The Serenity of Spinning June 18, 2008

Many spinners will acknowledge that the greatest product of spinning is not the yarn itself, but the sense of well-being and serenity that accompany the activity. By working step-by-step on the various fundamentals of spinning, participants will focus on relaxed movement and gestures to draft fibers, then to treadle the wheel, and finally to combine those two tasks. The cyclical rhythms of the wheel will set the tone for spinning wool singles, then plying those singles together and then on to navajo plying. Afternoons will be divided,combining our wheel time with supporting activities like washing wool, carding or combing wool, and simple dyeing procedures so we have lustrous, colorful wool to spin as the week progresses.

Cherri Hankins, a 17 year weaver and spinner, is a custom tallit weaver. She produces prayer shawls for traditional jewish worship as well as other commissions. She has been teaching fiber arts for 12 years and is specifically interested in the revival of personal community and nurturing through cooperative work efforts. She teaches at two of her own studios, and several art centers. She works as an artist-in-residence in the Richmond City Schools system, and teaches after school art programs. Although her degree from Virginia Commonwealth University is in Business, Cherri’s business is to produce fiber arts exhibiting exceptional craftsmanship and to “help others achieve personal satisfaction through nurture of their own gifts and talents”. Her work has been exhibited in arts centers from coast-to-coast. Her work can be seen on her website at http://www.cherrihankins.com

Official Website: http://www.brookfieldcraftcenter.org/fiber.html