Members of the Cedarburg Spur Fiber Arts Trail, the first Fiber Arts Trail in the Midwest Fiber Arts Trails network, are happy to invite you to their 5th Annual Fiber Arts Trail Tour in the Cedarburg-Grafton-Thiensville area of southeastern Wisconsin. The group includes seven award-winning fiber artists, a national Top-10 quilt shop, a Milwaukee news-poll favorite art gallery, the Wisconsin Museum of Quilts & Fiber Arts (WMQFA) and less widely known but local favorite studios and shops. They’ll offer a variety of activities including exhibits, workshops, studio tours, artist demos, woolen mill tours, and make & take opportunities during this two-day tribute to fiber arts.
The 14 members of the Cedarburg Spur Fiber Arts Trail will host their annual studio tour on March 15 – 16, 2019. Hours are Friday and Saturday, 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
The self-guided tour along the Cedarburg Spur Trail Fiber Arts Trail includes stops at the Wisconsin Museum of Quilts & Fiber Art, Cooperage Studio in the Log Cabin, Cedarburg Woolen Mill and Shops, The Pink Llama Art Gallery, Laura Weber Basketry, Ye Olde Schoolhouse Quilt Shop, My Material Matters Quilt Shop, Grafton Arts Mill, Gina Studelska Fiber and Mixed Media Art, Mary Mendla Fine Art and Apparel Design, Ilze Heider Leather Design, Heidi Parkes, Linda Sweek Textile Designs and Grafton Yarn Store. Additional tour, printable PDF map, activities by location and workshop registration is available at https://midwestfiberartstrails.org/cedarburg-spur-2019/.
“The textile artists and businesses featured on this unique art trail are a part of the new tradition of makers that is fueling the resurgence of textile arts,” said Jennifer Wilder, founder and owner of Midwest Fiber Arts Trails, who developed the fiber arts trail concept in the Midwest. “Joining together, the trail members have formed a vibrant and diverse gathering place that fosters creativity and innovation.”
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- Karen Hoffman Flame Urn
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- Crazy Quilt embroidered by Linda Sweek
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- Eco-printing on paper
Trail tour highlights include:
- FREE admission to Wisconsin Museum of Quilts & Fiber Arts during the tour. Visitors can view Native Fiber, an exhibit which illuminates the astonishing ways Native American artists explore and alter extraordinary materials. The exhibition comprises the work of twenty-six artists and one artist guild, representing 17 tribal nations. Every artist’s work falls under the Indian Arts and Crafts Act of 1990 and is considered authentic Indigenous art.
- Woolen mill tours at the Cedarburg Woolen Carding Mill whose carding machines have produced wool batts since beginning operation prior to the Civil War. Kay Walters, mill owner, will conduct ongoing tours both days.
- Ye Olde Schoolhouse Quilt Shop, housed in historic Hamilton’s 125-year old schoolhouse, is offering a ‘Wool Pin Make & Take’ each day from 1:00 – 3:00 p.m. $8 per pin.
- Heaven and Earth: Gina Studelska Fiber Art exhibit at The Pink Llama Gallery in downtown Cedarburg. An artist reception is planned for Friday, March 8, 2019 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. The exhibit is open from March 8 – 16, 2019.
- ‘Mends for Your Split Seams’ will be hand sewn by award winning quilter Heidi Parkes in the WMQFA lobby Friday, March 15, 2019 from 10:00 – 4:00 p.m. $5 per seam. Bring a garment with a split seam and she will mend it by hand, on the spot, in the color of your choice. (This offer is valid for seams up to 5 inches; long, where the fabric has not ripped, but the thread holding the seam together has ripped.) First come, first served.
- ‘Contemporary Shibori Workshop’ taught by Mary Mendla in her Thiensville studio. March 15 and 16, 2019, 11:00 – 1:00 p.m. $75 each day. Students will learn a contemporary variation on traditional Shibori techniques. Using silk, non-traditional tools such as PVC pipe, a microwave and discharge methods, students will make their own silk scarf.
- ‘Crazy Quilt Workshop’ taught by Linda Sweek at WMQFA. March 15, 2019 from 8:30 – 5:30 p.m. $110. Students will piece one block and then add embellishment – there is an endless variety of ways in which embroidery, ribbon, lace, braids, buttons, beads and charms can be manipulated to add dimension and beauty to crazy quilting.
- ‘Introduction to Eco-printing on Paper’ taught by Gina Studelska in her Grafton Arts Mill studio. March 15 and 16, 2019. 9:00 – 1:00 p.m. $40 each day. Students will learn the basics of preparing the paper for eco-printing, setting up the paper and plants and steaming the botanicals onto watercolor paper to create one of a kind organic imagery. BOTH WORKSHOPS ARE FULL.
- ‘Contemporary Mending’ taught by Heidi Parkes at WMQFA, Saturday, March 16, 2019. 1:00 – 4:00 p.m. $100 With the advent of “fast fashion,” clothing is worn less and worn out faster. Mending allows us to breathe life into our most-loved clothing and gives us the confidence to invest in high quality garments because we know they can be repaired.
- ‘Faux Marbling Make & Take’ on the Gelli® Arts Gel Printing Plate in WMQFA lobby, March 16, 2019, 10:00 – 4:00 p.m. $5. The Gelli Arts® Gel Printing Plate makes beautiful monoprints on paper and fabric. Create monoprints with your own hands will ignite a spark for future experimenting and projects.
Artists will welcome visitors into their studios at the Grafton Arts Mill, Ilze Heider Leather Design in the River Studio at Grafton Arts Mill, Cooperage Studio in the Log Cabin in Cedarburg, Laura Weber Basketry Pop-Up Studio at The Pink Llama Gallery in Cedarburg and Mary Mendla Fine Art and Apparel Design in Thiensville. Shop Grafton Yarn Store in Grafton and My Material Matters Quilt Shop in Thiensville.
Links: Sign up for a Workshop Cedarburg Spur Tour Complete and Total Info
The mission of the Midwest Fiber Arts Trails is to honor the rich textile heritage and celebrate and promote the work of contemporary fiber artists in the Midwest.