4-hour Workshop

Date: Saturday, July 26

Time: 11am-3pm

Description: Join us for the second installment of the FLAX journey: Harvesting. The morning will entail pulling the long flax stems up by the roots to keep the length of the fibers intact. We will then discuss the next step in the process, retting, in which the pectin slowly breaks down, releasing the long fibers from the plant. We will then head inside to the studio for a drop spindle demonstration using flax grown and processed at Red Cottage Fiber Studio. After a light snack, participants will then began experimenting with their very own drop spindles to create the twist which turns these line fibers into linen yarn.

Note: first participants will begin with the basics of spinning, using wool. Then, they will add on the skills and equipment needed to spin flax.

Tuition: $75 + $25 materials

Materials: All materials preovided, including drop spindles to keep for practicing!

Location: Contemporary Craft, TImmons Studios (5688 Butler St., Pittsburgh, PA 15201). Note, this workshop will take place both outside and in the Fibers Loft studio, which is on the second floor of the building.

There are 2 entrances to the Timmons Studios.

One entrance is facing Butler Street. To access the Fibers Loft from the Butler Street facing entrance, there are a total of 32 stairs to ascend.

One entrance is facing 57th Street. This entrance is accessible by ramp, with no stairs to ascend. There is a lift inside the building to access the second floor.

We strive to create a welcoming experience. If there are accessibility accommodations we can provide, or if there is anything you would like us to know before you arrive, please feel free to call Jamie Boyle at 412-465-1639 or email jboyle@contemporarycraft.org.

Cancellations and Refunds: Workshop cancellations are decided three business days before the start date. If workshops must be cancelled due to insufficient enrollment, the entire class fee will be refunded through Eventbrite, or you may leave your workshop fee in your Contemporary Craft account for future workshops.

Refund Policy: Student refund requests must be made at least three business days before a class begins. There will be a $25 cancellation fee. No refunds will be given without three-business days notice. Processing of refunds takes approximately three weeks.

About the artists!

Laura SanBoeuf Paris, Spinning Instructor

Laura’s childhood straddling the suburbs of Baltimore and rural West Virginia, combined with a maternal lineage of gardeners and fiber artists has created a love of sustainable and intentional textile practice, the whimsical magic of Appalachia’s ecology, and finding joy in a process.

She’s a long time knitter, spinner, and sewist that is finding delight in learning to weave at Contemporary Craft and grow a dye garden in her Pittsburgh back yard.

Erin Carlson, Our Flax Guide!

Erin Carlson is a multidiscplinary fiber artist working and teaching in th Pittsburgh area for the last decade. She loves to help students explore their creativity through the use of fibers.