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My fusion vessels evolved from my love of imagery and surface design techniques, my compulsion to work in three dimensions, and my desire to be in a fashion show.
Every other year, Sievers School of Fiber Arts hosts a gathering of students and instructors, and people proudly present their creations in a fashion show. You really don't see a lot of basketmakers wearing their work on the runway, so I tore strips of fabric into core material for coiling, added some looping and created an excuse to strut my stuff. I'll do almost anything for applause.
That, of course, led to more coiled vessels made with fabric cores. And to surface design on coiled vessels. And to vessels that are not coiled -- transforming flat fabric into a three-dimensional form. I stitch those by hand, too: Tug on a thread and it changes a surface or shape, or the way light plays on the form, or the way your eye travels around the piece. I love the texture you get when layers of fabric are stitched together.
As much as I enjoy making these vessels, I may get even greater satisfaction from teaching classes that incorporate this fusion of ideas. A few years ago I read an article that made me think about how much our perceptions of our abilities are formed before the brain has developed to support certain cognitive processes. For example, by the time girls' brains are fully developed in the area that governs spatial perceptions, many of us have already decided we're 'no good at that.' So we stop trying. In these classes, it's fun to see the satisfaction students get when guided exercises lead them to a new perception: I can do this. I developed this concept first for a class at the Textile Center. In 2008, I taught Art Cloth & Story Vessels as a five-day two-credit graduate-level workshop accredited by Augsburg College at Shell Lake Arts Center. Designing workshops that help participants challenge themselves and seeing them not only rise to the challenge but soar over it -- well, that's even better than applause.
Learn More About Imagery, Embroidery & Surface Design
Fusion Vessels Workshop Topics
Imagery, Embroidery & Surface Design Topics
Coiling Workshop Topics
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