Biography

In 2004 I received my MFA in writing from Spalding University in Louisville, Kentucky. However, I studied Japanese Shibori Silk dyeing with Arturo Alonzo Sandoval at the University of Kentucky. In 1998 a friend had suggested that I learn to dye silk so I could make covers for the hand made books I read from when I was doing performance readings. Four weeks after classes started my 26 year old son had a paralyzing accident. I remember that at that moment I had to make a decision. At first, I was going to quit school and take care of him. Then I realized, his condition was not going away. It was forever and we both had to learn to live an independent life. I stayed in school and placed my experiences in the intensive care waiting room in the silk I was dyeing. I had to simplify what I was to learn, there were so many colors, so many techniques. I made another decision to focus on one technique. One palette. I chose arashi shibori a palette of shades and created, not only silk covers for my books, but also wearable art for my performances.

It is no surprise that I was drawn to Shibori as I lived in Japan for three years as a child. The Shibori technique is based on manipulating the fabric by wrapping it around a pole or rope then placing the dye on the cloth. The fabric resists the dye and this creates the patterns. The colors are set by steaming on the stove in my kitchen.

When I first began, my studio was in an old pole barn. During the evening I processed the silk I had dyed earlier. Wrapped in newsprint, heat set the dye as the silk steamed on the old canner on the wood stove. I loved hanging the freshly rinsed silks in the barn, the contrast between the rawness of the wood, its roughness and the softness of the silk, sensuously moving as the wind blew through the cracks in the barn.

My life has changed now that I have found the FeltLOOM. And my painted shibori art has never been more exciting. After shibori dyeing silk for the past 12 years I have discovered that I can make my own wool fabric. Using the FeltLOOM I can create large pieces of felt from Kentucky alpaca or Texas merino wool batting.

The FeltLOOM redefines Fiber Art by enabling a person to make their own fabric with chosen fibers, colors, textures, and designs. The FeltLOOM provides choices that we have never had before.

Lanette Frietag, invented the FeltLOOM because, as an artist, she wanted a way to make felted fabric. And as a sheep farmer, she wanted to be able to work more closely with her sheep and see her wool transform into art.

You do this by placing the fibers on the FeltLOOM table placing them next to the rollers. The rollers will move the fibers and up to 750 felting needles will go up and down to create the fabric. It does not require traditional spinning and weaving to make fabric. The fabric is felted so it will not ravel.

I then take the soft wool felt and pole wrap it and paint at least three colors of dye onto the fabric. I never know what each piece will look like. The weight and the hand of the fabric varies, depending on the type of sheep. and the weight of the batting. This felt fabric is meant to be touched. And if not hanging on the wall, the pieces can be wrapped around you or sewn into garments or bags.

Textiles for the individual have not changed for centuries. This new FeltLOOM is a true break through. It takes the technology that industry has been using since 1890 and puts it in the hands of the artist so we can create wonderful one of a kind items. I can now truly make my own fabric for my Truly Wearable Art.

Currently I live in a cabin in the foothills of the Appalachian mountains. My inspiration comes from hiking in the woods and trying to figure out how to capture the colors I see. My truly wearable art, made from all natural fabrics, includes serenity shawls, goddess capes, bolero jackets, poetry vests and skirts, riding coats, caftans and dresses. What I love to do most is create a collection. To layer on various colors and textures of fabrics and designs. Each design has several pieces which have been torn and serged before sewing them together; a process through which I continue to recover memories in the 5/8 seam allowance I learned from my mother.

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Laverne Zabielski, artist and writer received her MFA in Writing from Spalding University. She studied fiber art with Arturo Alonzo Sandoval at the University of Kentucky. Her memoir, "The Garden Girls' Letters and Journal" was published in 2006 by Wind Publications.

Her silk garments and accessorieswork are available at:

• The Kentucky Artisan Center and Fireside Gallery
  Berea, KY
• Maincross Gallery
  Lexingtron, KY
• The Kentucky Museum of Art and Craft, and Janjobe Gallerly
  Louisville, KY
• Bellagio's
  Asheville, NC
• Great Artists Collective
  New Orleans, LA
• Dameselfy Gallery
  Midway, KY