Christy Matson
Christy Matson is an interdisciplinary fiber artist known for her painterly, Jacquard-woven tapestries. Her work merges analog and technological modes of art production, expressing the unique yet interwoven histories of fine arts and fiber craft. She works back and forth between sketching, watercolor, paper collaging, analog weaving, and computer-aided loom work. Matson’s Jacquard loom allows her to improvise weft structures within pre-programmed warp settings. She is concerned with mitigating waste in the textile industry, thus her improvisations are often informed by the industrial scrap materials to which she has access.
Matson received her MFA from California College of the Arts (San Francisco) in 2005 and her BFA from the University of Washington in 2001. Recent solo exhibitions include “The Cloud” at Philip Martin Gallery, 2023, “Currents 38” at the Milwaukee Art Museum in 2022, “Crossings” at the Cranbrook Art Museum in 2019, and “Rock, Paper, Scissors” at the Long Beach Art Museum in 2018. Her work is collected by institutions including the Art Institute of Chicago, Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), and the Smithsonian Museum’s Renwick Gallery. In 2012, she became a tenured associate professor of fiber at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She lives and works in Los Angeles.
Header image by Molly Haas.
Cameron Taylor-Brown
Cameron Taylor-Brown is a fiber artist, curator, and educator who has dedicated her career to elevating the field of fiber arts through organizational leadership and research. After being introduced to the study of fiber at UC Berkeley by the artist Ed Rossbach, she pursued textile design at Philadelphia College of Textiles and Science, where she later went on to teach. Since 1985, she has lived and worked as an artist in Los Angeles.
Taylor-Brown’s artwork incorporates mixed media approaches such as photo transfer, paint, and collage into traditional weaving and embroidery techniques. She draws inspiration from the rhythmic structure of textiles; the expressive potential of interactions between color and texture. Her work has been widely exhibited and published in industry periodicals and design books.
Taylor-Brown has been involved with a number of organizations dedicated to fiber arts and textile commerce. She was a founding board member of the nonprofit Textile Group of Los Angeles, and currently serves on the boards of the Fowler Textile Council and Textile Arts Los Angeles. She founded the textile resource center ArtsGarage, and co-founded the arts education consulting partnership ACCESS Community Arts & Education. Two educational programs created by accessARTS were introduced to the state of California’s charter school system in 2004. She has previously served as president of California Fibers and Designing Weavers. Other organizational affiliations include Textile and Fiber Arts List, Handweavers Guild of America, Museum Educators of Southern California, Surface Design Association, Textile Society of America, and Southern California Handweavers’ Guild. In 2019, she curated the exhibit “Material Meaning: The Living Legacy of Anni Albers” at the Craft in America Center.
She frequently lectures on fiber arts and hosts workshops, the full schedule of which can be found on her website, camerontaylor-brown.com.
Frame loom weaving workshop with Lesley Kice Nishigawara
Learn how to weave on a frame loom, a small portable way to weave. The frame loom is used by artist Sheila Hicks to create her small Minime weavings. This workshop will take participants through the process of weaving on a frame loom including setting up the loom (warping), weaving with several weave structures, tapestry weaving to create images and/or patterns, and finishing a weaving.
Workshop fee is $100. Looms and tools for weaving are included in the fee; participants can take home a loom with them after the workshop. Yarn will be available to use, although participants are encouraged to also bring unconventional materials to weave. Students will need to bring their own scissors. Open to those 16 years of age and older.
Backstrap weaving workshop with Lesley Kice Nishigawara
The backstrap loom is a portable loom where the warp (yarn) is stretched between two sticks. Tension is held on the loom with the weaver’s body weight. The backstrap loom has been used in many cultures historically and is still used today. Participants will learn how to set up a backstrap loom, create string heddles to lift the thread and weave on a backstrap loom with plain weave and supplemental weft patterns. This workshop is physically demanding as participants will use their own body weight to create tension and should be considered when signing up for the workshop. Open to those 16 years of age and older.
Workshop fee is $175. The price of the workshop includes a backstrap loom, tools for weaving and yarn to create a weaving. Students will need to bring their own scissors.
The workshop is full. To be put on a waiting list, please email rsvp@craftinamerica.org.
ReMemory Landscape: Fabric Collage with Aneesa Shami Zizzo
Inspired by the idea of the “rememory” as found in Toni Morrison’s Beloved, this workshop shares how to capture the abstract notion of memory through material exploration. Using reclaimed fabric, collage methods and applique techniques, the ReMemory Landscape relies on a making-while-meditating mindset. Participants will explore how to depict their personal memories of specific landscapes through the use of fabric collage and abstract imagery. We will experiment with color and patterned fabric to create visual depth in composition, as well as invisible stitching techniques to mimic the look of paper collage in fabric applique. Previous experience with hand sewing is not required, but encouraged.
The workshop fee is $70 and includes materials.
Parking: Since most of the parking in the area has a two hour limit, the most convenient option is to pay to park at the Beverly Connection less than a block west on W. Third Street. Handicapped parking is available behind Freehand.
Aneesa Shami Zizzo is an artist and researcher based in Los Angeles using recycled materials to create fiber art. Her work references the sublime and world mythologies to evoke a sense of the collective unconscious within her imagery. Shami holds Bachelor of Fine Arts degrees in both Fiber and Art History from the Kansas City Art Institute. Zizzo’s work has been exhibited nationally and internationally in galleries and museums. She recently created costumes for Planet City (2020), directed by Liam Young, which was commissioned by the NGV Triennial 2020 in Melbourne, Australia. Zizzo is also the co-owner and director of Studio 203, an artist-run space in Los Angeles that collaborates with artists to create exhibitions and host workshops and performances.
Knotless Netting with Annette Heully
Learn all about the knotless netting process. This hand weaving technique uses simple knots, loops and a needle to shape a flexible netted structure around almost any form. Learn the knotless netting process by making your own net around an object you bring to the workshop.
The workshop fee is $70 and includes materials.
The workshop has filled. Please email center@craftinamerica.org to be put on a wait list.
Parking: Since most of the parking in the area has a two hour limit, the most convenient option is to pay to park at the Beverly Connection less than a block west on W. Third Street. Handicapped parking is available behind Freehand.
Annette Heully, an internationally exhibited artist, earned her MFA from California State University at Long Beach with an emphasis in Fiber. She received her BA from San Francisco State University with an emphasis in Textiles. She was awarded the Public Installation Grant from Fiber Art Now magazine and is featured in the Winter 2023 issue. She was the Artist in Residence at the Llewellyn Gallery in New York, and a recipient of the Marilyn Werby Scholarship. She was the School of Art nominee for the Bergeron Award for Distinction in the arts. She has over 20 years of weaving experience, which not only include her artistic career but production weaving for fashion and interior designers. She has taught in many different woven forms from workshops, private clients, and at the university level. She currently lives and works in her home town Ojai, California.
Layers of Life: Collage and Stitch with Debra Weiss
In this workshop, participants will create a small piece that can become functional using fabric scraps. The class will stress letting go of what is being created and responding to the materials. The story will come from within participants as they consider the use of sheer fabric on top, softening the layers. Participants will also add embellishment to the final pieces with stitches to enhance what unfolds.
The workshop fee is $100 and includes materials.
Parking: Since most of the parking in the area has a two hour limit, the most convenient option is to pay to park at the Beverly Connection less than a block west on W. Third Street. Handicapped parking is available behind Freehand.
Debra Weiss is a textile artist who has been fabric collaging and stitching for over 50 years. As a young girl in the 1960’s she learned to sew, crochet, cook and bake from her mother. In her 20’s, she graduated from UC Davis with a B.S. in textile design. In her 40’s she started Rebe, a clothing design business, now called Specks and Keepings. In her 60’s she joined California Fibers and began exhibiting and teaching.
Beginning Crochet with Ashley V. Blalock
Join this all-day workshop to learn the basics of crochet and its relation to developing creativity. Students will be introduced to crochet, covering all the basic stitches, as well as starting, and finishing a project. At the end of the day, students will be well on their way to completing a small, three-dimensional crochet item.
The workshop fee is $100 and includes materials.
Parking: Since most of the parking in the area has a two hour limit, the most convenient option is to pay to park at the Beverly Connection less than a block west on W. Third Street. Handicapped parking is available behind Freehand.
Ashley V. Blalock was born and raised in San Diego, CA. She holds an MFA in Sculpture and Installation from the San Francisco Art Institute, an MA Art History from the University of California, and a BA in Painting and Printmaking from San Diego State University. She was a resident at the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, Wassaic Project, and Vermont Studio Center, and a visiting teacher at Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts. Her installation venues include the Franconia Sculpture Park, Hunter Museum of American Art, and the Montgomery Museum of Fine Art. Her work has been exhibited in group exhibitions at ESXLA, Miniartextil in Como, Italy, the Craft in America Center, and the Huntington Beach Art Center. Her site-responsive installations have been placed in and around historic homes such as Edith Wharton’s home (The Mount), Highfield Hall, and the Heritage Museum and Gardens.
Advanced Workshop with Ferne Jacobs
This workshop will be for anyone who has taken a workshop with Ferne previously. Those who have learned off-loom fiber techniques from other teachers and are not expecting to learn any new technique are also welcome. The intention is for students to be working on a piece in progress or wanting to start one from scratch with an idea already in mind.
Ferne will work with students for the day, teaching more about design and advancing the skills from various off loom techniques the students have already learned. Basic technique will not be taught. Discussion and exploration of the creative process, design and development of forms will be the focus, expanding the technical knowledge already gained.
Students will provide their own materials.
The workshop fee is $125.00. Limit of 12 students.
The health and safety of our visitors and staff is our top priority. We request that everyone wear a face mask when inside the museum.
Yael Lurie and Jean Pierre Larochette
Designer Yael Lurie and tapestry weaver Jean Pierre Larochette have collaborated on work for five decades and across three continents.
Yael Lurie was born in Kibbutz Givath-Brenner, Israel, the daughter of Jacob Lurie, a painter and teacher. After apprenticing with her father she studied with Jacob Wexler and at Leshem Mosaic Workshop.
Jean Pierre Larochette was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, the son of Armand Larochette, a third generation French Aubusson tapestry weaver. Jean Pierre apprenticed at his father’s workshop and in 1963-64 studied and worked under the direction of internationally known French tapestry artist Jean LurCat. He was co-founder and director of the San Francisco Tapestry Workshop and teacher at the San Francisco State University textile program in the 1970s and 80s.
They have completed numerous commissions for temples and have works in public and private collections through out the United States and Mexico. Based in Berkeley, California, since 1972, they have exhibited and held workshops internationally.
