Wednesday, April 28, 2010

SO MANY LOOMS, so far away


Another great experience out west was my tour of the Oregon College of Art and Craft. The weaving room was so full of looms (28 I believe) that I began to vibrate out of sheer joy. The college is the first in the country (in conjunction with the Portland College of Art) to develop a Masters program in craft! I'm contemplating attending and learned that the continuing adult education program is taught by area practicing artisans. Anticipation is mounting as I dream of learning new techniques!

Cool Weather & Exploration


Rex and I had a blast in Portland, Oregon recently. I can attest to the fact that fiber art is ALIVE AND WELL in the Pacific Northwest. We toured many areas as we consider relocating and really enjoyed the vineyards of the Willamette Valley and the mountains of the Hood River area. I did have the chance to visit a yarn shop...Twisted, and was delighted to find that nearly 3/4th's of their stock is made in their region! I also had occasion to visit a retail store called Fyberworks that started as an outlet for local fiber artists work, but has morphed over ten years to be a unique retail clothing store with most of their eclectic styles created in the US.