'TWIST: The Art of Spinning by Hand' on Exhibit at BlackRock Center

From Bucklesweet Media:

BlackRock Center for the Arts is pleased to present TWIST: The Art of Spinning by Hand, a dynamic exhibition and “happening” curated by Jennifer Lindsay that brings together the art, craft, science, technology, and community experience of contemporary hand spinning. “TWIST: The Art of Spinning by Hand” puts the total experience of contemporary hand spinning on view in a curated display of fine, contemporary hand made tools, fiber, art yarns, art, and art-to-wear; Spin Lab, a hands-on activity lab where visitors can try out spinning tools and fibers; and a collaborative installation, “Spinning Our Yarns; Telling Our Stories,” made from hand spun yarns contributed by spinners of all ability levels from around the United States and the world. Before the exhibit opens, and while it is on view, visitors are invited to join Spin-Ins — community spinning sessions open to all ages and levels of experience — where they can learn to spin, make yarns, and add them to the display.

“TWIST: The Art of Spinning by Hand” will be on view in the Kay Gallery from November 5 through December 17, 2016 and features the work of sought-after artists and makers including Jonathan Bosworth, Stacey Budge-Kamison, Katharine Cobey, Elysa Darling, Thomas Golding, Seth Golding, Obe Golding, Steph Gorin, Mary Hamby, Ed Jenkins, Michelle Kaston, Mike King, Esther Rodgers, and Emily Wohlscheid. An Opening Reception will be held on Saturday, November 5 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. BlackRock will offer a Community Art Day: Spinning event on November 12 from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. with drop-in hands-on activities, demonstrations and tours of the exhibit. Spin-Ins will be held on November 19 and December 3 from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. All events are free and open to the public. Learn more on the BlackRock website.

Background Information on Hand-Spinning

For thousands of years, humans spun the threads and yarns needed to weave, knit, or otherwise make textiles for warmth and general use — from clothing and bed coverings to sails for ships — using hand spindles and spinning wheels. Shaped by geography and culture, different tools and methods developed for spinning the fibers that were readily available in each time and place. In the 21st century, when “digitally driven” has an entirely different connotation, spinning fiber by hand seems wholly anachronistic, yet hand spinning is experiencing an enormous popular revival that “TWIST: The Art of Spinning by Hand” is designed to showcase. Tactile, meditative, and “slow” (like DIY, Slow Food, Ethical Consumers, Slow Web, STEM and STEAM), hand spinning today promotes sustainability, self-sufficiency, and creativity through hands-on, community-centered activities, and at the same time relies on technology to find and share tools, materials, and knowledge, and to build community.

Artists and Makers Featured in the Exhibition

Illustrating the ongoing synthesis of global spinning traditions with contemporary materials and interests, TWIST features a curated display of extraordinary spinning tools and accessories hand made for today’s spinners by America’s most sought-after artists and makers — including finely crafted and engineered spinning wheels, drop and supported spindles, spindle bowls, Lazy Kates, niddy noddies, and nostepinnes. The exhibit highlights the work of artists Thomas Golding, Seth Golding, Obe Golding, Jonathan Bosworth, Ed Jenkins, and Mike King who are working at the nexus of traditional and new materials and methods where individual choices about technology, aesthetics, and sustainability support the creation of tools of great beauty, originality, precision, and functionality.

Showcasing the amazing colors and textures of contemporary art fibers and yarns, wearables, and works of art made from handspun fiber, TWIST presents examples of innovative custom fiber preps and the range of individual approaches to spinning, by displaying highly colorful, fantastically textured yarns alongside yarns of great beauty, simplicity, and functionality. Featured artists Katharine Cobey, Esther Rodgers, Elysa Darling, Emily Wohlscheid, Michelle Kaston, Stacey Budge-Kamison, Mary Hamby, and Steph Gorin use raw and minimally processed animal and plant fibers, natural and synthetic fibers, new and natural dyes, found objects, and recycled materials to create wall hangings, tapestries, sculptural forms, jewelry, and garments that reveal the excitement and artistry of dyeing, blending, spinning, and creating with hand spun fiber and yarns.

SPIN LAB: A Hands-On Activity Lab in the Gallery

Highlighting factors that contribute to the resurgence of hand spinning today, TWIST provides Spin Lab, a hands-on activity lab in the gallery where visitors can try out spinning tools, explore a variety of different fibers, and experience the geeky side of hand spinning by using tools designed to help spinners measure twist, grist, and wraps-per-inch. Of special interest are the spinners’ “lab notes” that show how a working knowledge of mathematics, science, and research skills help spinners to obtain repeatable results using specific tools, fibers, and dyes. In Spin Lab, visitors can touch and compare a wide variety of unusual and specialized fleece and fibers available from heritage breeds and plant sources that have been revitalized through careful breeding and sustainable farming practices. Deborah Robson, co-author of The Fleece and Fiber Sourcebook, (Storey Publishing, 2011), will provide information on the heritage fleece and fiber on display in the Spin Lab.

Spinning Our Yarns, Telling Our Stories

Building community by sharing the ideas and stories that inspire all of us to be creative, TWIST invites everyone to make and contribute hand spun yarns to “Spinning Our Yarns; Telling Our Stories,” a collaborative installation that will merge fiber, color, and texture with storytelling. Spinners of every ability can make yarns that reflect experiences, moods, or feelings, or that are inspired by favorite books, movies, comic books, music, operas, plays, or the daily news. Participants may contribute as many different hand spun yarns as they like. Submissions of yarns and stories received byMonday, October 31 will be on display when the show opens to the public on November 5, and the collaborative installation will continue to grow throughout the exhibition as hand spun yarns and stories are added to the display as they are received, with the last addition being made on Friday, December 16. Learn more by visiting the BlackRock website.

Exhibition-Related Events

• Community Art Day - Spinning: BlackRock will host a Community Art Day: Spinning event on Saturday, November 12 from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. The drop-in style event will feature hands-on activities focused on hand spinning, learn-to-spin sessions, maker demonstrations, and tours of the exhibition “TWIST: The Art of Spinning by Hand.” Drop-ins welcome. No advance registration required. Free. Learn more online.
• Spin-Ins - Community Spinning Sessions: Providing opportunities for those with no experience to learn how to spin and for experienced spinners to share their skills and enthusiasm with the public, TWIST presents a series of Spin-Ins which are free community spinning sessions are open to all ages and ability levels. Participants can learn to spin, make yarns, and add them to the collaborative installation “Spinning Our Yarns; Telling Our Stories,” which is on display as part of the exhibition. Six Spin-Ins were offered prior to the TWIST exhibition, including four sessions held at the Germantown Library where librarians read stories aloud. The final two Spin-In sessions will be offered on Saturday, November 19 and Saturday, December 3 from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Drop-ins welcome. No advance registration required. Volunteer spinners needed. Free. Learn more on the BlackRock website.

About the Curator

Jennifer Lindsay is an independent curator, scholar, and arts educator. She develops exhibitions and participatory programs that connect nonprofit organizations, local businesses, and communities to artists, makers, and creative individuals. Her most recent exhibition, “Other Worlds of Imagination and Wonder,” at the Brentwood Gateway Arts Center, on view through November 12, 2016, features the work of two sculptors, Laurel Lukaszewski (ceramics) and Joseph Corcoran (glass). “Urban Bungalow,” presented in 2014 at the Joan Hisaoka Healing Arts Gallery in Washington, DC featured fine art and craft for the home handmade by 14 local artists. Lindsay has coordinated and curated several collaborative fiber art installations with associated public programs, including “The Smithsonian Community Reef,” a satellite of the Crochet Coral Reef, for the National Museum of Natural History, 2010-2011; “The Artisphere Yarn Bomb” for the Rosslyn Business Improvement District, 2012-2013; and “sweetspots” for sweetgreen’s Sweetlife Music and Food Festival, 2014-2015. Lindsay holds an M.A. in the History of Decorative Arts from the Corcoran College of Art + Design. She is President of the Center for Knit and Crochet, an online museum. Lindsay lives with her husband in Chevy Chase, MD. She often wishes for a bit more time to knit and spin!

About the Artists

Jonathan Bosworth (Acton, MA) is a wood artisan whose innovative design for the Journey Wheel was inspired by the Indian charkha. He builds his upright Journey Wheel with treadles as well as smaller book-size and briefcase-size folding charkhas, and also makes finely crafted drop spindles and other tools for hand spinners.

Stacey Budge-Kamison (Asheville, NC) is a fiber artist who creates art batts, hand spun art yarns, and wearable works of art. She also publishes fiber art newsletters and e-courses focused on creativity and exploring fiber art.

Katharine Cobey (Cushing, ME) considers herself a “sculptural knitter” who brings hand spun fiber and other materials together in exquisite sculptural creations. She is the author of “Diagonal Knitting: A Different Slant” and her work has been exhibited widely in museums and galleries.

Elysa Darling (Potomac Falls, VA) is a fiber artist and instructor who creates hand-spun artisan yarns and hand-dyed, hand-carded fiber for knitting, spinning, crochet, weaving, felting, and crafting. Her work features locally sourced, single origin and indie dyed yarn and fiber.

Thomas Golding (Saxtons River, VT) is a master woodworker and woodcarver who designs and builds precision fiber tools that are well-machined and beautifully crafted. His custom spinning wheels and innovative RingSpindles™ offer both unique designs and expert performance features. Joining him in his passion for creating beautiful tools for fiber artists are sons Seth Golding and Obe Golding.

Seth Golding (Essex Junction, VT) is a woodworker and woodcarver who designs and hand crafts tools for fiber artists. Son of Thomas Golding, Seth is the designer and builder of specialty spindles, the Micro Lazy Kate, and a line of travel- and full-sized spinning wheels.

Obe Golding (Athens, GA) joins his father and brother in making finely crafted tools for hand spinners, including lucets, spindles, and spinning wheels. Lucets are ancient tools dating back to the Vikings used for making a strong, square, looped cord.

Steph Gorin (Garnerville, NY) is an artist who creates art fibers for fiber artists and hand spinners. She is well known for her signature carded batts, “clouds,” and handspun art yarns. Gorin uses colors and fibers in unexpected combinations to produce random pops of color for making smooth and silky yarns, or chunky, funky yarns. Her own hand spun art yarns are highly textured and super bulky for wearing as is or knitting up quickly. Learn more online about her fiber studio, Loop, and her fine art practice.

Mary Hamby (Chattanooga, TN) is a full time artist who uses the classic techniques of weaving, ceramics, and woodworking to build sculptures and wearable art. Her loom blocks combine woven handspun yarn and fleece with hand-gilded clay pieces mounted on reclaimed wood blocks.

Ed Jenkins (Scotts Mills, OR) is a woodworker who produces beautifully designed, innovative spindles and great spinning wheels. Inspired by traditional Turkish spindles, Ed Jenkins’ designs have evolved to include seven different models, each with its own characteristics and uses, made one at a time by hand without computerized machinery. He uses no stains and purchases wood from growers and dealers who care about the long-term sustainability of tree harvesting.

Michelle Kaston (Fredericksburg, VA) is a fiber artist who specializes in creating premium, custom-dyed fiber in a standard palette of 150 colors to which she is always adding new colorways. She is also an accomplished spinner and current student of the Olds College Master Spinners’ Program, which takes up to six years to complete.

Mike King (Middletown, MD) is an avid and accomplished wood turner who creates beautiful spindles and fiber tools that reflect a range of global and historical spinning traditions. He uses domestic and exotic woods to craft supported spindles, top whorl spindles, bottom whorl spindles, nostepinnes and other tools that he sells around the world.

Esther Rodgers (Mebane, NC) is a creative fiber artist whose practice focuses on spinning and teaching others to spin textured, non-traditional handspun art yarns, as well as yarns that tell a story. She begins with raw wool, which she washes and dyes, before spinning, weaving, knitting or felting to make unique textile art. Rodgers is a fiber arts educator who has taught workshops around the world.

Emily Wohlscheid (Battle Creek, MI) creates unique jewelry that incorporates fiber, metal, found and natural objects. She also specializes in making highly textural, carefully blended fiber batts which are hand cranked through a drum carder and then spun into one-of-a-kind art yarns.

Photo courtesy of Pixabay