ones?  In Ellen Graf’s Drafting in Quilt Design class, excellent technique is taught along with skills of […]

Filed Under: Book Arts/Paper Arts, Quilting, Sievers School Tagged With: Book Arts, Daniel Essig, Ellen Graf, Quilt Design, Quilting

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  • Jewelry/Stitchery/Wearables
  • Paper Arts
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  • Quilting
  • Surface Design
  • Weaving
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