During the fall semester of 2017, senior fibers student Alexa Graham and a few of her classmates decided it was time to start a guild. There were few opportunities for those interested in the fiber arts to gather and gain inspiration from each other, and as a medium that is already often pigeon-holed into classifications like “craft,” the students wanted to expand the range of what fibers, and their own practices, could be.

They pitched the idea and formed the organization early in the fall, and by the end of the semester, the guild was up and running. “We wanted to mimic some of the things that the other guilds in the department were doing such as bringing in visiting artists and having workshops. It seemed like a great opportunity to get fibers into everyone’s vocabulary.” Graham, now the President of the Guild, said.

However, for a brand-new guild, some of those ideas don’t happen on their own. The students in the Fibers Guild knew it would take money to attract visiting artists, so they hosted a sale in the Gregory Allicar Museum of Art last fall and raised all of the money needed to host their artists. Now, Ayn Hanna and Barbara Gilhooly will be visiting the CSU Department of Art and Art History on April 9th to talk with students and hold workshops.

The Fibers Guild has big plans for the future and hopes to continue growing the organization. They have another sale planned for Mother’s Day and will be showing their work in a group exhibition called Encroaching at the Loveland Museum Foote Gallery. “Having a tight-knit group of people who are passionate about fiber arts creates excitement about the medium” Graham said. That is an excitement they hope will continue to grow within the Department, and that the Fibers Guild will be a resource available for all future fibers students. 

Story by Jane Thompson