Driving down Redwood Avenue past Fort Bragg High School you will come to Alger Street, making a left you will drive past the school bus barn arriving to find yourself in front of a charming two-story wooden cottage at 450 Alger Street. This is the Pacific Textile Center which started out as the dream of some textile loving volunteers. Like any dream, the distance between the original inspiration and the tangible reality involved a long and winding road. Most dreams peter out somewhere along the way as the goal appears farther and farther out beyond an avalanche of unexpectedly hard work and inconvenient obstacles. There has to be a team of people willing to “suck it up” and keep going when it looks like hope is fading fast. Apparently those people were onboard and ready to do whatever it took to get to the finish line and make the Pacific Textile Center what it is today.
According to their website, “In 1996 Jackie Wollenberg headed the effort to buy the Alger Street house, owned by the College of the Redwoods, who had hoped to make it into student housing for the Krenov Fine Woodworking Program. It had been offered to non-profits first. We offered $85,000-$87,000 and our offer was accepted. We took ownership in June 1996, but the house was in such bad shape that it had been offered to the fire department to burn down. They declined. We needed a new roof, electricity, flooring, water, ivy hedge removal and more. We weren’t able to open to the public until 2005.”
That is 10 years of keeping the faith baby; a long time requiring much patience and steadiness of purpose. There must have been some people very skilled at delaying gratification on the team.
To learn more about the origins of the center go to their website at pacifictextilearts.org and click on the history button.
Much water went under the bridge, many classes were offered, many exhibits mounted before Covid closed the center to the public from March 2020 until January 2022. Happily the Center is now back to full strength with a busy schedule of activities including really dynamic shows and class offerings. An example of classes being currently offered includes (among many others):
• June 22-23 9:30-4:30, Mixed Media Textile Art Collage with April Sproule. “April has a knack for making even the most difficult tasks seem simple as she leads students through a progression of techniques for painting and embellishing textiles. She shares her personal trove of sewing and design skills while strongly encouraging participants to develop their own unique creative style.”
• July 13-15 9:30-4:30, Natural Dye Workshop with Vicki Fraser. “Enter the world of color by way of nature and experience the difference between natural and synthetic colors. Class includes madder, weld, indigo, lichen, logwood and more. Also a 28-day non-toxic mordant recipe for plant and animal fibers.”
• September 14 9:30-4:30. Felted Animal Masks with Kathy Brooks. “Let your creativity soar and join us for a hands-on felted mask workshop. This class will teach you how to make a beautiful face-fitting wool mask using both wet and needle felting techniques. All materials included, students go home with a finished mask!”
Exhibits rolled out included the excellent “Mexican Textiles” which ran from May 4-May 28, “Inland to Ocean” quilted landscapes by Laura Fogg running from June 1-June 29, “The Hand-woven Textiles of Jolom Mayaetik,” July 6- July 30; “Hypatia in the Woods”: Mixed Media with April Sproule September 7 at the end of September. For other exhibits coming see the Exhibits button on the website.
As a recent attendee of Laura Fogg’s class on landscape collage, I was very impressed by her teaching style which was broad, helpful and non-judgmental. I know that the class members came away very encouraged with a good assortment of newly discovered techniques. I previously took a workshop with Robin Bernstein on yarn painting that was also first rate. Both Laura and Robin are true artists more than crafters, which suited my purposes well. Despite this distinction both classes were accessible to anyone with a desire to just jump in at any level of skill and previous experience.
Not everyone is interested in textiles but the lesson of passion manifesting into a real center for the arts that many can enjoy is a good one. In many respects you can do anything you want to do in life if you are willing to hang around and work really hard to see it through to fruition. My hat is off to the (mainly but not entirely) women of the Pacific Textile Center past, present and future. You are an inspiration to us all.
PS. If you are at the Mendocino Botanical Garden visit the Dye Plant Plot to see the indigo plants recently installed by Center volunteers. Also note that there is a yarn sale at the Center every Friday and Saturday from 1-4. A free spinning group meets every Friday from 1-4pm. Also look for free introductory classes that require no previous experience coming this fall.
Thanks for the Pacific Textile Arts update.