Learn Weaving with Great Fiber Arts Teachers

Amy Putansu is an artist and educator living in the craft-rich culture of western North Carolina. She produces handwoven textiles that incorporate dyeing, stitching, and other textile techniques as art pieces for residential and corporate settings. She earned her BFA in textiles at the Rhode Island School of Design in 1995.

Amy Shelton is a fiber artist, instructor, and crochet designer. For the last eight years, she has owned SPARKLE Studio, a working and teaching fiber arts studio and local yarn shop located at the historic Lowe Mill ARTS & Entertainment in Huntsville, AL. She is an expert crocheter who has been crocheting since the age of 9.

Beth began weaving in 1970. She is a student of Norman Kennedy, has had two extensive stays in Japan to study folk textiles, and holds an MFA in textiles from Georgia State University. A Folk School instructor since 1983, Beth currently lives in western North Carolina, where she weaves and teaches. She completed yoga teacher training through Asheville Yoga Center in 2011.

Sue divides her time between 3-dimensional and 2-dimensional work. She bounces back and forth between photography, web design and graphic design to seatweaving (chair caning, wicker repair, rush, splint, etc.) and basket weaving. Basketry started as an add-on to seat weaving because there was material begging to be used in more than one format.

Lily Hope (b. 1980) was born and raised in Juneau, Alaska to full-time artists. She is Tlingit Indian, of the Raven moiety. Following her matrilineal line, she’s of her grandmother’s clan, the T’akdeintaan. She learned Ravenstail weaving from her late mother Clarissa Rizal, and Kay Field Parker, both of Juneau.

Esther Rodgers is a full- time fiber artist from Mebane, NC. She is known for her creative art yarns and her unique fiber preparation, while constantly innovating her spinning techniques to create new textures. She is on the cutting edge in terms of yarn design. She loves to design and spin concept yarns from an inspiration and tell stories with her yarns.

Mary Mandarino has a BS from Washington and Jefferson College, and 30+ years of weaving experience. As a member of the Weavers' Guild of Boston she currently serves as the Publicity and Social Media Chair. In the past, she has served as Treasurer, Special Workshop Program Chair, and Morning Workshop Chair.

Kristine has been working in the fiber arts for her entire adult life from crochet, weaving, embroidery, sewing, etc. following in the footsteps of generations of fiber artists in her family. She started tablet weaving in 2021 quickly developing her skills, and rapidly advancing to complex weaving designs and techniques.

A weaver since 1998, Denise Kovnat has taught virtually and at conferences and guilds across the United States, Canada, and Australia. She focuses on parallel threadings, collapse techniques, painted warps, and deflected doubleweave. In 2022, she published a book on collapse techniques, Weaving Outside the Box: 12 Projects for Creating Dimensional Cloth.

Sarah Ward is an Essex (UK)-based weaver, teacher, and environmental activist. The main focus of Sarah's work is to share knowledge through craft. She uses her woven work to advocate weaving as an art form in its own right, but also to raise awareness about waste, and the textile industry’s impact on our planet and its inhabitants.