Making something with your own two hands is a beautiful thing
What is Fiber Art?
Any piece of artwork we make out of fibrous materials such as fabric, string, paper and all of the animal, vegetable and mineral fibers we used to make those materials. The tools we use are needles and hooks, wheels and looms, simple and complex machines.
The most important tool of all is our HANDS.
It is the work of our HANDS that makes fiber into Art.
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The process of crafting something with your own hands from start to finish is challenging, rewarding and transformative. Using traditional HANDWORK techniques that people have been developing since our earliest days on earth connects all of us with our shared humanity.
A House For Handwork
In August 2017, Handwork House was founded as a place where people of all backgrounds can come together and explore Fiber Art and our shared history of using fibers, textiles and handwork skills to make beautiful and functional pieces of art. At Handwork House, adults and children can gather to learn basic skills like sewing, knitting, crochet and mending. As well as more advanced techniques like wet felting, dyeing, batik and more. Handwork House is a community workshop. Think of us as a small art school and NOT a fabric or yarn store. Although we hope to offer a selection of supplies in the future, we currently supply materials for each class as needed.
If there is a specific method or skill that you want to learn, Sarah can teach you! And if she hasn't yet mastered that particular skill- she will bring in an expert and we can all learn together!
About the Founder
When Sarah Ulrich was a tiny girl her grandmother taught her to sew. "She gave me a threaded needle and a washcloth and she showed me how to weave the thread in and out of the cloth. Every few minutes I would hand her my washcloth which I had sewn into a tight ball and then I would watch my grandma cut the thread out and hand me another threaded needle to start over again". That was the beginning of a lifetime of chasing thread.
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Sarah was born and raised in Lancaster, PA. where she now lives with her three daughters. She graduated from McCaskey High School and Millersville University with a B.S. in Elementary Education.
Sarah has spent the past 25 years developing her handwork skills in between working and raising her daughters.