aBOUT ME
Wool Tinker
Since 1953
For over 50 years, ever since my mother taught me how to crochet and tat, my passion has been fiber. When my dear sweethusband, Gary, entered the tiny farmhouse kitchen carrying a small two-harness table loom, I thought for a moment (but only a moment) I would divorce him. For there was a screaming 5 month old baby in my arms, a 3 year old clinging to my knee and two bushels of green beans waiting and waiting to be canned. How we ever found the money to buy a four -harness Baby Wolf loom I will never know! Soon after the loom came the spinning wheel, Angel. And she has been my constant companion ever since.
I received a BA from Mount Holyoke College majoring in Women's Studies/Fine Arts, letting the loom and the wheel be silent for several years. But things come back around and my capstone project for Women's Studies was research and curate a show of "Weavers of Franklin County, MA".
I have been spinning and weaving for over 30 years and teaching for at least 20. I was the master spinner at the Green Mountain Spinnery in Putney, Vermont for 6 years where I consulted with fiber artists, such as Kathryne Alexander, and wool growers how best to spin their wool.
I have taken courses on wool grading, natural and chemical dyeing and participated in shearing and skirting at local farms. Master spinner, Jeanne Seymour of Guilford, VT, taught me to spin and love sheep. Most of my weaving knowledge is self-taught and book-learned. But I enjoy taking workshops whenever possible, most recently "The Art of Shifu; spinning paper" with Velma Bolyar and " The Art and Craft of Natural Dyeing" with Jane Woodhouse.
In 2010, I became a Certified Weaving Circle Leader taught by Susan Merrill of Maine.
"The Weaving a Life Process is an approach to re-visioning oneself and one’s possibilities through a hands-on process of creating a series of simple weavings called keyforms. The keyforms – amulet, bowl, doll, belt, mask, sacred bundle, and shawl – are elemental forms common to all cultures throughout the world. They become physical manifestations of personal meaning for the one who creates them. The woven forms hold symbolic significance in themselves, and form a kind of vessel or template for the individual to create a unique and personal experience of a path to self-discovery. Weaving a Life is a personal process for revealing the vision and gifts you already hold inside.
My hope for 2016 is to offer the Weaving a Life workshops with grief as the center focus. Since 2012, I have used this process in my own personal loss - my husband and best friend, Gary. Nothing can take away the pain but Weaving a Life helps me tolerate and live with my grief.
Email :patty@wooltinker.com
Phone : (802)254 - 9792
Address : East Dummerston, Vermont