Rayna Gillman’s recent blog post (Studio 78) on the difference between the European and American fiber artists is really worth the read. Her observations and analysis are insightful and the post is replete with links to artists in Europe to demonstrate her point.

Last year I spent 3 months in England and had the opportunity to attend some shows and visit many venues exhibiting fiberart. I was gobsmacked as they say across the pond, with the originality and individual expression of the work I saw there….and inspired.

Thanks, Rayna – most interesting post and thought provoking too. Click here to read

Eve Ensler on Democracy Now!

Eve Ensler was Amy Goodman’s guest August 26th on Democracy Now! It was a powerful interview about a subject most Americans know little which is the violence against the women of the Congo. Ensler has started a project and movement to help women raped and savaged in the congo and to bring awareness worldwide to violence against women.

Goodman’s intro for Eve Ensler: “Earlier this year, award-winning playwright and bestselling author Eve Ensler was diagnosed with uterine cancer. In a widely read article in The Guardian newspaper of London titled “Congo Cancer,” Ensler writes about her illness and relates it to the widespread violence against women in Congo.’The atrocities committed against the people of Congo are not arbitrary, like my cancer. They are systematic, strategic and intentional,’ she writes.” Read more.

The Kateri Circle Sewing Group at the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota could use some help from those of us with abundant stashes! The women of Pine Ridge meet regularly to sew, quilt and bead. The group includes many elders, as well as youth who are learning traditional crafts and beading.

Supplies of all kinds, including fabric will be much appreciated by the Kateri Circle Sewing Group. A list of needed items and more info about the group and Pine Ridge is available at their website, as well as mailing address. Please share your stash!!

TAFA, The Textile and Fiber Art List is a rousing success by any measure. TAFA is the promotional  and networking site for member working artists and textile businesses who represent fiber in all forms. The site was conceived and created by Rachel Biel and launched in early 2010, and now boasts 145 members plus to date.

And how do we measure “success”? There are many websites for artists, seeking members, some glitzy, some selling and more. But really, artists want a site that helps them get broader exposure and recognition. TAFA’s members each have space on the site and provide terrific content, good visuals too of their work that brings readers and potential clients back to see what is new on the site. Members also promote the site  through their own social networking and on their own sites.

"Moments" by Christine Predd

Since the launch of TAFA in  February 2010, its presence on the web has grown. Here’s a few stats…

• Half of the members are active on Facebook.
• Almost half are Etsy sellers
• Our biggest following is on our TAFA fan page on Facebook.  We now have over 850 fans there.
• 97 blogger followers
• 69 subscribers via Feedburner
• 1463 unique visitors in just the last month  (55% new)
• Our three largest mediums are art quilts, surface design (dyers) and weaving so far.

A good start!  Members are quite pleased with the boost that TAFA has given them. Members also tell us that they read new member bios as they are posted, network with each other and are definitely inspired. TAFA will continue to expand its web presence and to capture good publicity.  In fact, the fabulous international magazine, “Hand/Eye” is doing a feature story on TAFA in its September 2nd edition. The TAFA community will benefit greatly from such publicity.

Linda Marcille in her studio.

So what is the membership criteria? The general criteria for membership is having a well developed web presence which showcases a mature body of work or product line. Working artists and textile businesses need to present themselves professionally, showing their intent of making a living with their art or product, unless they have a purely educational focus.  Good photography of work is essential – again a professional look. Cost of membership is $25 per year…..but will be increasing in September to $48.00.  Now is a good time to make application for membership!

Visit the TAFA Membership page for more guidelines on the membership.

TAFA seeks to grow as an international organization representing all media within the fiber art/textile mediums.  One of the most exciting angles that TAFA brings to this community is having contemporary, traditional and cultural textiles/mediums share the same platform.  Normally, these categories have strict boundaries and exclude each other, yet many of us are passionately influenced by all three and inform our choices and designs by the other.  On TAFA a Moroccan rug shares the same importance as an art quilt, a knitted sock or an embroidered doily.  The common denominators of excellence of technique, originality and excellence bring them together.  TAFA does not distinguish between “craft” and “art”, however, it does distinguish between mature and novice.  TAFA members love what they do and are in it for the long run.  As innovators, shakers, teachers, writers, and vessels of the muse, they are deeply committed to their work.  Visit TAFA.  Join us in promoting our members and in helping them make a living at what they do best: keeping traditional textile traditions alive while pushing them into new directions!

World Pulse.com is a super resource of good things happening around the world in places of great need …here’s a good example. Two million Haitians remain homeless, who have now been given a voice in how and the form reconstruction will take in their country.

The Society for Social Mobilization and Communication has been formed to give voice, and power, to displaced Haitians about their needs and future. Haitian community radio stations will broadcast these forums and voices from the camps where the Haitians still live many months after the horrendous earthquake which devastated Haiti. Read the whole article at World Pulse and take the time to explore the rest of the site too.

Greg Mortenson’s book, Three Cups of Tea, remains on the NY Times Bestseller List, now over 188 weeks! I first published this post last February. I repeat it now in acknowledgement that the book is so important, the concept within valid and more to the point, is working very well bringing a new reality for many in war torn Afghanistan.

2 Feb 2010: “Three Cups of Tea” has been on the NYT Best Seller List for 155 consecutive weeks. In essence it’s the story of one man’s belief , put into action and brought to reality-that being, that the key to peace in the world is education- primarily educating girls, that is.

For those followers of my blog who might wonder about the connection to fiber…put this under the category of “fabric of life.” Actually, this is the first in a series, a future post to talk about the work of women’s textile work in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

A couple of weeks ago, I watched Bill Moyers on PBS interview with Greg Mortenson, author of “Three Cups of Tea” and a new book, “Stones into Schools”. Seventeen years ago Mortenson’s. Greg Mortenson is a very soft spoken man whose dedication to educating the children of Pakistan and now Afghanistan as a means to an enduring peace is now in its 18th year. Plain and simple, it’s working….very well.

More than building a way for peace, Mortenson’s work in these poor countries has helped to rebuild poverty wasted villages, renewed cultural traditions of the people in the remote areas of the two countries where Mortenson’s Central Asia Institute has built 131 schools. The impact of educating girls makes a difference in communities and it’s measurable: infant mortality is down, population growth reduced, and educated women promote non-violence to name a few significant changes. (Read more at Central Asia Institutes website)

Talk about ‘hope’ – Mortenson is in the league of innovators and visionaries who have proven that one man/woman can make a difference.

Coming next in this series: Women’s Centers and traditional designs

Thousands of garment workers are protesting and rioting in Bangladesh demanding a fair wage. 40% of the workforce in Bangladesh are garment workers, predominately women. The government just recently raised their pay by 80%….that may sound terrific, but alas this raise falls way below the country’s minimum living wage, which is $73. The garment workers “raise” brings the workers monthly wage to $45.

Meanwhile, business is booming for the garment industry in Bangladesh — a $12 billion a year industry, which generates 80% of the country’s export income. By the way, if you are shopping for your clothes at the Gap, Walmart, JC Penney, Kohl’s or buy Levi’s, you are helping the Bangladesh garment industry, but what about the workers?

Read more about the garment workers at Ms Blog or The Guardian, UK. The NY Times has a piece too with a rather misleading headline “Bangladesh Garment Workers Awarded Higher Pay”.

CNN.com’s international online site carried a story (with video) about denim dyes polluting the Pearl River in China. Writer, Emily Chang’s story is disturbing, but all too familiar. Industries along the Pearl River have put the environment in widespread peril with a multitude of toxins. Should we boycott blue jeans…the staple of everyone’s wardrobe these days?

Quoting from Chang’s piece on CNN, “The Pearl River has sustained Chinese civilization for ages, but over the last few decades, civilization has not been kind to the river. It has become a dumping ground for debris, floating among massive algae blooms and even pig carcasses. Agricultural runoff is one of the river’s biggest threats, next to industrial pollution.
The river is the lifeblood of the “world’s factory floor,” thousands of factories that produce the world’s toys, mobile phones, computers, textiles and more. It is also the blue jean capital of the world.”

Read the whole story  and watch the informative video at CNN.com.

The SAQA Journal, Spring 2010, featured an article,”Weaving Women Together,” written about weavers in Thailand by the founders of TAMMACHAT Natural Textiles, Ellen Agger and Alleson Kase. TAMMACHAT supports the weavers and artisans in a fair trade, social enterprise, promoting the beautiful and traditional fiber work of Thailand and Laos’ indigenous weavers. “We founded TAMMACHAT Natural Textiles to bring together our interests and expertise in SE Asia travel, weaving, fair trade, photography and supporting women weavers in rural Thailand and Laos, ” says Ellen Agger.

I have written here before about Ellen and Alleson’s important work and urge you to read the article, “Weaving Women Together.” This piece tells of the Prae Pan Weaving Coop in Khon Kaen, Thailand where women produce beautiful silk and cotton handwovens, combining tradition and creativity, and with ecological sounds methods.

As I read the article, I had some questions about the origins of the Coop in Prae Pan and how cultural heritage is blended with economics. Ellen Agger answers below:

Bonnie: As I read the article, Ellen, I wondered how long ago the coop in PraePan, Thailand was organized and by who?

Ellen: PraePan Group was started to address issues of women’s health, education and empowerment. From PraePan’s website (http://praepangroup.wordpress.com), created with the help of a volunteer in 2009:

Encouragement to form the group came originally from the Handicraft Center for Northeast Women’s Development (NWD) that proposed the following objectives:

• To preserve and teach to others the techniques and traditional patterns of hand weaving to the Northeast.
• To provide a lasting career and steady income for the women.
• To encourage the women’s participation in all aspects of community affairs while they cooperate with one another in the weaving project.

The NWD program continued for 10 years. Beginning in 1997, NWD turned the management of the program over to a committee consisting of representatives of NWD and of each of the villages. The parent organization has gradually withdrawn as the village group has learned to take over its functions, until NWD now has only an advisory role.

Bonnie: Was this coop formed with the idea of sustainability or creating a market or both in mind?

Ellen: Self-sufficiency has always been a core value of PraePan. They bought their own shop building in the province’s capital city of Khon Kaen, where the co-op sells handwoven products made by (and purchased) from members in 7 surrounding villages. They are extremely proud of managing their own shop and community business, as well they should be.

Access to a market is a huge challenge for rural artisans, so belonging to a group like PraePan gives individuals access to markets they can’t otherwise reach. TAMMACHAT’s role is to link these artisans – and others like them – to markets in North America and online to the world. This access to international markets is critical with the drop in international tourism in Thailand over the last 2 years.

Bonnie: You mentioned in the article that there are similar groups of village weavers throughout Thailand and Laos – does this seem to be networked or growing?

Ellen: This artisanal work is very much at risk. Women who have been involved with weaving groups in Thailand for decades have predicted that home-based silk weaving may disappear in a decade because of increased competition from factory-produced “silks” from Vietnam and China.

These weavers learned their craft from their mothers and grandmothers, often starting by age 10. Their daughters and granddaughters are not continuing these traditions, they tell us. Unless the younger generation sees income potential from these crafts, we suspect they will die. The good news is that the internet can potentially make a real difference by opening markets, providing income and showing that there are people all over the world who appreciate these handcrafted textiles and will buy them.

Bonnie:  Are most of what is produced ethnic or traditional in design and the importance of this in preserving cultural heritage of women’s handwork.

Ellen: Each group with whom we work is made up of women in different villages and even provinces, both in Thailand and Laos. Some villages have specific traditions that the artisans prefer to follow. For example, one village where PraePan members live and work specializes in cotton traditional “khit” weaving (supplementary weft for you weavers).

Some weavers have worked with designers from Europe and Japan to create specific products and designs that suit those markets. When we asked weavers on our last trip what they preferred to weave, most told us they want to weave whatever will sell.

We try to choose designs that will have appeal in our market and also respect their traditions. It’s a process of collaboration for us. Also, we have sought out groups that work with women who make the silk yarns (sericulturists), natural dyers and weavers – all of whom work using traditional methods they have honed over generations, even if the designs are not traditional designs. It’s important to us that not only do we help them generate income, but also sustain these traditions of handwork. It’s really part of their cultures.

Autumn Moon

I am pleased to announce that I’ve posted new and recent work on my website, Bonnie Samuel Designs. My site also has undergone some revision and I’m quite pleased with the site.

During the past ten months, my objective was to immerse myself in learning about various techniques applicable to fiber art as a medium, then sort through and incorporate those that I found most expressive. There are many, many “techniques” popping up in our fiber medium and it is interesting to try some, perhaps with one’s own take on the process. Then analyze that technique as a fit or not as adding to your art expression.

The past months have been intense, but also very revealing in terms of finding my own voice and style. Learning is an ongoing process and it continues for me. More work coming soon to Bonnie Samuel Designs.