How much can we fit into the month of June? Plenty, as it turns out! We’ll have welcomed five classes since June 10, which we’ll visit in this post and the next. For beginners and beyond, team teachers Kathy Broer and Judith Yamamoto have shared one or more new techniques during their Japanese Temari classes and this year, the focus was on Kikus and Triwings. In addition, for their main project, the students were challenged to use several shades of orange colors in each of the design motifs on their Temari. It’s truly captivating to see all of the samples Kathy and Judie bring as inspiration for their students and there’s an added delight to see the looks of amazement […]
Pop-up and pop in
We’ve got one more pop-up shop to share with you before our regular hours for the Sievers Shop end on Friday, November 3. On that day, November 3, we are holding an Open House for Cindra’s retirement from 1-3 pm in the Sievers Shop. Although Cindy won’t officially retire until December 31, we want all our Sievers and Island friends to have the opportunity to honor her 37 years of working here. Please join us if you can! Afterwards, all the handmade items in the shop will be returned to the artists, our wonderful students and teachers who share and sell their work here. We’ll still be in the office from Monday-Friday, so if you have a need for yarn […]
Evolutions
When Sievers first offered fiber arts courses in the summer of1979, fifteen classes were scheduled. There were seven weaving, six spinning, one stitchery and one textile printing class listed in the brochure. The following year, quilting, basketry and dyeing were added. Fast forward 45 years and you’ll find those subjects (and many more) included in the 2023 list of classes. The three most recent classes show an evolution in the subjects of stitchery, basketry and weaving as compared to those very early classes at Sievers. Japanese Temari, taught by Kathy Broer and Judith Yamamoto, is an example of a stitchery class that’s evolved beyond “the basic embroidery stitches applied to a pillow or tote bag, trapunto wall hanging or stuffed, […]
Latest and greatest
“Unleash your creative spirit…” are the first four words in the class description of Ellen Graf’s recent Latest, Greatest Quilt class. Those words were similarly appropriate for the companion class, Japanese Temari: Four Seasons with Kathy Broer and Judie Yamamoto. They could certainly apply to any Sievers class! The quilting students brought their ideas, fabrics or quilts in progress and with Ellen’s guidance and design experience, planned, pieced, pressed and sewed with creative spirit. The “latest and greatest” of Kathy Broer’s Japanese Temari were on display for she and Judie’s class which focused on four stitches as interpreted by the seasons. Herringbone for Winter, Rose for Spring, Star for Summer and Spindle for Fall. The stunning samples of so many […]
The latest four
In the past four classes, four separate fiber arts were represented in the Sievers studios. Those four were: surface design (Batik Alumni Studio), weaving (Beyond Beginning: Weaving with Nancy Adams), stitchery (Japanese Temari Techniques with Judith Yamamoto and Kathy Broer) and basketry (Splint-Woven Basketry: Independent Study with Jeanette Biederman). The Batik Alumni Studio was a way for previous batik students at Sievers to return and work outside the formal class structure to share ideas, get feedback from each other and design/wax/dye…repeat. Mary Jo Scandin, who taught Batik classes here for many (wonderful) years, came as part of the Alumni group. Reviewing the warping and weaving process and choosing projects appropriate for next-step weavers was the focus of the Beyond Beginning: […]
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 […]
Threads in common
A common thread from the Open Quilt Studio week through the Japanese Temari class was…thread! As usual, quite a few quilt projects were started, finished or continued and ideas shared in the studio time. Whether it was finishing an eight-year project or experimenting with a new technique, it’s always inspiring to see the one, two (or more) pieces being worked on by each person during the week. A magazine photo was the inspiration for the start of this Landscape ‘Painting’ using fabric. The fabric artist and maker, Susan Hoffmann, will be teaching this technique in a class at Sievers in July featuring a scene with birch trees and golden leaves. Quilts blocks and tops, bright and beautiful! Some of the fabrics used in the piece on the left are from Sievers […]
Fiber “Candy”
We definitely had a feast for the eyes, ears and necklines this past week with Mary Hettmansperger’s Expressions in Jewelry and Judith Yamamoto’s Japanese Temari Techniques classes in session. Although the materials and methods range from copper and hammers to fine threads and needles, the end results were equally inspiring and creative. Bringing out the colors in the brass and copper sheets, embossing, layering and adding found objects opened so many avenues to create personalized jewelry. I’m sure the jewelry boxes at home were excited to see their new companions! Wrapping a ball, marking “equators” or obi’s to form a grid and using traditional embroidery stitches yields these dazzling results, with the basket shown below on the right the Temari made […]
