As the craft of fiber originated out of a time of necessity, today its function has extended beyond the traditional uses to elaborate embellishments that often require mastering a new set of skills.
This year the Southern Highland Craft Guild’s annual Fiber Weekend will showcase such talents with an emphasis on embroidery. On Saturday May 14, members of the Guild will gather to demonstrate the wide array of techniques using fiber. This free event will be held in the Folk Art Center’s auditorium from 10am until 4pm.
One of the main manipulations of embellishment is embroidery. This is the art of forming textile designs with a threaded needle, embracing both traditional and contemporary needlework. Susan Adams, Martine House, Laura Gaskin and members from the local Laurel Chapter of the Embroiderers’ Guild of America will be demonstrating this method in different styles of free motion and machine.
Other participants in attendance will be the well-known quilter Georgia Bonesteel, alongside Sheila Rauen working on blocks and patterns. Lin Oglesby and Rita de Maintenon will have their knitting needles ready, and Mary Nichols will be at her spinning wheel with the Blue Ridge Spinners.
The annual Fiber Wearable Fashion Show will be held on Sunday, May 15 at both 1pm and 3pm. In its seventeenth year it will continue to honor fiber wearables from a selected pool of artists within the Guild. With 20 years of membership in the organization, weaver Liz Spear will be producing and presenting. She will explain many of the techniques and processes, as well as pointing out the education centers within the region that offer opportunities of workshops or classes in the textile arts, for all experiences. “Trying to make a living with the work of our hands is not easy, and fiber in particular,” says Spear. “As I get to play with different member’s work, I make over 90 outfits playing with color and texture, exercising my intuitive design skills that is so necessary in my own work.”
Textile arts are known for building a sense of community, and to celebrate this, the Guild invites visitors to Fiber Weekend to bring their own handwork, whether it be crochet, embroidery or spinning. Weather permitting we would like to fill the hill behind the Folk Art Center auditorium with people engaged in fiber arts. Bring a blanket and enjoy a spring afternoon of craft!
Fiber Weekend is a free event on May 14 (10am – 4pm) and May 15 (two fashion shows, 1 and 3pm) at the Folk Art Center on the Blue Ridge Parkway in east Asheville. For more information, visit www.craftguild.org or call 828-298-7928.