I’ll be honest – I had no idea that fiber arts were such a … well, such a THING. I grew up around women – my grandmother, great aunt, and mother – whose habitual work in various fiber arts was always, simply, there. They created functional pieces, decorative pieces, pieces to give as gifts just as a matter of the course of their daily lives.
When the Ranch program committee first began talking about offering this seminar, I noticed enthusiastic nods from all sorts of folks whenever the topic came up. As Amy and I have continued to talk about the specifics of the week, the depth of enthusiasm and devotion to fiber arts has become even clearer. There are workshops and retreats of all sorts across the country and around the world. In seemingly every town there are shops that gather materials and makers together. In an age where so much of our lives seems to be moving into a computerized space that is barely material, to find people so happily obsessed with sheep and fibers and dyes and things you can hold in your hands and wear and hang on your walls is both a delight and a relief.
Amy has offered a few more words about the content of the retreat and additional readings to prepare us for the depth of engagement we can find during this week:
The Fuzz Therapy session will offer diverse topics of conversation—holistic benefits of participating in fiber arts, influence of global traditions on our current practices, histories of fiber use and fiber-animal husbandry and fiber-plant cultivation, exploration of local fiber, maybe even dyeing fibers—all while learning and experimenting with new applications. We’ll use punch-out portable tapestry looms, frame, rigid-heddle, and harness looms; spindles and spinning wheels; rudimentary felting; processing raw fleece to spin/weave/knit/crochet. Alternatively, bring your current project to work on in the middle of a community of fascinating friends in a beautiful setting.