The Midwest Fiber & Folk Art Fair

Lynne Bergschultz worked as an art educator before developing her own commercial art business. She continued to teach adult workshops in addition to working primarily as an illustrator, designer and watercolorist.

About ten years ago Lynne and her high-school friend, Stefania, reconnected as she designed a banner for the Handspun by Stefania booth. This led to a rekindling of Lynne's interest in the fiber arts, the birth of BERGSCHULTZ BUTTONS, and wonderful road trips with her friend! While still serving clients in the commercial field, Lynne has found her passion in polymer clay and fibers. Her beads, buttons, hats, headbands, and scarves have be published in Belle Armoire magazine and exhibited at wearable art shows such as the Milwaukee Art Museum's Ornaments and Adornments Show. Examples can be seen on her website.

Catherine A. Breitholtz
Crystal Lake, IL
E-mail: breitholtz@sbcglobal.net

Catherine Breitholtz is a basket weaver working out of Crystal Lake, Illinois and Presque Isle, Wisconsin. She made her first basket in 1978 after a class from a master basket weaver. She is a former Art Teacher and instructs in her casual and informative style approaching each class with regard for students and their choices to make a unique result for all. Catherine has shown her work in Wisconsin and participated in the first annual Midwest Fiber & Folk Art Fair in 2007. She is inspired by the Native American basket makers and in the use of natural and interesting materials for weaving. Being comfortable with using various basket weaving materials is a skill that you can learn and enjoy!

Judy Chan has been teaching knitting and crochet in the Chicago area for the past 16 years. She learned to knit from her mother and advanced her knitting techniques from the best knitters and designers at workshops offered by TNNA, TKGA, Stitches, and WCKG. Regularly scheduled knitting classes taught at Mosaic Yarn Studio in Des Plaines, IL (www.mosaicyarnstudio.com) are very popular and are frequently sold out in advance. One day weekend knitting workshops sponsored by local knitting guilds are scheduled throughout the spring and summer (www.windycityknittingguild.com). Her knitting patterns are currently sold exclusively at Mosaic Yarn Studio and are featured at local fashion shows as well as the Stitches Midwest Fashion Show.

Kathleen has been teaching knitting for ten years. Students will enjoy her fast-paced and humor-packed class. Kathleen has been knitting for 16 years in and around the Chicago area. She currently works part-time for The Gifted Purl in her home town of West Dundee, IL. Kathleen spends her free time designing patterns for knit wear and jewelry.

After successful careers in teaching, marketing and real estate, Michelle recently "retired" to devote full attention to her hand dyed yarn company, Rabbit Ridge Designs of Anchorage, Alaska. She raises huacaya alpacas, and a "herd" of Great Pyrenees and produces yarn from all the luxurious fiber they produce.

Michelle serves on the board of the Anchorage Weavers and Spinners Guild (AWSG) and the Valley Fiber Arts Guild, and is currently president elect of the AWSG. She is a spinning, dyeing and knitting judge for the Alaska State Fair, teaches various spinning and knitting classes throughout the state, and regularly travels to national events including SOAR, Taos Wool Festival, etc.

Frank began carving at age 11 and has been carving ever since. His main interests have been relief carving, sign carving, and Scandinavian spoon carving, which he now teaches around the upper Midwest. His classes are intended to revive the folk art of spoon carving and the fine traditions of cooking and dining with wooden spoons you have carved yourself or received as gifts. Frank homesteads near Princeton, MN.

Margaret Heathman is an author, designer, teacher, mentor, and creativity coach. Her book, Knitting Languages, is sold around the world and her designs can be found in craft stores throughout the U.S. As a writer, Margaret shares her knowledge through magazine articles. When she is not involved in dog rescues, writing projects, organizing fiber conferences, judging knitting and spinning competitions, or creating knitting designs, Margaret teaches knitting and spinning, traveling widely to share her knowledge. She is a proponent of the creative process and has developed classes that teach others how to have fun with fiber. Whether she is knitting the giant turtle, A'Tuin, from Terry Pratchett's Discworld series, a Quidditch banner, a lacy summer hat for a pig, a fairy tale play mat, or teaching others to knit and create with their fiber, Margaret says that fun is at the heart of her fiber adventures.

Barbara Heike has an education degree from Carthage College, and she has studied with a number of nationally known bead and fiber artists. Her work is widely exhibited, and her awards include recognition for garment weaving from the Wisconsin Handweavers Inc., the Wisconsin State Spin-In, and the Midwest Weavers Association. Barbara first became enthused about beading eight years ago after taking classes at Sievers School of Fiber Arts on Washington Island and at the Bead and Button Show in Milwaukee.

Barbara is also an experienced horticultural educator and past Director of Children's Gardening Programs at the Green Bay Botanical Garden. She has taught numerous weaving classes at Sievers and has taught beading and weaving classes at her home studio, Windflower Farm, in Green Bay.

It was while earning my Bachelor’s of Fine Art in painting at Northern Illinois University that I developed a passion for creating large floral paintings in watercolor or oil. Years later I found myself taking wire and bending it into flowing, organic shapes and recognized my blossoming interest in other forms of visual art.

As the way I packaged my jewelry is art in itself (composed of images from my signature floral paintings) it was only a small logical leap to creating coordinating stationery items. My subsequent lines of sterling silver jewelry and stationery products are sold across the U.S. and the Caribbean in upscale boutiques and galleries. My lighthearted note cards that were recently featured in the national magazine Giftware News began as cartoons for my young daughters and continued with coffee house sketches while laughing and listening to music with friends and family.

Telfleur Studio 4th Annual Fine Art Show: Friday April 25, 5:00 - 9:00 PM, and Saturday April 26, 2008 12:00 - 5:00 PM see telfleur.com for complete information.

Stefania has been a life-long knitter, and started spinning and dyeing to supply herself with "the best yarns in the world!" She got her Certificate of Excellence in Handspinning from the Handweaver's Guild of America in 1997. Since then she has opened her own business called Handspin by Stefania and taught numerous workshops dealing in natural dyes, spinning and basket making. She has spoken about the fiber arts to numerous groups, and has appearred on Home & Garden TV as a guest on the Carol Duvall show. She sells handspun, natural hand dyed yarns, original knitting kits using her own yarns and patterns, hand dyed roving dyed with natural dyes, and handmade baskets. She was previously a high school English teacher, and now enjoys teaching spinning, dyeing, and knitting to fiber enthusiasts.

Lois Jarvis has a BFA in Textile Design and a BS in Education from Northern Illinois University. She has worked since graduation in 1975 as a fiber artist, mainly in patchwork and quilting. Her new passion is dyeing fabric using naturally occurring iron oxide. After 35 years as a quiltmaker, Lois has returned to her true roots as a fiber artist. Rust dyeing combines her love of working with found objects and fabric. She markets her line of rust dyed fabrics to art quilter’s under the name, Rust-Tex.

For 15 years Lois taught all levels of quiltmaking at Madison Area Technical College for the federally funded Adult Continuing Education program. She has taught nationally for many guilds, locally at quilt shops and in her home studio.

Susan took her first basketry class in 1987, looking for a portable craft she could take along while her husband was fishing. She became hooked when she learned how to harvest, pound, split, size and weave with black ash. She has experimented with various materials including electrical wire and returns always to the fiber of her heart, black ash. Susan’s work has received numerous awards, and she has taught at schools, conventions and guilds throughout the country.

Black ash basketry is taken to a new form when the traditional wood splint is showcased in Susan kavicky’s work. Whether the structure is organic or architectural, the satin of black ash is always the center of attention. It is the satin that compels Susan to work with black ash. Influenced by a strong commitment to the creative process Susan strives to listen and follow the developing work rather than direct a specific result. She works full-time as a studio artist and teaches in Island Lake, Illinois.

Gwen Blakley Kinsler, Founder of the Crochet Guild of America (CGOA), is a Certified Craft Yarn Council of America (CYCA) Instructor and recipient of the “Diploma in Crochet, Part I,” Gwen feels her talents lie in her ability to reach and unite crocheters to sing the praises of the craft. She is committed to the importance of sharing her passion for crochet with anyone, especially children. Co-authored with Jackie Young, Kids Can Do It Crocheting, was published by Kids Can Press 2003. A widely published crochet designer and author of articles on needlework, she has been teaching crochet since 1985 to beginners and advanced students alike. A nationally known teacher, she has taught in numerous venues ranging from local yarn shops to Convergence, as well as the Knit & Crochet Show sponsored by CGOA. Recently she completed her fourteenth year as an adult education crochet teacher in her local school district.

Betty Burian Kirk studied art and art education at Northern Illinois University. After receiving her bachelor’s degree, she went back and received a MA Ed in art education with a strong emphasis in fiber doing a one woman show in fiber. She taught art in an elementary school for 12 years and later taught 3 semesters of weaving at Joliet Junior College. Since then, she has taught and lectured at guilds as well as regional and national conferences. She is an Illinois Artisan and has exhibited in major shows in the Midwest. Betty has explored many aspects of weaving, spinning, kumihimo and felting. Presently she is intrigued by the sculptural effect she can achieve in making felt hats.

Classes: Japanese Bookbinding, Ribbon Scarf

Jennie Lanners
JennieThePotter.com
Minneapolis, MN
E-mail: jenniethepotter@hotmail.com

Jennie Lanners is an avid spinner and knitter who works as a full time potter. She currently teaches at the Edina Art Center and at Powderhorn Park in Minneapolis, MN. In addition to many art fairs and festivals, her work can be seen at jenniethepotter.com.

Classes: Beginning Socks

Susan McFarland
Susan's Fiber Shop
Columbus, WI
E-mail: susan@susanfibershop.com

Susan has been spinning for over 30 years. Working with fiber artists to learn to spin and weave, felt and more. Susan has been a mentor at SOAR, author of Combs, combs, combs, articles in Spin in Magazine. She has organized many events for artists, WI Black Sheep Gathering, Wisconsin Spin-In, Woolstock, and the latest Midwest Felting Symposium. Susan was on the Artist Assoc. board of directors. Susan is also owner and operator of Susans Fiber Shop. and is also a Artist herself. Susan takes pride in getting others started in the fiber arts so they can go on to be famous.

Susan is now working on developing a flock of Teeswater sheep, a breed of luxurious fiber and size. Susan has a passion and love of wool and fibers to create works of art.

Classes: Comb Straw into Gold!, Silk Fusion

Margie Meehan
Tipperary Farm & Fiber Studio
Hopkinton, IA
E-mail: tipperaryfiberstudio@yahoo.com

Margie Meehan lives in NE Iowa. She is a 16 year Romney breeder and a Romney/Coopworth breeder of 6 years, with the emphasis of breeding for fleece qualities, and sheep confirmation. Tipperary Farm fleeces are marketed at many of the Midwest fiber festivals. Margie is a handspinner and weaver, as well as instructor of fiber arts at fiber festivals around the Midwest. Margie studied at Ambroz Center of Arts, where her love for fibers began.

Classes: Felted Jewelry—Wool & Sterling Silver—A Gorgeous Blend!

Debbie Moyes
Twisted Stars
Highland Park, IL
E-mail: thequilter@twistedstars.com

Debbie Moyes has been working with fiber, in one form or another, all her life. After taking weaving lessons with her mother when she was in college, learning how to spin and dye was a natural progression. She took up rug hooking while living in New England. When she found out that she would be moving to Asia for many years, she began quilting, since it was a more portable craft. Collecting beautiful and unusual Asian fabrics was a wonderful past time and she taught quilting to expatriates and locals while living in Singapore, China and Japan. Home is now the North Shore of Chicago where she lives with her wonderful husband and Jasmine the cat.

Classes: Handmade Quilts , Shibori

Sylvie A. Roy Nguyen
Cherry Valley, IL
E-mail: sylvienguyen@yahoo.com

Though having a lifelong interest in fiber arts, bobbin lace was only embraced in recent years. Having taught adults and young adults for many years, bobbin lace became another way to share teaching and bobbin lace making. A variety of lace making materials and applications is most enjoyed, with a preference for making tape laces.
Living in Cherry Valley, Illinois, USA, Sylvie is involved with teaching and a local lace guild.

Classes: Introduction to Bobbin Lace

Roxanne Pett
Wooly Pett's Creations
Clarksville, MI
E-mail: spinner_weaver@hotmail.com

Roxanne has had a life long love of fibers and textiles. Her family members, 4-H, Girl Scouts helped her explore many fiber techniques growing up. Natural fibers became her focus in 1992. Her goal of refining her skills has led to teaching other the things she has learned, from national and international instrutors. Roxanne has had work plublished and on exhibit in Galleries in Michigan. Roxanne lives on a small farm with a spinners flock and her family.

Classes: Woven Jewelry

Suzanne Pufpaff
Pufpaff's Fiber Processing
Nashville, MI
E-mail: fibermill@yurtboutique.com

Suzanne has been involved with natural fibers and fabrics most of her life, beginning with 4-H knitting and sewing as a child, then raising most of the different fiber animals at one time or another as an adult. She knits, spins, weaves, sews, felts and has been running a small custom carding operation on her farm for the past 4 years. She also writes instructional articles on felting and knitting, which are sold in many shops around the country as well as being published in many of the trade magazines.

Classes: Natural Looking Felt Flowers, No Fuss Felted Tote Purse Without Knitting

Adam Robersmith is a fiber artist and teacher who especially enjoys combining the two. After being hooked by carding wool for his mother's spinning at a very young age, he now spins, knits, crochets, and weaves. In his non-fiber-related time, he serves the Unitarian Universalist Society of Geneva, IL as their Associate Minister.

Ever since Joan returned from her one year visit in New Zealand in 1973, she has been demonstrating and teaching spinning classes throughout the U.S. and New Zealand. She has owned and operated fiber art shops in both Florida and Arizona. Most familiar is Spin’n Weave, which she operated for 12 years in Tucson. Southwest Corner was a mail order and “retreat workshop” business, which Joan set up after moving to Bisbee, AZ.

Presently she continues to teach, writes articles on spinning and has produced an educational video called Cotton Spinning Made Easy. Through Joan’s efforts, the Bisbee Community “Y” boasts one of the most complete Fiber Art Studios in the region. Classes are being offered on a regular bases of which Joan teaches or directs. Joan’s web site is: www.cottonspinning.com

I have always considered life a series of journeys. My current journey is designing jewelry. While this endless journey started out as a side trip, I have found that I love working with metals, semi-precious stones and glass to create fun and inspired jewelry. It has become a passion and one that I enjoy sharing with others with unique tastes. I have been inspired by wonderful artistic souls through which their graciousness and artistry has influenced me to share my good karma with others.

Larry Schmitt carries on the traditions of his mother and father. Larry learned weaving and nålbinding from his parents. He is the author of five craft workbooks published under the general title Lessons in Nålbinding - among the few resources on this craft published in English. Over the years Larry has directed his attention to simple fiber techniques that highly portable and require few tools if any.

Elizabeth Shreeves
Lone Tree Wools
Lone Tree, IA
E-mail: bshreeves@gmail.com

Elizabeth has been weaving and knitting since childhood and taught herself to spin in 1971 while living in North Carolina. She has been a professional fiber artist for over 35 years and has displayed her work in a number of galleries in different parts of the country. Since moving to Iowa she has founded "Lone Tree Wools" a business that specializes in her hand-dyed natural fibers for spinning as well as her finished work. In the past 10 years she has developed a special interest in silk, both for spinning and in her weaving and knitting. She also regularly teaches spinning classes for her local guild as well as other area guilds.

Nancy Shroyer has been knitting for over 40 years. She has been teaching all levels of knitting for over 25 years. She has written patterns and books incorporating her unique ideas. Nancy’s philosophy is to make working with fiber easier for everyone. She has found many shortcuts, techniques and formulas that can save time and anxiety. This has led to her to develop Nancy’s Knit Knacks, a company that makes innovative tools for fiber artists. These products are currently being sold world-wide.

Syndi Simon taught Art and Home Economics in grades 9-12 for 26 years in Arizona and 5 years in Illinois. Syndi's students benefited from her involvment with their Art and Photo Clubs, broadening their experiences beyond the regular curriculum. Her teaching credentials also included workshops for a Convention Planning group in Arizona, providing spouses of convention participants with new, creative experiences. Before Syndi began teaching, she owned an import and handcrafted art shop in Tempe, AZ, representing a wide variety of crafts persons. Now retired, Syndi spends her time on photography, felting, crocheting, jewelry, weaving, sewing, papermaking and bookbinding, and enjoys traveling to visit her son and family in Paris, France. She is always on the lookout for creative ideas to share with others.

Amy has fine arts training in modern dance, and graduate degrees in kinesiology and physiology. She has been knitting and designing for nearly 20 years, spinning for 9 years, and teaching for over 30 years. Amy’s fiber arts work is heavily influenced by both her fine arts training and her science training: common to both is an appreciation for pattern recognition and composition. The result is her focus on texture, three-dimensional structure, and knitting techniques that require handspun yarns. Her fiber work has been published in Spin Off, Fiberline Magazine, and Knit Lit the Third. Her spinning and knitting work have been accepted to juried exhibits, and have won awards at both regional and national fiber events. She offers her knit designs and hand spun yarns under the business name “Stone Sock Fibers”.

Will Ulrich received his Bachelors of Fine Arts Degree in Music Education from UW-Milwaukee in 1995. He also holds three certificates in World Music Drumming, led by Dr. Will Schmid (former MENC President and Senior Editor for Hal Leonard) and Sowah Mensah (musician, composer and Ghanaian “Master Drummer”. These studies continue to present day.

Will has been teaching music in Wauwatosa Wisconsin since 1997 at the elementary, middle and high school levels. He has created a music class specifically designed to teach junior high students about world music. The cross-cultural curriculum is aimed at raising students’ listening skills, respect, cooperation, teamwork and self-discipline through African, Caribbean and Latin drumming, movement and song.Will facilitates workshops in cooperative teamwork and multiculturalism through music, drumming and instrument building throughout Wisconsin.

When he is not teaching music, Will enjoys hand-crafting indigenous folk instruments (xylophones, drums, shekeres, banjos etc.)

Sara von Tresckow, production weaver and owner of The Woolgatherers in Fond du Lac, WI has over 30 years experience in fiber arts. She learned to weave while living in Germany for 20 years, partly through course work, observation and mentoring and partly through self-directed learning. Continuing weaving instruction includes drawloom weaving with Joanne Hall and credit courses in Jacquard weaving at Eastern Michigan University. Her specialties are weaving damask on the drawloom and creating household linens reminiscent of European farmhouse pieces. She works primarily on countermarche looms with 8 shafts and a 50 pattern shaft drawloom. With husband Hans, The Woolgatherers also manufacture a line of small, folding sampling looms.

Mary has been felting for 8 years. She has taken workshops from nationally and internationally acclaimed felters such as Pat Spark, Mehmet Girgic, Birgite Krag Hansen, Polly Stirling, Inge Bauer, and others. She has been involved with the Earth, Wood, and Fire Artists’ Tour in South Central Wisconsin the past four years, displaying and selling felt artwork; is a member of the Black Hawk Artists group in Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin; and has displayed felted artwork in local and regional shows. Mary has taught felting workshops at the Wisconsin Sheep and Wool Festival, the Midwest Felting Symposium, and various local fiber guilds.

Her felting incorporates the more traditional wet felting, but she appreciates how the felting needle has expanded the possibilities of felting and does use the needles when she requires specific detail. Her work consists of scarves, wall hangings, rugs, and 3-d pieces.

FAIR NOTE: Mary won "Best of Show" last year in the first Fiber & Folk Fine Art Show!

Vance Weidle is a retired large animal veterinarian, now living in Kansas. He's been a woodcarver for 15 years. He continues his education thru classes with master woodcarvers at such places as The School for Chip Carving, Smoky Mountain Woodcarvers, Kaw Valley Woodcarvers Seminars, the John C. Campbell Folk School, and others. Vance has taught chip carving in Asheville, Black Mountain and Fairview, NC, and Manhattan and Wamego, KS. He has exhibited and sold chip carvings at prestigious Grovewood Gallery in Asheville, NC and at Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum in Decorah, IA.

Heather Winslow is a teacher and textile artist who is known and respected nationally. Her educational background is in teaching and after 40 years, she still has a passion to share her knowledge with others. She is chairman of the faculty of The Fine Line Creative Arts Center in St. Charles, Illinois. She is a regular teacher at Sievers School in Wisconsin and has taught at Arrowmont and Coupville. She teaches weaving, knitting, spinning, dyeing, beading and embellishment at guilds and shops, and at state, regional, national, and international conferences. Her one-of-a-kind garments have been exhibited internationally and are in several private collections. Her articles have appeared in several fiber related magazines such as Handwoven, Spin-Off, and Weavers, and her garments have been published in a number of books. She is the author of the book, MORE ON MOORMAN: Theo Moorman Inlay Adapted to Clothing.

Patsy Zawistoski, intrigued with all facets of textiles, enjoys the design potential gained by creating handspun yarns for use in knitting, weaving or crochet. She has been continually exploring and refining her spinning and teaching techniques for the past 20 years. Victorian Video produces her three popular spinning videos and DVDs. A relaxed but thorough teacher, her students gave her the nickname, "Most Excellent Spinning Guru.calm.