SNOWDON Michelle, Australia: Journey Threads: the Art of Yarn

Return to Fibre Arts @ Ballarat 2012

 

 SNOWDON Michelle, Australia: Journey Threads: the Art of Yarn

  Fibre artist Michelle Snowdon gained a BA (Visual Arts) at CSU in 1994 and launched her fibre art studio wooldancer.com in 2006. Michelle's neckwear designs are published in two books, she has won numerous awards for her creative yarn and has begun exhibiting her work locally and abroad. I am interested in handspun yarn a valid art form, a medium for creative expression with a unique sculptural quality. In my work I seek to stretch the boundaries of form and function. Handspun Yarn can imbibe story, a textural language conveying personal expression of a culture and time. These handmade yarns offer a tactile connection to sustainable and sincere threads that warm the body and kindle the soul.

Journey Threads: the Art of Yarn

Yarn: story; personal narrative; a journey expressed in thread 

Handspinning is an ancient textile skill currently enjoying a modern revival. The expressive nature of fibre and the dynamic energy of spinning yarn allows for thoughts and emotions to be captured in yarn as it flows through your hands. In this experimental workshop we shall consider the creation of yarn as an act of artistic expression. The very process of hand-spinning reveals the makers’ blueprint, or story, in thread-form. In this workshop we focus on creative yarn making, in which expressive handspun yarn becomes a focal point in the production of a wearable item. Yarn, fibre and threads meander, intertwine and connect to each other using basic handwork methods: knit, crochet, or weave. The finished piece will become “Homage to Self”: a personal narrative spun into a wearable item. This course is catered for all levels of experience. The beginning of the course will introduce students to the skill of spinning on a spindle (wheel spinners welcome), and will cover fibre choice, preparation and structural techniques. Experienced students will gain an extended skill-set in improvised technique. Yarn Design (colour, structure, texture)

is an important part of the process. Emphasis will be on the process of discovery whilst learning new skills, often leading to surprising outcomes.

A personal narrative will be interpreted into the finished wearable piece. For example, ‘Homage to your Heart’ may be a soft & flowing loose knit or a heart-shaped armour made with knit roving & embellished with handspun crochet. The story you represent in both the threads and the finished piece will be your own creative expression. (Material fee $40, includes some fibre and/or spindle. Additional materials required.)