TEXTILE APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAM:

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1 MENDOCINO ART CENTER S TEXTILE APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAM: Then and Now By Susan Kelley Clockwise from top left: Lolli Jacobsen and Elaine Lackey printing rhododendron tablecloths for the Rhododendron Ball. Cindy Dyne (Josephs) spinning; Laura Olsen photo. Artist in Residence Dorr Bothwell teaching Personal Evocative Color Critique. Artist in Residence Jan Janeiro and Linda MacDonald in a Textile History class. In the fall of 1976, the Mendocino Art Center (MAC) their participation will celebrate what would have been launched the Textile Apprenticeship Program, an intensive immersion into the art, the craft, and the business of The MAC Apprenticeship Program was the brainchild its 40th birthday. textiles. In November, the Art Center, Pacific Textile Arts, of Lolli Jacobsen, who trained as an apprentice weaver and and the artists whose lives and careers were influenced by fabric printer in Copenhagen, Denmark. The European 18 Mendocino Arts Magazine

2 Clockwise from top left: Vincent Carleton, Peter Collingwood, giving a class open to the public, and Eleanor Moss. Artist in Residence Joanna Britton working on a rug. Artist in Residence Joy Stocksdale (center) teaches a class open to the public. Connie Nelson (left) and an unidentified student (right) look on. Rebecca Brooks screen printing on a warp. style of apprenticeship training emphasized the craft. The student honed skills with the intention of doing production work for sale or exhibition. The American classroom approach focused on art. There was no attention to the practical aspects of working with fiber such as production work or marketing. Lolli s idea was to combine the strengths of both approaches. Lolli recruited the first group of 12 apprentices. The Textiles Apprenticeship Program was purposeful in its goal to marry the one-on-one production-geared apprenticeship Lolli experienced in Copenhagen with the academic textile education she received while earning a degree at the University of Washington. Artists needed to understand the business aspect of creating and selling work if they wanted to be able to make weaving a vocation rather than an avocation. The majority of students who came through the program did not end up making a living in textiles, Lolli confessed. About a quarter did. Whether they went on to make weaving their livelihood or not, they are quick to say that the time they spent in the program changed the direction their lives took. When asked, Ellen Athens, a successful jewelry artist working on the Mendocino Coast says, Finding galleries that appreciate fiber arts is difficult, and working part time as a tapestry weaver meant that I sometimes spent months working on one piece. I loved weaving tapestries, and still feel like a weaver at heart. I plan to do it again one day. I cherish my time in the Textile Apprenticeship Program. It also brought me here, where I love. Cindy Josephs came to the apprenticeship program when she was 18. She did continue with tapestry for a few years after she left the program, accepting commissions for her work. After focusing on raising her children, she Fall 2016/Winter

3 has returned to weaving. I ve been doing a lot of weaving for three years now. I get up at five and weave until I go to work and then come home and weave in the evening. I get a great sense of accomplishment and satisfaction each time I complete a tapestry. Nancy Denison came to Mendocino to visit a friend in the program. Nancy became part of the group for that week. At the end of the week, Lolli invited her to join the program. She went home, rented her house, returned to Mendocino, and hasn t left. I joined the apprenticeship program to try and develop the right side of my brain. I had a lot of office and accounting experience, which as it turned out, the Art Center needed. It became my life. Debra Scott came from Arcosanti, Arizona, to Mendocino in Like many of the apprentices who came from out of the area, she lived at the Art Center for the three years of the program. She speaks of the salon-like atmosphere created by the artists, teachers, and students from the various disciplines at the Art Center. Debra remembers, A highlight was when offshore oil hearings were being held at Fort Mason. Lolli decided suddenly to load up her van with screen-printing equipment and material. We all piled in, drove to Fort Mason, and printed activist t-shirts in the parking lot. One of the first students to graduate from the program, Eleanor Adams speaks of the wonderful, wonderful friends I made in the students and teachers who came and stayed long enough so that we really got to know them. It was such a privilege and opportunity to know these people and to learn from them. Many remain close even now. Eleanor has made her livelihood from weaving. Eleanor credits the lessons from the program for her decision to support herself and her two daughters with weaving. It made me think I could make enough money to survive if I made things that were saleable. I bought large lots of inexpensive yarn and dyed it myself. I sold lots and lots of hooded capes, first at craft fairs like the Mendocino Art Center Summer Arts and Crafts Fair and then retail stores such as Highlight Gallery. Stanford Inn is still selling my knitted hats. Both Debra and Eleanor believe that the extraordinary quality of the teachers had a strong impact on their lives. Dorr Bothwell changed the way we saw color and pattern forever, explained Debra. Eleanor also speaks of Bothwell. She was a wonderful teacher. She had an evocative approach to color. It opened my eyes. Many nationally-known artists and educators came to MAC to teach during this time. Victor Jacoby, Joy Stocksdale, Jan Janeiro, Jean Pierre La Rochette were regular instructors. Lolli was the force that held the program together for its long run. She and her co-teacher for the first eight years, Elaine Lackey, taught students a wide range of techniques. She directed Lolli Jacobsen and Rita Diamentine printing Schramsberg commission the program until she left in (Ariel design) to develop a textile program for College of the Redwoods. Without her driving force, the Textile Apprenticeship Program ended. In celebration of the 40th anniversary of the Textile Apprenticeship Program, there will be concurrent November exhibitions at the Mendocino Art Center and Pacific Textiles Arts (450 Alger Street, Fort Bragg). Approximately 20 former apprentices from the program will participate, and works are expected to include tapestries, stitchery, quilts, woven and printed fabric, knitting, rugs and wall pieces. Opening receptions: Pacific Textile Arts, Friday, November 4, 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Mendocino Art Center, Saturday, November 12, 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. 20 Mendocino Arts Magazine

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