FIBER ARTISANS
Jennifer Lackey - Juried Artisan
Jennifer Lackey learned handcrafts at her grandma’s knee when she was just big enough to hold a needle. Becoming a serious knitter in college, she soon followed the thread of fiber down the rabbit hole and has now been a spinner for 17 years and an obsessed weaver for 6, especially of gigantic coverlets, having fallen in love with their history. Her spinning has won awards at the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival, including the overall Best Skein award in 2010 and the Grand Prize for blanket weaving in 2017.
A juried member of the Alabama Designer Craftsmen, she is currently serving as President of the Greater Birmingham Fiber Guild here in Alabama (where she begrudgingly lives, held captive by her husband’s career and eternally disappointed that there isn’t room in their yard for a flock of sheep- although they did steal a cat from the neighbors when her 3 year old daughter informed her that his name was “Grabbo, Cat of Knowledge”, how do you resist that?). She loves nothing more than promoting the love of handcrafts with those around her through the Guild and her own personal teaching, having taught both spinning and weaving for nearly 10 years.
Laura Stacy - Juried Artisan
Laura Stacy creates vibrant batik designs on natural fiber fabrics. Then typically, if they are not made to be framed, she transforms the two dimensional design into wearable art with an entirely NEW dimension. The humble purse, evening clutch, messenger or diaper bag becomes art in motion when a Laura Stacy batik design is carried into everyday life or out on the town. Because they're all hand drawn and hand dyed, no two are ever exactly alike; they are intensely thought about and meticulously fretted over.
"The spark for my batik design was kindled in the 1970's when a hippie friend taught me the magical but time-consuming technique in her basement. It was a time for wild pattern maxi dresses and Peter Max designs and we went where imagination could take us with the garage doors up and the sun streaming down on our work tables."
"Fast forward to 2000 and something. What to do when there is no more car pool? Look backward, dig in the closets and remember what fun it is to draw!"
Victoria Moore - Juried Artisan
This Birmingham fiber artist enjoys using her intuition, love of color, and the tactile quality of fibers to guide her in designing original felted art purses and totes. Victoria creates original designs and transforms a variety of fibers into her functional and decorative fiber art purses and totes.
Victoria is a member of Greater Birmingham Fiber Guild, Handweaver's Guild of America and a juried fiber member of Alabama Designer/Craftsmen. Her works have been shown and sold in several states and in the Tahoe resort area. Her purses and totes and other felted art pieces are available through Cobb Lane Gallery. Click here to see Victoria on TV! There is more of this artisan's work on this web site. Click here to see it.
Debra Meyer Scott - Juried Artisan
As a juried fiber artist, my main focus is the world of felt, that include various shapes, forms, and clothing. I also work with dyeing fabric, mainly silk, to create wearable garments, as well as wall-hangings, and felted objects, using wool. I have participated as an artist in Kentuck, Magic City Art Connection, Birmingham Museum of Art, Blue Light Art Show, Alabama Craft Guild, Bluff Park Art Show, and The Orange Beach Art Gallery and others. I am an active member of The Birmingham Fiber Guild and Hand-weavers Guild of America(HGA). I continue to pursue my interests in textiles, always learning. I have taught many workshops and demonstrated in historical re-enactments and schools. I am a hand-spinner, tapestry weaver, dyer, and one who sews. My work at this time is mainly commission work but I am continuing to share and educate those who are interested in textiles. I welcome you to my world of fabric, fiber and color!
Susie Strauss - Juried Artisan
"My love of working with fiber and creating with my hands started at a very young age with potholder weaving, spool knitting, and lanyard braiding. After being an avid knitter for many years, I realized that my eye and interest were consistently being drawn to the art of weaving. I see weaving as being a multi-faceted process based on the science and math of the interaction of colors and fibers to the art of the visual images and desired outcome.
"I find myself 'painting' with the different yarn fibers and colors to create functional art objects. These take the forms of scarves, shawls, place-mats, and dish and tea towels; as I believe in being surrounded by beautiful handcrafted items in all aspects of one's life." There is more of this artisan's work on this web site. Click here to see it.
Janice Weinstein - Juried Artisan
When I was six my mother and grandmother introduced me to my lifelong passion for working with fiber. Whether knitting, weaving, felting, crocheting, dying fibers or designing, I love experimenting with color, texture and technique to produce wearable art.The joy I found in creating new ways of using and combining different yarns led to my design of professional patterns. For me, the challenge of developing an idea, choosing the fibers, writing the pattern and watching it grow stitch by stitch into a completed piece is exhilarating. Many hours go into designing and creating my patterns and fabrics but each piece reflects my passion for fiber. My garments and designs have been shown at venues including:
Highlands N.C. Arts/Crafts Show, Alabama Designer/Craftsmen Fine Craft Classic, The Blue Light Special Art Show, Central Alabama Artist Guild Show, Bare Hands Gallery, Artists on the Bluff and several boutiques. I take great pleasure in learning and teaching the craft of creating with fiber. Through the years, I have taught beginners to knit and helped experienced knitters master new techniques. Regardless of what level of accomplishment my students achieve, my hope is that each one experiences the joy I do when working with fiber. I create by hand, from the heart.There is more of this artisan’s work on this website. Click here to see it.
Kay Moates - Juried Artisan
Kay is a fiber artist designing wraps with a difference. Created during her silence, they are an alchemy of earth fibers, stones and quiet. She knits ancient symbols into wearable tools for today's life to ignite, empower, and magnify inner connections. They are soul whispers woven into body wings. There is more of this artisan's work on this web site. Click here to see it.
Kami Watson - Juried Artisan
A nomadic past with a focus on environmental conservation and humanitarian services has exposed Kami to global influences in design and culture and has fostered her desire to create functional and visual art with an ecological sensitivity. As a second generation fiber artist, she freely explores the traditional art of wet felting, the fusing of raw fibers into a textile form with soap, water, and agitation, as well as the contemporary technique of nuno (fabric) felting, continuously experimenting and pushing her personal creative boundaries in style and technique. She combines renewable natural fiber resources, reclaimed silk sari and clothing fabrics, and her own hand dyed fabrics and fibers to organically create each of her works of art. She allows the materials she uses, and influences and experiences in her life, past and present, to guide her instinctively in color and design. An award winning fiber artist, Kami currently resides in Alabama, where she creates and teaches in her studio. Her work is available at juried fine art shows, and in galleries around the United States.
Beth Overstreet - Juried Artisan
Beth’s designs are inspired by nature, often featuring florals, botanicals, earthy tones, and natural textures. Every piece reflects Beth’s commitment to sustainability and functionality, with a focus on creating items that are as practical as they are aesthetically pleasing. There is more of this artisan's work on this web site. Click here to see it.