Reviving "Ancient Fiber Arts"

The youth of today are bombarded with technology, cable, hulo, dsl, pc, smart board, ipod, ipad, droid; and the fiber arts are often overlooked as things they did in the "old days". The spinning wheel is shades of sleeping beauty in ancient fairy tales. And yet, children can be excited about the arts, about creativity, about esthetics. Members of the craft guild participated in the Iowa City Art Festival to introduce children to the various fiber arts. In the first photo, Stephanie, Julianna and their two youth volunteers as they prepare for the art fair. They will assist youngsters with some hands-on activities. This first experience is often the stimulus to learn more. My daughter's fifth grade class has a weaving/spinning day as part of their social studies curriculum. These fifth graders become silent and attentive during the demo. It never fails that at least one child wants to learn more, and the rest simply are amazed as that cloud of fiber becomes strong strands of yarn and that they made their "strands" turn into mug rugs. I've always had trouble with drop spindle spinning. Its probably a combination of lack of patience and simply practicing the technique. These young ladies seem to have mastered the drop spindle. Do we see a few new spinners on the horizon? Thanks, Stephanie, Julianna and the other volunteers who helped keep the "Ancient Fiber Arts" alive.