"Threads + Wares" sustainable fashion & more (Sept 20, SF)

The Musuem of Craft & Folk Art, San Francisco (MOCFA)
presents a 1-day event
"THREADS + WARES"
- Sustainable fashions and housewares -
Sunday, Sept 20
Fort Mason Center, San Francisco Fleet Room, Bldg D

Members only shop: 9a-10a
Public event: 10a-4p
*12-2p: demo-talk by author Katye Terry
$10 public, Free for MOCFA members

click image for a list of featured "style-setters"

"Blue Divide" by Frank Connet (Sep-Oct, Chicago)

Chicago textile friends,

Check out Frank Connet's show this month, his third solo exhibition at the Douglas Dawson Gallery. On now til October 10.

Frank Connet
"Blue Divide: New Work In Indigo"
September 11-October 10, 2009

Douglas Dawson Gallery
400 North Morgan
Chicago, IL 60642
312-226-7975

See more work at www.frankconnet.com

Workshop: "A Greener Indigo" w/ B. Shapiro (14 Nov, San Francisco)

"A Greener Indigo" workshop
led by Barbara Shapiro
November 14, 2009
9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
San Francisco State University

Barbara's recent explorations into a "greener indigo" was inspired by information she learned from natural dye expert, Michel Garcia, during his workshop at the WSN's recent shibori symposium (7th ISS08) in France last year.

Capacity: 12 students
Open to: Textile Arts Council members only. Join today.
Cost: $100, including materials
To register: TAC office 415 750-3627 or tac@famsf.org

Also in November, Barbara will be presenting a related talk for TAC at the De Young Museum, San Francisco, entitled "The Magic of Indigo." Details to be posted on our blog closer to date of event.

Workshop description:
Explore the magic mystery of indigo, one of the oldest and most influential dyes, in a hands-on\ workshop. Barbara will set up an indigo dye bath using a simple ecological formula suitable for studio use. She will introduce basic indigo dyeing procedures and resist techniques for your samples. You will prepare cloth for dyeing and experiment with resist dyeing and printing or painting with thickened indigo. By the end of the day you will have a set of dyed and printed indigo samples and the knowledge to go on using this magic dye with a non-toxic “green” formula suitable for the home studio. Alternate recipes will be discussed. The “new” green formula is based on research by French natural dye expert Michel Garcia, presented during the World Shibori (and Natural Dye) Symposium in October 2008. Barbara has been experimenting with this rediscovered formula since then and feels it is important to share this safer, non-toxic, fume-free, inexpensive, and easily disposed of formula widely used during the 18th century. The formula can also be thickened and used to paint or print with indigo.

More about Barbara Shapiro

Grants: Watson Fellowship, College Srs

For those college students out there starting their senior year...

Thomas J Watson Fellowship
A one year grant for independent study and travel outside the United States awarded to graduating college seniors nominated by participating institutions. The stipend for the fellowship year is $25,000 ($35,000 for fellows accompanied by a spouse or dependent child).

The mission of the Thomas J. Watson Fellowship Program is to offer college graduates of unusual promise a year of independent, purposeful exploration and travel outside of the United States in order to enhance their capacity for resourcefulness, imagination, openness, and leadership and to foster their humane and effective participation in the world community.

Awards will be announced by March 15.

Click for more info about TJW Fellowship and to find out if you are eligible:
www.watsonfellowship.org

Safekeeper Vest Trunk Show at Yoshiko's (09/11+12, Berkeley CA)

Safekeeper Vest Trunk Show
at the home of Yoshiko Wada
Sept 11 Fri & Sat 12
noon-5p trunk
5-6p YIW talk on Slow Fiber

696 Hilldale Ave
Berkeley CA 94708
*directions below

Beautiful one-of-a kind vests designed by Marion Gartler. Unique ethnic textiles with hidden, zippered pockets inside. Great for traveling and everyday purse-free living. *From 5-6p, Yoshiko will talk about upcoming Slow Fiber Studio tour programs to Japan and India.
www.sakefeepervest.com
www.shibori.org/slowfiber

*Directions to Yoshiko's: from I-80 Buchanan/Albany exit (Buchanan becomes Marin); East (towards hills) on Marin past fountain roundabout; continue past Euclid Ave; L on Hilldale. House on left behind number 698. Street parking only.

Slow Fiber Studio Tours

Wanted to bring special attention to a new program we are offering, something really exceptional in terms of personal + cultural + artistic learning experience. Borne of the same values as WSN, we think of it as an extension of the world shibori network though it is a movement in its own right. Read on about Slow Fiber...

Slow Fiber Studio Tours are collaborative workshop programs created with traditional artisan communities and small studios to explore local practices, knowledge, techniques, production, and commerce in specific regions of the world.

Get up close & personal with local artisans. SFS tours offer an inside view of textile traditions on a local level. Learn new skills & build a greater understanding of the world of fiber arts. Programs are led by experienced traditional artisans and art professionals, such as Michel Garcia for Provençal natural dye printing, Tsuyoshi Kuno & Hiroshi Murase for Arimatsu shibori, and Yoshiko Iwamoto Wada. Capacity very limited to provide an intimate cultural experience and learning atmosphere. ** Current WSN members enjoy priority registration and $50.00 discount. **

Upcoming tours:
South India (Jan 2010), Nagoya, Japan (May 2010), Pugalia, Italy (June 2010) and China (2011)

Sign Up Today!

Slow Fiber, a term we adapted from the popularized Slow Food movement, is a platform where we articulate similar concerns and philosophies as they apply specifically to cloth, fiber, and the craft of making — from awareness and knowledge to production, tradition, practice, commerce. Slow Fiber Studio (SFS) is an extension of the principles and practices we celebrate through WSN. SFS promotes sustainable practices that are culturally and socially responsible. Find out more about Slow Fiber