Show and Tell on Saturday Night

So many talented people in one place…so many projects to share and questions to ask…

How did you do that?

This year Fiber College will host a ***Saturday Night Show and Tell*** before the dinner and lecture by Artist in Residence Alice Seeger, weaver extraordinaire.

We’re asking everyone to bring their favorite projects, new or old, and be prepared for the creative sparks to twirl and swirl.  Because Fiber College gathers all of the fiber disciplines like quilting, spinning, needle arts and woodcarving, this is a perfect forum for mixed media ideas to gel and cooperative ventures to be born.

The tentative time frame will be: Show and Tell will begin approximately at 5:00PM- 6:30 PM (come when you can, leave when you must), the free (for register FC participants) catered dinner will begin at 6:30 and Alice Seeger will present a multi-media talk from 7:30-8:30 followed by a question and answer session.

More to follow later in the summer, please, we need volunteers to organize the evening.

Call for Instructors 2010

This is the letter that we are sending out over the next couple of days…if we didn’t have your e-mail, we still want you to apply!

Dear Passionate Fiber Person,

Won’t you join us this year at Fiber College on Penobscot Bay?  Right now we’re asking for class proposals on anything fiber related…something fun, something funky, something very easy or extremely technical…the committee is looking for quality projects and techniques that offer new ways to give form to our creative ideas.

As always we’ll be including plenty of classes on basket making, spinning, surface design, needle arts, wood working and trying not to forget interests like fly tying and fiber animal husbandry.  But we need to stay fresh too.  I was thumbing through a stack of fiber magazines, a few ideas/trends that jumped out were: paper mache, felted slippers, cloth dolls, natural dyes as they relate to specific garden flowers or pigments, needlepoint, granny squares, weaving and Christmas ornaments that are quilted, crocheted, embroidered, knit or a combination of techniques.  Let your imagination play around a bit.  Take some time to search the fiber world yourself…with your talent the best ideas will jump off the page!

All of the classes are taught in tents and casual buildings on Mid-Coast Maine’s picturesque Penobscot Bay.  In case you weren’t with us last fall, you’ll find a slideshow of last year’s event on the homepage of the website.  Teach your passion…share your world!  Take a vendor booth and quadruple your exposure and sales.

Fiber College on Penobscot Bay is devoted to educating creative expression in all forms.  By integrating classes, shopping, demonstrations, evening events and gathering places, we facilitate a community that supports light-hearted and authentic artistic discovery.

This year we will shine the spotlight on weaving with Artist in Residence Alice Seeger from Rhinebeck New York.  She’s an accomplished fiber artist, a scholar of South American Textiles and a gifted teacher…we’re thrilled to have her on board. Look for more as the plans develop and are posted on line.

The easiest way to track the planning process is to read this Fiber College blog or e-mail us at create@fibercollege.org with your questions.  You can find me (Astrig) on Ravelry too.  When you’re ready to submit an application you’ll find everything you need right here including teacher payment policies.  The last day for submission will be March 14^th.

We’re hosted by Searsport Shores Ocean Campground…making the College feel like a summer art camp for devotees of all ages. When you’re not teaching or participating in the events spread over the 40 oceanfront acres, we hope that you’ll find a spot at the beach or nestled into the organic gardens for some quality time of your own.  This is the perfect “working vacation!”

Wouldn’t you like to spend a weekend with like-minded folks on the beautiful shores of Penobscot Bay in Mid Coast Maine?

Weaving a better world one thread at a time,

Astrig Tanguay,

One of many who bring you Fiber College each year

Wedding Lace in Charleston

A cappi before Southern Culture

While visiting Charleston South Carolina, I spent a few hours in the Charleston Museum.  It’s mission is to preserve and interpret the cultural and natural history of Charleston and the surrounding low country.  Although it was all interesting and well curated, I was particularly drawn to three exhibits: Crazy Quilts, Wedding Dresses and Ornamental Ironwork.  Keeping in mind that flash photography was forbidden, here’s a bit of my meanderings through the very quiet displays.

The Crazy Quilts were a swirl of jewel toned fabrics…scraps of velvet, taffeta and lace.  The embroidery in some was exquisite…so fine that it’s easy to assume it was done by machine.  One was of silk cigar inserts…images of lovely ladies.  Have you seen this great website with more on crazy quilts?  This museum exhibit changes as community members bring in family treasures.  It’s clear that these bed and lap covers are treated as valuables because their condition is mint…as though there were no humidity and light problems in our deep south.

An electronic crazy quilt of real crazy quilts

The wedding dresses were as wonderful as you’d expect in a society that continued hosting balls and galas even as the cannons were firing across the bay during the Civil war.

Good advice?

Elegance is the by-word of Aisle Style. I was particularly impressed with the array of styles that were worn by just two generations of women. It was interesting to read that although white was the fashionable color after Queen Victoria’s wedding, rich colors were the norm before then…one of the reasons that we see a predominance of white gowns in our museum collections is that those were the ones that were preserved in trunks and attics because they were too fragile for everyday wear.  The colored wedding gowns, often in rich velvets and sensuous silks were worn during by women long after the special day because the dirt that was part of everyday life could be washed from these darker colors…hmmmm…

Here are a few of the dozens of photos I took, but you’ll find more pleasure buy watching the slideshow produced by the Museum.  The only thing missing from the slideshow and the actual exhibit is the music that must have accomanied the event…it would have been wonderful to hear the violins and harps followed by the dance tunes that must have rung through the night.

Finally, I know that metal work doesn’t fit the exact mission of Fiber College but ornamentation certainly crosses the boundaries of art so it seems fair to share these last images.  More over, consider these pieces in light of the lace you just saw on the wedding dresses…is it so very different?

All of the South is still dripping in wonderful wrought iron balconies, gates and window coverings.  There is a renewed interest in preserving the shaping of hot iron and it’s good to see that apprenticeships are being offered while masters are still able to teach in front of the forges.

Quilts You Must See

North Carolina loves their quilters…it’s no wonder that the fabulous Mary Ellen Kranz divides her time between Maine and NC.

While we were hiking in Asheville, we spent the afternoon at the beautiful Arboretum that snuggles up against the Blue Ridge Parkway.  The grounds were beautiful and the hiking wonderful but my pleasure came from the fiber ties that the arboretum celebrated…there was an amazing applique quilt display by artist Judy Hayward.  Unfortunately she’s a mystery woman to me…Googling brings up nothing and the staff in the building knew very little except that she’s living somewhere in North Carolina (or “was here for a while, sometime”).

Judy, you’re a rock star and if you see this post or if anyone knows about her…please tell her that we’re fans and would love to host her at Fiber College.

In the meantime, enjoy this little slide show of the quilts we enjoyed:

Crafts Industry Statistics

Astrig and Steve are continuing their 6 week tour of South Eastern States looking for crafts in every corner of the Blue Ridge Parkway.

We’re here in Asheville NC now after spending time on the Toe River Studio Tour…wow what a trip on windy roads and magnificent

Frontier Quilting

mountain vistas.  In North Carolina the craft industry is recognized for the economic driver and big business that it is.  The most recent statistics tell us what we all know to be true in our own world:

The Economic Impact of the Craft Industry in Western North Carolina

The current estimated economic impact of the craft industry in Western North Carolina of $206,533,599 for 2007 represents an approximate $84,517,600 increase over the $122,000,000 economic impact originally computed in 1995 – an increase of 69%.

This total impact is the economic impact sum of:  craft consumer tourism, craft artisan direct sales, craft gallery and shop sales, craft educators, craft orgainzations and the craft supplier and publisher impacts.

Assuming an average 3% per year inflation rate over the first 12 years (36%) then the adjusted economic impact growth is about 33% or about 2.75% per year industry growth rate (adjusted for inflation).

This increased economic impact is somewhat attributable to the increased size of the professional arts producers who have grown from 739 in 1995 to 2,200 presently, representing about a 198% increase over that time period.  Producers represent crafts like:  metal, wood, ceramics, jewelry, glass, fiber and basketry.

Reference

The Economic Impact of the Craft Industry in Western North Carolina, Dr. James E. Stoddard, Dr. Kinesh S. Dave, Dr. Michael R. Evans, DESS Business Research, LLC September 2008

As far as I can tell, Maine hasn’t done the same kind of detailed study but I’ll be checking with the Arts Commission to see what information we do have.  A quick Google search using keywords “Maine, Craft Industry, Economic Data” only brings up our Micro Brewing Companies…not bad but certainly not fiber

Clara Parkes…a cozy evening

Designer Mary Jane with String Theory creator Karen Grover...they're both in handmade sweaters...Karen's is made with her custom dyed yarn...Mary Jane's Fair Isle sweater pattern is available on her website...it's an original creation

Last Saturday knit designer MJ Mucklestone and I drove over to String Theory (one of Fiber College’s cherished vendors) in Blue Hill for an evening with Clara Parkes (author and creator of Knitter’s Review) and her basket of goodies.

Clara (in the pink sweater shown in The Book of Wool) check's out Tanis' latest yarn (Tanis, the other creative genius of String Theory, dyed the wool and designed her sweater too)

Clara’s newest book, the Book of Wool has been out for only a couple of weeks and praised by everyone who got an advanced copy.  While we drank tea and nibbled on homemade, chocolate dipped toffee we giggled as she told us stories of bringing the book together.  Every pattern and every sheep’s breed has a story…and when you touch the finished products and Clara explains the subtle and not-so-subtle differences between the projects, the world of yarn becomes vastly expanded and if it’s possible, more interesting.

If you’re curious to hear others talk about the Book of Wool, check out the Jenny and Nicole’s  November podcast at Stash and Burn.  We live in a wonderful time when we have access to more kinds of fiber than our grandmother’s dreamt of…don’t you want to take advantage?

For a great photo of the projects in the book…click over to Mary Jane’s blog…you can tell she’s a professional layout photographer.

A quick shot from Searsport Shores

Spinning Peace

It’s still gorgeous here at Searsport Shores home of Fiber College on Penobscot Bay.  I wanted to share photos of yesterday’s spinning hour…the fiber is a 50/50 blend of mohair grown here on the campground mixed with a gray, Maine Island fleece I bought at the Common Ground Fair fleece tent and dyed last month…if you join us next September you may even be able to camp right on this site if you’re lucky

Mohair Locks and gray wool dyed with Pro Chem cool blue and cool red

Carded batts ready to spin

Navajo Plied...ready to knit

Curious about color?

The experts tell us that these are the fall colors we’ll be seeing the most of…what do you think?
(click the photo)

Inspired by my class

We teach, we share and we push each other to experiment…Instructor/Volunteer Faith Garrold was inspired by Co-Director/Instructor Emma Morin’s crazy quilt class…so she made these pillows:

Chair caning to coordinate with your quilt and rug

Chair Caning Instructor Gus Szbronski was so inspired by both Laurie Sims and Christine Fraga-Thornton’s fiber arts (both fantastic instructors) that he tore the bed sheets up, spun them using a power drill and then wove a chair seat with the “yarn”.

More Natural Dyes

At the Common Ground Fair I caught up with Fiber College Instructor/Vendor/Friend  Michelle Delucia of Sunshine Daydream Gardens…check out her latest pigment dyed wools…

Vibrant, natural colors...as bright as Michelle's smile!