Oh man, this is a good one... We sat down with Cara, who teaches fiber art and weaving at our shop! She a valued instructor, shop patron, and beautiful friend. Check out upcoming classes at the shop here. Or use our contact form to book a private class with her!
What inspired you to focus on weaving as your primary medium?
I started out with embroidery over the pandemic, but transitioned to weaving because I stumbled across another form of fiber art: art yarn, hand spun by women around the world. I fell in love with big fluffy clouds of softness spun into yarn, a lot, lot, lot with sparkle and shimmer; some with embellishments; and in an array of colors, many in combinations I could never have even imagined. After acquiring many of these one-of-a-kind pieces, I knew I had to do something with them. And that’s when I really discovered weaving—honestly, as an end to justify the means (my art yarn addiction).
Are there artists, cultural traditions, or movements that influence your style?
Art yarn spinners have absolutely shaped my style, plus indie shop owners who curated amazing fibers to work with. Only a handful of spinners and shop owners who inspired me are still around, sadly, as most have moved on to other ventures — mostly voluntarily, but others unfortunately not. Off the top of my head, my ride-or-die fiber besties (in my head) nowadays include @thespectralfox @mymothersdaughtershandspun @smayworks_design
For my weaving, my inspiration comes from a blend of artists, and artists who I’m also in awe of: Robin of @theorchard_artstudio, from whom I first learned about hoop weavings; Monica of @mochablue.fiberart, with her own style and also a full-time job, like myself; Rebecca of @rebeccarobinson_art and her beautiful textures, colors, and fibers she weaves with; and Jenell of @spruceandlinen, who has fantastic free tutorials!
How do you approach color, pattern, and composition in your pieces?
I have no training in composition or color dynamics — honestly, I usually hold up the art yarn I have and work with a blend of those colors, and then putter around to find other colors that contrast well or seem to play well in the same color family.
In kind of the same random fashion, my pattern is guided by where the yarn and fibers (fluffy roving, ribbon, velvet, cotton, etc.) want to go. I mostly start by placing the art yarn throughout the warp strings of my loom, then weave around that. But I’ve changed it up a bit recently, just to save on frustration when squishing in fibers when I near finishing. Other than that, I can’t really describe it another way.
How do you hope your work—and your teaching—impacts students or audiences?
I just want to bring happiness and wonder — so many people are drawn to the textures in my weaving, and I’m often told they have never seen anything like this. So I want that joy to be somewhere where a person sees it every day. And likewise, I want my teaching to feed the creativity and joy in souls, plus induce the meditation that is so great about weaving.
What advice would you give to someone just beginning their journey in weaving?
(1) If you have a fiber stash, don’t buy more yarn! There are so many techniques you can employ without purchasing anything new, which saves you money. (2) Likewise, you don’t have to start big, you don’t have to start with expensive tools. My first loom was a tiny one made of stiff cardboard, and my next one was a large one made by Melissa and Doug (a children’s toy). I used bakers twine as my first warp string (the “skeleton” that you weave in). (3) And do anything you feel like trying — there is no “mistake” in weaving that can’t be undone, and it honestly probably is a technique that has a proper name. Like, 95% of the time. That other 5%? You’ll rarely regret fiber murder, so don’t be afraid to (literally) cut your losses and reuse those fibers.
