TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The University of Alabama Museum of Natural History has added four new “Wooly Workshops” to its programs, extending the popular series even after the companion fiber art exhibit, “Save the Sheep,” leaves UA’s Smith Hall on March 13.
The workshops will be held at Smith Hall on Saturdays from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m., after a special demonstration on March 10. Highlights from the events include:
March 10 – “Sheep to Shawl” – a demonstration by the UA Museum and the West Alabama Fiber Guild. Visit Smith Hall between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. to see a sheep shorn, its fleece prepared for spinning into yarn, and a finished shawl woven to be given away. There will be old-fashioned games, stories, and songs throughout the day, and participants can make a Colonial knot doll to take home. The cost is $5 per person.
*March 17 – Introduction to Weaving. Participants will hand weave fabric on small handlooms in making their own work of art to take home. Materials provided.
*March 31 – Introduction to Twining. Participants will learn how to make items from bags to bracelets using this simple weaving technique in use for more than 9,000 years. Guests may take home their own handmade souvenir.
*April 7 – Introduction to Spinning. Operate a hand spindle to spin yarns the old-fashioned way, and watch demonstrations of other techniques using a spinning wheel and an Indian Charkha.
*April 14 – Introduction to Felting. Make felt from natural wool, and complete a small project to take home.
The workshops, geared toward those ages 10 and older, cost $16 each. For more details, call Judy Everett at 205/348-9473.
The original “Wooly Workshops,” a companion program series to the fiber art exhibit, “Save the Sheep,” filled to capacity within weeks of their announcement.
“We had no idea that the workshops would fill up so quickly. This workshop series has been our most popular in the last thirteen years,” said Rosa Newman, a museum naturalist in Programs.
Newman’s department scheduled this second round of “Wooly Workshops” to fulfill the overwhelming demand for instruction in fiber arts and textile production history, and is considering adding permanently the “Wooly Workshops” to the museum programs catalog.
The West Alabama Fiber Guild has also decided to extend indefinitely their unique display on the mezzanine of Smith Hall. It features various types of looms, one dating back to the early 1800s, to reveal the evolution of spinning. They are dressed with yarn for weaving by volunteers and museum staff during the exhibit. Also included are thread balls decorated with colored strands using the Japanese braiding techniques, Kumihimo and Temaari.
The Save the Sheep exhibit includes works of art and craft by contemporary handspinners using wool from rare and endangered breeds of sheep. It celebrates the art and history of handspinning and raises awareness about the purpose and importance of endangered breeds. It consists of juried works of art from a contest sponsored by Spin-Off, a magazine published by Interweave Press Inc. and dedicated to the needs of textile artists who spin and work with handmade yarn.
Anyone interested in learning fiber arts is also welcome to attend meetings of The West Alabama Fiber Guild at the UA Museum in Smith Hall on the third Sunday of each month from 2- 4 p.m.
Operating hours for The University of Alabama Museum of Natural History are 10 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays, and 1 to 4:30 p.m. on Sundays. Admission is $2 for adults, and $1 for seniors and children.
Contact
Kristi Wheeler-Griffin, 205/348-2041