About
My studio work involves a variety of both practices and products. As a weaver and a dyer, I make fine scarves, shawls and simple garments, as well as throws and blankets, specializing in wool, silk, Tencel, and cotton. If not using naturally colored wools, I do all my own dyeing for both plant and animal fibers in the studio at 201C in The Shirt Factory, Glens Falls NY. I also keep my teaching loom, and a 45 inch, 16-harness AVL loom at the Shirt Factory, as well as a variety of my work. Most of my major production work is done at my private studio in Queensbury NY, where I have my large 60 inch, 16-harness AVL Production loom, and my largest loom, a 72 inch, 24 harness AVL Industrial Dobby Loom.This largest loom is a power loom running on compressed air, and powered by solar panels. These last two looms are used primarily for blanket weaving and yardage on commission for local sheep farmers to produce local cloth. Electricity in the main studio is all sourced from locally produced solar energy.
Another passion of mine is the idea and support for the concept of a Hudson Valley Fibershed. A fibershed is like a food shed, or water shed. It is a combination of the characteristics of a geographical region, and the uses made of those characteristics by its human, animal and plant inhabitants. In the case of a fiber shed, I am interested in the geographical influences in the creation of fiber and cloth. The Hudson Valley, from the Adirondacks to the Atlantic, has a long history in both wool production and the early industrialization of cloth making. The Hudson Valley Textile Project was formed by a group of farmers, artisans, mill owners and retailers in order to revive that historical legacy as an economically viable industry. From the backs of New York sheep, to the local small spinning and carding mills, and through to weavers and knitters producing Hudson Valley cloth for the valley inhabitants, a Hudson Valley Fibershed ideal is growing. It’s a fascinating project resonating with the slow food and slow fashion movements, with environmentally appropriate land use, and with the valuation of local and regional production and labor.
Classes in Weaving and Dyeing
Classes currently being scheduled at the Adirondack Folk School
I’m currently scheduled to teach a weekend class in cotton dishtowels at the Folk School in Lake Luzerne on the following dates in 2018, all are the first weekends, Saturday and Sunday, of the month. June 1-2, August 4-5, October 6-7, and December 1-2. Contact the school to register for classes at www.adirondackfolkschool.org