October 2023 Featured Artist

FIBER

Merilee studied Fiber Arts at the University of Wisconsin - River Falls. She was employed in the Human Services field, which included several years teaching weaving to adults with developmental disabilities. Now retired, she has been able to refocus on her love of the fiber arts, creating handwoven “wearables”, nature-inspired tapestries, and traditional Scandinavian weavings. Merilee lives near Frederic in an area known to locals as East West Sweden.

We asked our featured artists a few questions:

What draws you to weaving?

It seems like I've enjoyed the fiber arts since I was a kid. "Playing with" yarns and fibers - spinning and weaving, knitting and crocheting, quilting and embroidery - all has a textural aspect to it that especially is appealing to me. I take it as a compliment when someone sees my work and asks, "Can I feel it?" With spinning and weaving, there is also a feeling of being connected to the past, and all those who have gone before who have also been engaged in those two ancient crafts. I have a maternal great-grandmother who brought her spinning wheel with her when she immigrated from Norway. I also have a paternal great-great aunt (another Norwegian immigrant) who, on the 1930 census in Duluth, listed her occupation as "Weaver". So, maybe it's in my genes!

What is your favorite and most fun thing to weave?

2. My favorite thing to make is usually something I've created "from scratch", using natural fibers. When you've started by spinning the fiber - or even washed and carded the wool from a sheep to prepare it for spinning  - there's a definite feeling of satisfaction in the finished product. To me, it also seems like those items have a special quality that is lacking in those made from commercial yarns.

If you had to choose another art medium to work in, what would it be?

3. While my weaving is often inspired by the colors and textures found in nature, I often see scenes around me that seem perfect for watercolor painting. So, just recently, I've started dabbling in watercolors. I've found that it is definitely humbling to try something new and different that one is a beginner at!