Slow Fibre Fest is Fast Approaching

The Desert Sage Spinners & Weavers are busy preparing for their

Slow Fibre Fest
Saturday October 29
10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Seniors Centre
2965 South Main St., Penticton
Vendor market, Demonstrations,
Displays, Fashion Show
Free admission – but bring your wallet for purchases!
Refreshments and Lunch available

 

Pictured here, members of the guild are “growing” felted blossoms on willow branches. The finished creation will be a stage decoration during the event’s fashion show.

This guild has some of the most inventive, creative, beautiful … and funny! …spinners and weavers around. The Slow Fibre Fest will be guaranteed to make you gasp with delight,  laugh, and reach for your pocket book so you can take those warm and cuddly creations home with you.  A fun and educational outing for the whole family.

Photo Credit: Barb Hicks

Snuggle up with cuddly fibres this October

The crafts of Desert Sage Spinners and Weavers Guild will be the featured exhibit at the Osoyoos Art Gallery during the month of October. Guild members will have their work on display beginning with an opening reception on Saturday, Oct 8 from 1 to 3 p.m.  The public is welcome to attend. Some items will be for sale. 

The Slow Fibre Fest, sponsored by Desert Sage Spinners & Weavers Guild, is planned for Saturday October 29 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Seniors Centre on South Main in Penticton. The event will feature and promote the use of natural fibres.  Much like the “Slow Foods” movement that champions traditional, healthy, and eco friendly methods of growing and preparing our own foods, the “Slow Fibre” Festival promotes using fibres in traditional, “home-grown” and eco-friendly ways, from raising animals for wool to using eco-friendly dyes.  There will be a vendor market, demonstrations of weaving, spinning and felting including display of the Guild’s felted yurt. A fashion show will take place in the afternoon. A fun day for all and admission is free. Refreshments and lunch will be available.

Photo Credit: Val Friesen

Fibre Madness Challenge winds up

Local fibre artist Terry Irvine has completed a creative challenge: designing and creating one new work per day during the month of February. What a great way to beat the February blues!

Here is the second set of photos from her project. Scroll down the page to find the article  detailing the first installment.

“The seemingly dye resistant flowers accepted the colour when immersed in my acid dyes. Success!” says Terry.

Here is a whole bouquet of  acid dye flower brooches :

 

Terry completed two sets of hot pads wirth coasters, each in an animal paw design.  The first photo shows the blue and white set before the felting process. It was created using thick handspun and a store bought edging yarn after knitting. The next photo shows the set after felting.

 

The third shows the results of the second set.

  Terry comments on the process:  “The coasters didn’t felt that easily by hand so I gathered some other things that needed felting and put them all together in the washing machine. The next day the hot pad was ready for felting, but nothing else was. Interestingly enough, the machine felted coasters were thicker and fluffier than the hand felted hot pad, which was surprising and, if ya think about it, opposite how you’d want them for functionality.”

Irvine also tried her hand at felting a water bottle carrier. However, felting is a mysterious process that doesn’t always give you what you expect:

“This was already knitted [before the challenge started], but needed finishing, ends sewn in or twisted for design elements, a border added to finish the top edge and felting and was one of those items added to make a load in the washer worthwhile. Its purpose when knitted was to be a bottle carrier complete with handles.

As you can see, it is so not a bottle carrier, but a uniquely shaped vase!”

And here’s a bit of whimsy: “I wanted a container for tissues in the car that could be crushed and otherwise abused and still look good. The final project is smaller than it should be, but I was able to try out my handspun ‘eyelash’ yarn and really like the result. I coulda checked the washing machine sooner, but…….”

Terry also sent a photo showcasing the whole Fibre Madness collection, nicely arranged on a fallen log. Congratulations Terry!

Want to comment? Email olivercac@gmail.com and we’ll publish it or forward it to Terry per your request. Are you an OCAC member with a project of your own? Let us know!

Slow Fibre Festival Wins over Crowd …FAST

The Desert Sage Spinners and Weavers hosted the Slow Fibre Festival in Summerland on Saturday October 9, 2010.  The festival observed a similar principle as “slow food”: focussing on natural fibres and local fibre producers and artisans.  The event, including displays, demonstrations, and sales tables was a huge success. It was a perfect tie-in with the Thanksgiving weekend. Member Gail Erickson says the venue was bursting at the seams with vendors and customers, and they will be looking for a larger location next year.  Take a look at some of the photos from the festival, featuring the busy Desert Sagers at work.

Wish you knew how to do this yourself? Join the Guild! Contact the Desert Sage Spinners and Weavers by visiting our “Contact” or “Groups” pages, or by emailing the OCAC at olivercac@gmail.com to be put in touch with the Guild.

Photo Credit: Roger Richardson

“Slow” Fibre Festival with Desert Sage

The South Okanagan has some of the most creative fibre artists around. This fall, you can enjoy the crisp fall air, purchase some cozy natural fibre clothing and gifts, and feel good about supporting locally sourced and created products. The concept reflects similar principles as the “Slow Food” Movement.  It’s a great way to celebrate Thanksgiving! 

The Desert Sage Spinners and Weavers present
“Slow” Fibre Festival
Saturday October 9, 2010
8:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Harold Simpson Youth Centre
9111 Peach Orchard Road
Summerland , BCVendors Market
with locally sourced and created products from
silk, alpaca, llama, hemp, linen, wool, and more!
 
Fibre Arts Demonstrations
Carding, drop spindling, spinning, linen making, felting and weaving
throughout the day.
Meet the artisans!

Wish you knew how to do this yourself? Join the Guild! Contact the Desert Sage Spinners and Weavers by visiting our “Contact”  or “Groups” pages, or by emailing the OCAC at olivercac@gmail.com to be put in touch with the Guild.  

Photo credit: Penelope Johnson

"Slow" Fibre Festival with Desert Sage

The South Okanagan has some of the most creative fibre artists around. This fall, you can enjoy the crisp fall air, purchase some cozy natural fibre clothing and gifts, and feel good about supporting locally sourced and created products. The concept reflects similar principles as the “Slow Food” Movement.  It’s a great way to celebrate Thanksgiving! 

The Desert Sage Spinners and Weavers present
“Slow” Fibre Festival
Saturday October 9, 2010
8:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Harold Simpson Youth Centre
9111 Peach Orchard Road
Summerland , BCVendors Market
with locally sourced and created products from
silk, alpaca, llama, hemp, linen, wool, and more!
 
Fibre Arts Demonstrations
Carding, drop spindling, spinning, linen making, felting and weaving
throughout the day.
Meet the artisans!

Wish you knew how to do this yourself? Join the Guild! Contact the Desert Sage Spinners and Weavers by visiting our “Contact”  or “Groups” pages, or by emailing the OCAC at olivercac@gmail.com to be put in touch with the Guild.  

Photo credit: Penelope Johnson

RipOff Artists Reach the Peak with Mount Lefroy

During the last week of June, the South Okanagan’s  RipOff Artists attracted media coverage and crowds of curious onlookers with their fourth annual exhibit, “ripping off” Group of Seven’s Lawren Harris and his iconic Mount Lefroy. During a weeklong demonstration and exhibit, each of the ten artists in the collective interpreted the famous painting in their own medium.

Leo Pedersen’s 3-D woodworking installation in progress.

Encaustic artist Thea Haubrich recreates Mount Lefroy in hot beeswax.

JoAnn Turner turns a CD cabinet into a work of art. Can you see the drawer knobs? Or are they surreal snowballs and mountain rocks?

3-D artist Kurt Hutterli adds the finishing touches to an elaborate installation. Painted egg cartons on the floor give the illusion that his artwork is at the “pinnacle” . The whimsical climbing figures added to Harris’ landscape are adapted from a famous period photograph of Rocky Mountain alpinists.

Kurt Hutterli discusses his tongue-in-cheek demo piece with OCAC member Dot Cranston. Mount Lefroy is painted on the hood of a rusted car, cruched in the shape of a mountain peak. Hutterli wonders (with a twinkle in his eye, of course) if the car perhaps once belonged to Lawren Harris himself?

Spinner and weaver Barb Levant  recreates Mount Lefroy into an outfit a sherpa or alpinist would be proud to wear. She carefully chose colours and banded patterns to match Harris’ original painting.

Quilter Dianne Birne adds the last finishing stitches to her fabric  interpretation of the painting.

Enid Baker reinterprets the masterpiece in watercolours.

Photographer Russell Work cleverly reimagines Mount Lefroy as “two-two-two Mounts in one!” His photo installation rotates (much like some modern billboards) to switch from the Lefroy painting to a photo of artist Harris at work on Mount Lefroy.

See a video of the “revolve” in action here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=orECiugsq9Q&feature=player_embedded

Collage artist Marion Trimble painstakingly glues strips of fabric and paper onto her piece.

And now for the finished exhibit! Marion Trimble, Enid Baker, Barbara Levant, Russell Work, JoAnn Turner, Terry Irvine (knitter), Diane Birnie, Leo Pedersen, and Thea Haubrich. Missing from photo: Kurt Hutterli.

Photo credits: Russell Work, Thea Haubrich

For more photos, visit Thea Haubrich’s Encaustic Blog: http://encausticcanada.wordpress.com/2010/07/04/finale-ripoff-project-mount-lefroy/

For a fantastic video of the RipOff Artists with Mike Roberts of CHBC, take a look at

http://www.chbcnews.ca/video/index.html?releasePID=f5794obragGwCKDQACQpmpfwc7SlVcJm

Comments about this article? Share them at olivercac@gmail.com We’ll post them at the bottom of this article as received. (The email method helps us avoid spammers. )

Desert Sage Spinners and Weavers

jen-and-yarn“Tromp as writ”, “Overshot”, “Throw the shuttle” “Tabby”, “Pickup” — these unusual expressions are just a few phrases to be heard in the Desert Sage Spinners and Weavers Guild. Weaving is an age-old art of forming lengths of yarn into cloth.  In early human society, weaving satisfied the need for clothing and shelter. Garments and dwellings were constructed from woven animal hair or plant materials.  Today, the possibilities are endless with an array of  threads, yarns,  fabrics, dyes, animal hair, plants, and synthetics – and centuries of creative techniques to draw from.  

gail-weaves1

Desert Sage members practice a number of skills including felting, spinning, dyeing, weaving, and knitting to create works of art. Anyone who likes to work with fibres is welcome to join! The Guild’s sixty members span the South Okanagan and the adjoining Thompson valley.

The Guild holds regular drop-in sessions every Thursday, September to June, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Oliver Community Centre.  The monthly business meeting  is on the second Thursday of each month beginning at 10 a.m. (same location). There are frequent workshops, demonstrations, exhibits, and sales.

We’re growing! Currently our membership sits at between 65 and 70 artisans. Between four and six new fabric art lovers join the guild per year. You might be one of them!

 Desert Sage Spinners & Weavers Guild
P.O. Box 1473
Oliver, BC
V0H 1T0
 diane-and-yarn-creations

Our guild is a mixture of ages, backgrounds, lifestyles, skill levels, and artistic preferences. Our common thread is our keen interest in an unusual and somewhat obscure pursuit of yarn and fibre craft. Our crafts are an expression of human ingenuity, a sense of continuity with our past, and linkage with other cultures and generations. The pursuit of excellence in our projects forces us to slow down, pay attention to detail, and allow our creativity to flourish.

 Photos by Penelope Johnson

 

 

 

jen-spinsComing up for the Desert Sage Guild:

The Association of NorthWest Weavers’ Guilds Conference
“Weaving Waves of Colour”
May 29-31
Gonzaga University
Spokane Washington

Visit us at

Summer Studio
July 6 – 11
Opening Reception: Monday 6:00 – 8:00 p.m.
Displays and Demonstrations: Tuesday – Saturday 9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Kids Day Activities: Wednesday 10:00 – 12 noon
Studio Building, Quail’s Nest Arts Centre