Author Archives: sbfiberarts@gmail.com

December guild meeting

We will be meeting on December 7th for a presentation on laking by Anna Bower, as well as some hands-on time afterward! Following Anna’s presentation, we will be having a potluck. Please RSVP for the potluck by emailing Robin or SBFAG1 @gmail.com. Bring brunch foods to share, and plan on labeling common allergens.

Introduction to Lake Pigments with Anna Bower

Have you ever wondered if there was a use for your leftover dye baths? Rather than pouring this precious liquid down the drain, you can “lake” your dyes and turn them into an insoluble, shelf-stable form. Lake pigments can be used to make watercolor, gouache (opaque watercolor), oil paint, tempera, ink, pastels, crayons, or for any other application with dried pigments such as paper marbling. Join Anna at our December meeting for a lake-making lesson and a chance to mull pigments prepared from the Guild’s 2024 Dye Day into watercolors.

Anna is the Assistant Curator of Living Collections at Ganna Walska Lotusland where she maintains records for all living plants on the property and runs the onsite nursery. She also tends a community garden plot filled with a variety of dye plants and a few vegetables.

November Guild Meeting: Presentation on “Chumash Basketry: Art in the Life of Native Californians.”

Jan is Curator Emeritus of Ethnography at the SB Museum of Natural History. Chumash baskets have been widely admired since the first days of Spanish exploration. As both functional artifacts and objects of art, they are prized in museum and private collections around the world. Jan Timbrook will present an overview of the cultural context and diverse roles of basketry in the traditional daily life of Chumash peoples of southern California. She will then discuss the characteristics of Chumash basketry – weaving techniques, materials, design layout and patterns – and note the changes in designs, shapes and function that began with European settlement in the late 18th century.

August Meeting is our Annual Natural Dye Day

This members’ only meeting will be at Tucker’s Grove Park on August 3rd.

Details will be emailed to all members who are signed up (there is a space limit for our site at the park) but plan to spend the day 9-3 outside under the shade of the oak trees. There will be multiple dye vats going, indigo, weld, cochineal, mushroom and red onion skins. This is always a fun event!

The photo above is from the 2023 Faulkner Library Group Show and is a compilation of dye samples created by members over the past two years’ Dye Days.

July Guild Meeting – the 13th !!

Guild member, Annie Guillemette, will give a presentation on embroidery on Saturday, July 13th, at the next Fiber Arts Guild meeting. Annie will share her knowledge of embroidery through a power point presentation that will survey a range of embroidery skills and designs including her own work. She also plans to teach some basic skills and give members an opportunity to begin a hands on project. Annie will supply needles and some materials but feel free to bring your own embroidery supplies. 

We will be meeting in Room 7 at the Goleta Community Center, 5679 Hollister Ave, Goleta, CA.

June 1st Guild Meeting is a Get Together and Share

Goleta Community Center, 5679 Hollister Ave, Goleta – Room 7

9:30 social, 10:00 Meeting and Presentation

CHANGE OF TOPIC!!! Unfortunately Jan has fallen ill and has to cancel her talk. She will reschedule when she is better. Jan was going to speak about Chumash Basketry and we look forward to her recovery! Check back on coming events for a new date currently TBD.

June 1, 2024 – Guild BYO (bring your own) Multi-crafts Get Together. Goleta Community

Center, 5679 Hollister Ave., Room 7. 9:30 Gather, 10:00 meeting call to order.

In the meantime, this Saturday’s meeting will be devoted to working together on portable crafts that you bring, and sharing our work and about ourselves, as well as Show and Tell and the Un-Raffle table

May 4th Guild Meeting

LEARN, SHARE, CREATE, INSPIRE
Enthusiasm could be felt in the room during our April meeting. I was glad to see so many people engaged at their tables in creative exploration. Building on that enthusiasm for creative exploration, in this next meeting we will be dipping into the talent bank of our guild membership. A number of guild members will share their expertise in certain techniques and lead a small creative activity or exercise at each of five stations/tables. Join us! Try something new, perfect a skill, or get questions answered by an expert – OK, so none of us are comfortable calling ourselves an expert, but we all have certain talents in which we excel and those among us who excel at a skill will share that talent with the rest of us. (Laurie Gross-Schaefer, Programs Chair)

Stations:
1) Tim Cardy – knitting
2) Julia Ford – rope making
3) Krista Rhodes – spinning 
4) Linda Kollofski – eco printing
5) Lorelyn Eaves – embroidery

You will choose your own path next Saturday when we meet. Begin at one station and move on to another or stay in one spot the whole time, it is up to you. We hope to create an environment in which you will learn, share, create, and inspire.

We will meet at our new location in the Goleta Valley Community Center at 5679 Hollister Ave, Cafeteria Room (look for signs!). (9:30 social, 10:00 business then CREATE!).

April 6th Guild Meeting – Stitchery

April 6, 2024

9:30 meet and greet social time

10 AM meeting at our new location: Goleta Valley Community Center, Classroom 7, 5679 Hollister Avenue, Goleta. Big parking lot behind the center, small parking lots in front. Driveway on the left side of the building goes to rear lot.

We’ll have our usual Show and Tell time plus an Un-Raffle, so bring anything you’d like to show off or give away, plus a little business and announcements, and then the Program!

Program: Please plan to join us at for an exciting hands-on collaborative project. This will be our kick-off to a new year of programing. We will supply a sheet of paper to each member who is present. Each person should bring an embroidery needle and small scissors. In addition, bring a personal kit or bring enough to share/trade with others – your kit can include but is not limited to the following: Embroidery thread or fine yarn, beads, buttons, sequins or any small items from your studio’s treasure trove, drawing or mark making implements. Come prepared to create, to play and to collaborate and through this opportunity, let’s make new friends, deepen existing friendships and get to know members of the guild you may not yet know.

March Guild Meeting – It’s a Fiber Frenzy -March 9th

March 9, 2024 FIBER FRENZY

Time: 9 am to 10 am EARLY BIRD ENTRY

10 am to 2 pm OPEN TO THE PUBLIC, no early entry fee

Location: St. Andrews Presbyterian Church
4575 Auhay Dr, Santa Barbara, CA 93110

This bi-annual sale is a fundraiser to benefit our Guild’s Scholarship Fund.
What’s for sale…
Yarn, fiber, fabric, books, tools and equipment for fiber related arts such as spinning, weaving, knitting, crochet, quilting, needlework, and basketry. In addition, we have embroidery and needlepoint kits, sewing trims and accessories.

Frenzy Schedule
MARCH 8th Friday intake & setup at St. Andrews 9 am – 6 pm (Members)
MARCH 9th Saturday Guild members & early bird pre-sale 9 am – 10 am
Open to the Public 10 am – 2 pm

NEW this time: Early bird entry for non-members (Public) is $10 paid at the door. Members are free entry as is all entry after 10am.