Fiber Art

The Fiber Arts By: The Serendipitous Shepherdess

A decade ago the term Fiber Art was relatively uncommon, but the events of the past 4 years have changed that dramatically. Thanks to people having more time to research and learn hobbies they never had the time for before, many crafts that were thought of as “Old Lady Hobbies” have gained uncountable numbers of new practitioners, students and enthusiasts. Despite it's resurgence in the past few years the term fiber art came into use by art historians and curators to describe the work of the artist-craftsman following World War 2.

“Fiber art” refers to fine art whose material consists of natural or synthetic fiber and other components, such as yarn or fabric. It focuses on the materials and the manual labor by the artist as part of the works' significance, and prioritizes aesthetic value over utility.

So what are some of the fiber arts? Well you probably already guess that things like Knitting and Crocheting are, but so are other crafts such as; Weaving, Quilting, Embroidery, Wet Felting, Nuno Felting, Needle Felting, Macrame, Embroidering, Lace making, Spinning, Tatting, Rug Hooking, Sewing, Basket Making and even Leather working! (There are more but I'll stop there.)

Wait a minute, what?! Yup you read that right. Basket making and Leather working are also considered a Fiber art. Why? Because Fiber doesn't mean a specific fiber and when you look into it there are THOUSANDS of fibers to choose from, especially Natural Fibers. When you think of Natural Fibers many think of only a couple; Cotton and Wool. And while those are great examples of 2 different fiber types (Those being Plant Fiber and Protein Fiber) each of those types have countless varieties available. Plant Fibers include any fiber from plants; Jute, Ramie, Hemp, Milkweed, Flax, Sisal, Rose, Bamboo and thousands more! And Protein Fibers are fibers that are grown by animals. They include things such as; Silk, Angora (rabbit and goat), Alpaca, Camel, Cashmere, Mohair, Yak, Qiviut, Sheep (of which there are thousands of breed and each of them are different!), and yes, even Cat and Dog Hair!

Wow, that's a LOT of fiber! But not all of it is good to use for every fiber art. Some particular kinds work better for certain arts and knowing which to use when is where other aspects of Fiber Arts comes in; Science and History. How is that? Well in far too many ways to write about here, but the short answer is; Mankind has been practicing Fiber Art such as weaving, thatching, spinning and knot making for thousands of years, and the study of that past and those artifacts helps us learn some of what fibers have been used for which arts. As for Science, well in the early 1900s mankind found ways to create Synthetic Fiber, such as Nylon in 1931, Modacrylic in 1949, Olefin in 1949, Acrylic in 1950, Polyester in 1953 and the list goes on.

So we have a lot of history and science to help start us on the path of fiber arts, but part of the fun of becoming a Fiber Artist is experimenting and mixing fibers to create new and beautiful works of art.

But how? Each art is obviously done differently and while there is a wealth of information out there in the form of YouTube videos and books, a lot of us learn better with hands on. Finding a teacher though can be a challenge, but you are in luck! You have a community of crafters around you, neighbors with hobbies that are skills passed through generations of parent and child. If you truly want to learn, ask.

Not sure who to ask? Well you can start with me! The Serendipitous Shepherdess (Shiloh Tedrow.) I've been teaching many of the fiber arts for years now and not only that I can direct you to lots of other people who do many fiber arts as well!

Are you a Fiber Artist yourself and interested in offering classes? Then let me know and I'll add you to the Fiber Artist Directory! Just email SerendipitousShepherdess@gmail.com