Programs for 2007-2008

Every year the Guild features a lecture and workshop series featuring regional and national artists, curators and educators, presented from September through May. Member critiques are scheduled for two times this guild year: October and March; and Fiber Conversations are back by popular demand. All GUILD lectures are open to the public for a $5 fee. Events are free for members with the exception of workshops, which carry varying fees with an additional materials fee paid to the instructor during the workshop. Space permitting, the public is invited for an additional $15.00.

Meeting Locations

Sixth Presbyterian Church
1638 Murray Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15217 (At corner of Forbes and Murray Avenues in Squirrel Hill.)

Pittsburgh Center for the Arts
6300 Fifth Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15232 (At corner of Fifth and Shady Avenues in Shadyside.)

For more information about programs contact
Deb Meteney • dmeteney@comcast.net

Calendar

SEPTEMBER 6, 2007 Thursday, 6pm-9pm
Potluck Welcome Party at Norma Lipscomb’s home in Highland Park

SEPTEMBER 26, 2007 Wednesday, 7pm
FIBER CONVERSATIONS: Joanne Baxter’s Studio in Wexford
Joanne creates dolls and wearable art

OCTOBER 6, 2007 Saturday 9am-4pm
WORKSHOP: Carol Ann Rafferty
Creating Devore Fabric
Sixth Presbyterian Church Basement
$45 Members / $60 Non Members / Materials Fee $25

Devore, French for devour, has been used to create a burnout effect in the cellulose component of silk or polyester blended fabric since the 1800’s. The technique was revived in the 1990s by Danish textile chemist Joy Boutrup. During this workshop participants will gain a working knowledge of the Devore process including: choosing and preparing fabrics, mixing and storage of print paste, and options for creating patterns. Application techniques, dyeing, care of finished fabrics and safety procedures in the studio will be discussed. There will be demonstrations on various types of fabrics.

Carol Ann Rafferty is a member of our guild and currently adjunct professor in the Buffalo State College Fiber Design Program. Her work has been exhibited in national and international shows including Fiberart International 2007.

OCTOBER 19, 2007 Friday, 3pm-5pm
CRITIQUE: Hosted by Barb Kubala
Sixth Presbyterian Church Chapel

OCTOBER 19, 2007 Friday, 7pm-9pm
LECTURE: Hollie Heller
Mixed Media Fiber artist
Sixth Presbyterian Church Chapel

Hollie Heller has an M.F.A. in Textile Design from the Rochester Institute of Technology. She has taught workshops and given seminars nationally, including at the Quilt Surface Design Symposium in Athens Ohio and the International Surface Design Conference at Kansas City Art Institute. She began as a weaver and feltmaker and now experiments with constructed and layered surfaces using paper, photo transfers and collage.
You can see her work at www.hollieheller.com

NOVEMBER 9, 2007 Friday, 3pm-5pm
CRITIQUE: Hosted by Barb Kubala
Location TBD

NOVEMBER 9, 2007 Friday, 7pm-9pm
LECTURE: ANNE KMIECK
Out of the Closet and Into the Fire: Dress as a metaphor for the female condition
Location TBD

Anne T. Kmieck's longtime examination of historical views of the female condition finally surfaced in her art after a working trip to Mexico in 1997 Her observation of indigenous people’s celebration of their traditions and language through their clothing inspired her to use dresses as a metaphor for the female body. Anne has a BFA from the Cleveland Institute of Art and a MA from Case Western Reserve University. She teaches at Hawken Upper School in Gates Mills, Ohio where her students are a continuous wellspring of inspiration. Her work has been exhibited in numerous shows throughout the Northeast Ohio region as well as in the Chicago area.

JANUARY 17, 2008 Thursday, 10am -1:30 pm
POTLUCK FUNDRAISER LECTURE: Quilt Artist Shawn Quinlan
Pittsburgh Center for the Arts, Simmons Hall

Shawn Quinlan is a member of our guild and has exhibited his work nationally. Recently (2007) he had a solo exhibition at the Pittsburgh Center for the Arts and an invitational exhibit at the Mattress Factory in 2006. Blogger Garth Johnson (Extreme Craft) wrote about Shawn’s work: “His raw material is taken from wall hangings and oddball commercial fabrics--not just from the piles of fat quarters … There is also an improvisational quality at work in his quilts - something only rarely seen in a scene that is obsessed with order and pattern.”

FEBRUARY 7, 2008 Thursday, 3pm-5pm
CRITIQUE: Hosted by Barb Kubala
Sixth Presbyterian Church Chapel

FEBRUARY 7, 2008 Thursday, 7pm-9pm
ORIGAMI VALENTINE PARTY WITH SUE NEFF
Sixth Presbyterian Church Basement

Sue will teach us how to fold paper to make easy heart cards, a heart ring, a 3-D heart pendant, and even a “beating heart“ (action model).
Sue is a guild member and founder of the Origami Club of Pittsburgh. She has taught Origami at CMU and the national origami convention in New York City.

FEBRUARY 21, 2008 Thursday, 7pm
FIBER CONVERSATIONS: Quilt Artist Louise Silk’s Studio

MARCH 14, 2008 Friday, 7pm-9pm
LECTURE: Renee Harris
Embroidery on Hand felted Cloth
Sixth Presbyterian Church Chapel

Renee Harris graduated with a major in painting and printmaking and a minor in illustration from the Art Academy of Cincinnati. After seeing the work of artists using felted wool, she was inspired by the possibilities of painting with this medium. After taking a class to improve her skills, she realized her passion of using hand embroidery as a pencil and felted wool fabric as a canvas to create mostly narrative imagery. Renee exhibits her work nationally through major craft shows, galleries and curated exhibitions. She lives and maintains a full time studio in Cincinnati, Ohio. She received the Exhibitor's Choice Award (Bronze) at Smithsonian Craft Show in 2006.
You can see her work at www.reneeharris.net

MARCH 15, 2008 Saturday, 9am-4pm
WORKSHOP: Rae Gold
Shibori on Wool and Silk
Sixth Presbyterian Church Basement
$45 Members / $60 Non Members / Materials Fee TBD

Shibori is a term meaning resist. Students will wrap, fold, stitch, clamp, tie and dye. However this workshop is a little different since the concentration will be on wool (and silk) and trying various old techniques in a new way. Also hot water dyeing with acid dyes will give more spontaneous results than using the traditional cold water dyes.

Rae Gold is a long time member of our guild and an established nationally known designer/artist. She specializes in machine knitted felted and hand dyed wool clothing, often shibori dyed, that has a beautifully soft unrestrained quality. A BFA graduate of Carnegie Mellon University, Gold has shown her work at the American Craft Council in Baltimore, MD, The Philadelphia Craft Show, The Washington Craft Show and the Smithsonian Women's Committee in Washington, DC.

MARCH 29, 2008 Saturday, 2pm
FIBER CONVERSATIONS: at the home of Fran Morrison.

APRIL 11, 2008 Friday, 7pm-9pm
LECTURE: Winnie Radolan
Sixth Presbyterian Church Chapel

Considering the over two thousand year history of papermaking, much of which was consumed producing paper as a substrate for communication, handmade paper as as art form is a “new baby“ of roughly the last 50-60 years. Winnie will briefly describe her own papermaking journey showing slides of her work and from the Guild of Papermakers which show the diversity of “voices“ possible in this exciting artistic medium.

APRIL 12, 2008 Saturday, 9am-4pm
WORKSHOP: Winnie Radolan
Papermaking
Sixth Presbyterian Church Basement
$45 Members / $60 Non Members / Materials Fee TBD

Our gardens are filled with wonderful fibers, which can be simply prepared to create colorful and distinctive handmade papers. Learn when and what to harvest, as well as how to cook and “beat these plants to a pulp“. You’ll be creating paper from the cellulose in vegetables, daylilies, iris leaves and more. Experiment with stenciling and layering different fibers to design your surface. Bring flat inclusions to embed between layers. Learn ways to work your handmade paper into your own unique stationary, drawings, paintings, collages and other 2D expressions (great for printmaking.) No experience necessary.

Winnie Radolan is Founding director of Winnie’s Paperworks and the Guild of Papermakers. She is a roster artist for the NJ and PA State Councils on the Arts residency programs and a columnist for the Hand Papermaking Newsletter. She has a BS in Art Education from Moore College of Art.

MAY 2, 2008 Friday, 7pm-9pm
LECTURE: Judy Dominic
Sixth Presbyterian Church Chapel

Bogolanfini – It’s All in the Mud: Journey to Mali Africa via images, stories, song, and dance and find about the wonderfully rich dyeing tradition of bogolanfini. Then hear about its transformation in Harrison Ohio! An abundance of samples will be shown to enrich the experience.

MAY 3, 2008 Saturday, 9am-4pm
WORKSHOP: Judy Dominic
Sixth Presbyterian Church Basement
$45 Members / $60 Non Members / Materials Fee $7

Mud Cloth (Bogolanfini Modified)
The strikingly simple white design on black background cloth represents the serious artistic manner of telling the stories of village life in Mali Africa. Learn about the traditional method of bogolanfini, dying cotton cloth with mud, as well as how that process can be modified to work outside of Mali. During the workshop you will create your own story designs using local muds on cotton and other natural fiber cloth. Connect with the earth and gain an appreciation of the Mali culture.

Judy Dominic has a loom weaving background and has been creating with fibers since 1979. Her use of naturals and odd materials has become a signature as she recycles most anything that stands still into her fiber art. Judy displays her work and curates basketry exhibits throughout North America, teaching internationally. Her fiber-related articles have been published in numerous national and international fiber art magazines. She was honored with the Post-Corbett 2001 Visual Arts Award for enhancing the quality of community life through art.
You can see her work at www.midwestbasketry.com

MAY14, 2008 Wednesday, 6:30pm
A party for members who have joined in the last two years will be held at the home of Michelle Browne. A light supper will be provided by board members.
RSVP to Michelle mlbatoast7@aol.com or Desha desha_j@hotmail.com.