Welcome to our guild!
The Bisbee Fiber Arts Guild is a non-profit organization dedicated to the fiber arts, providing its members with a well-equipped studio that serves as a sanctuary as well as an educational space to learn and practice these arts.
The Guild participates in outreach activities to share and encourage fiber arts skills and knowledge with our greater community. Additionally, the Guild supports cottage industry as a means of promoting artistic development and economic opportunity for members working in the fiber arts.
18th Annual Bisbee Fiber Festival
May 15th, 2010
Thank you to everyone who contributed to make the festival a fun day with lots of things to do and see!
As in past years, the Festival will featured local fiber artists demonstrating spinning, weaving, knitting and dyeing a variety of natural fibers. There were sheep, alpacas and angora rabbits to look at and many types of fiber from local area ranchers was featured including Navajo Churro, Cormo and Wensleydale wool and alpaca fleece and products.
The following were exhibits at the festival:
-
Felt Bead Making with Carolyn Webb
-
Traditional Orenburg Style Lace Knitting with Hallie Greer.
-
Cochineal Dyeing with natural mordants - Elizabeth Fabry dyed yarn to see the different shades of red, pink and coral that can be created using various mordants.
-
Learn to Knit Station
-
Hemp - The Diverse Fiber and Food with Joan Ruane. Natural Hemp fiber, yarn and a large selections of products made with hemp were showcased.
-
Lots of hand-spun and hand-dyed yarn and items made by Guild members.
There were fiber and fiber related vendors with a variety of items to tempt your interest and even help you learn more about fiber and its preparation.
One of these is Dr. Theresa Smith de Cherif of African Scrubs (second from left in photo above) of New Mexico, who says "I have been designing African Scrubs for the last 7 years, the proceeds of which help an HIV orphanage in Cape Town, South Africa and provide much needed employment in both rural Ghana and the slums of Cape Town, South Africa. I design tie dye and batik fabrics in West Africa (Tamale, Ghana) and then my team in South Africa cuts and finishes the fabric into medical scrubs for both adults and kids, cottage-industry style in Cape Town. We also do organic cotton, tie-dyed shirts to match our scrubs (or to wear separately). From remnants, we have made quilts, too."
She also had traditional West Saharan silver jewelry, produced from efforts by she and her son to revitalize Saharan silver-smithing in refugee camps from Western Sahara (the former Spanish Sahara) in the Tindouf area of Algeria. This work supports medical missions to the Western Sahara.
Other vendors included:
-
Live alpacas from the Woods family from Sonoita, who will also have a variety of alpaca products for sale
-
Colorful hand-woven rag rugs by Cynthia Binyon
-
Hand-dyed fiber and roving by Deb Brunner
-
Fine grade fleece and dyed fiber from Melanie Bothwell
-
Janie Swartz with alpaca roving and custom hand-carded batts
-
Joan Ruane with cotton and hemp fibers
THANK YOU!
For making May 15th such a fun day!
See pictures from last year's Festival below
What a Wonderful Presentation:
"More Than Kente Cloth"
Experiencing African Textiles
by Lois Smolinski
On November 2nd we were the fortunate hosts for Lois Smolinski of Tucson
who gave a detailed presentation about both woven and dyed textiles created by African
weavers.
As a Peace Corps volunteer in the 1960's, Lois became interested in the textiles and handwovens she discovered in Tanzania and Nigeria. Brilliantly colored wax-print commercial cottons were the fabric of choice in Tanzania at that time, and Eastern Nigeria was a region known for raffia weaving and broadloom weaving.
Lois had a slideshow with close-up views of the cloth panels and then
explained the weave structure, significance of patterns and colors
and information about the types of looms that were used to produce these
truly inspiring pieces.
Her narration, based on her introduction and exploration of the handwovens and textiles of Tanzania and Nigeria that began when she served in the Peace Corps, gave a glimpse into how people create unique and intricate ways using weaving and dyeing skills and available materials - and create an art form.
What an amazing story
- not only learning about fiber first-hand in such a fundamental way but
also being able to live and experience life in Africa in such a variety
of settings! Along with the beautiful woven and indigo dyed
panels from her personal collection were also baskets, wood carvings
and other hand crafted art from Togo, Tanzania and Nigeria.
Thank you, Lois for a fascinating look at African textiles and the chance to see see, feel and begin to understand the complexity of these pieces!
17th Bisbee Fiber Arts Festival
The annual Fiber Arts Festival was held on May 16th, 2009 at Vista Park in Warren as part of the Bisbee's Farmers Market - and it was wonderful fun! There were many exhibits, displays and fiber vendors offering a wide variety of wool, cotton, silk, alpaca and man-made fibers created from corn, milk, sea cell, soy, bamboo and even banana fibers.
Demonstrations of the various fiber
arts like knitting, spinning, weaving and felt making were presented and
participants had a chance to try out many of these. There were
many displays about all kinds of fiber including cotton,
wool, alpaca and the new eco-friendly corn, milk, sea cell, soy, bamboo
and even banana fibers and all of these fibers were available for sale.
Guild member Andy Doubleday demonstrates weaving on a portable loom.
Vendors came from all over the state with fleeces for spinners and yarns for knitters and weavers. Guild members hand-painted brightly colored cotton yarns that were sold at the guild booth along with hats, rugs and knitted items.
Alpacas lounged in the shade of a large tree a pen where visitors could look at them close up and a very friendly young black Navajo Churro lamb was the focus for many young people. He got lots of attention while his owner, Linda Ochoa of McNeal, demonstrated spinning.
Margie Stalmann wove a scarf from bamboo fiber yarns that was raffled off , and Dorothy Blumer of Sierra Vista was the happy recipient of Margie's efforts.
The 18th Annual Fiber Arts Festival will be held on May 15, 2010 at the Bisbee Farmers Market in Warren. Please plan to visit us for a fun day of exhibits, demonstrations and a chance to immerse yourself in the fiber arts!
The Bisbee Fiber Arts Guild members meet every Monday evening from 6 to 9 PM to work on their projects. The public is welcome to come to watch and ask questions. Check out our Study Sessions on the About Us page to see other scheduled times.
April Spinning Study Group
Study Sessions are times for the fiber artists to explore in-depth the techniques of that art.
Classes are held for people to learn how to do the different forms of fiber arts such as weaving, spinning, knitting, dyeing , etc. They are open to both guild members and the public on a first-come basis - so check out what sounds fun and register early!
Karen Blumenthal in 4 Harness Class