Textile Artist Rhonda Fazio

Rhonda Fazio was our first Mini Maker that visited on Monday during April Vacation week at the Children’s Museum in Easton. She showed visitors how to create a God’s Eye with yarn, wire and wooden sticks. The woven piece of art were then, turned into a piano that was made from circuits. It was a magical creation!

           

Rhonda is an Environmental Alchemist and textile artist. She is a graduate of art history and textile design from the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth. Prior to UMD, she studied Professional Craft: Fiber and Clay at Haywood Community College near Asheville, North Carolina. She has been doing textile and weaving for over 15 years. It is not a hobby, but a discipline. She is very passionate about her work and loves teaching others about the art and history of the dyes.

Rhonda dyes silk and makes wrap clothing by hand without using any fossil fuels. All Dyer Maker materials are made from 100% natural fibers and pigments. Each color is hand crafted from raw materials and extracted without the use of harmful chemicals. Reflective of ancient cultural methods and hand processes of design, each piece is unique and may be wrapped in a number of ways to complement the individuality of the wearer.

Each dye tells a story from the past. America was built on the textile industry, but in recent years has declined. There is a lot of history behind making dyes and Rhonda wants to tell those stories and get people excited about the industry again. Rhonda has started a campaign called Colors Across America that will begin in October of 2015. Last year, she took a 28 day trip to California, driving the southern route, doing a lot of research and teaching workshops along the way. You can donate to her 2015 campaign by going to her Home Page on her website. 

Rhonda is currently writing a book about her adventures on the road. The book will be teaching people how to use color in a beautiful way, while also sharing about the history of textile and dying. It is important as an artist for Rhonda to connect with her materials as well as the many people, not just in and around her studio and community, but all around America too.

Rhonda has her own studio located at 16 Anawan Street in Fall River, Massachusetts. She teaches her own workshops, where anyone is welcome to come and create their own wearable art. Rhonda will be starting a drink and dyes class called Sun Set Sessions that will be held on the 3^rd floor at the Narrow Center on Tuesday Nights at 7pm. You can watch the sunset, drink wine and learn how to weave. More information will be available on her website soon, so look out for that! Rhonda’s studio is open Wednesday – Friday from 12:00 pm - 5:00 pm and Saturday 1:00 pm - 4:00 pm. Stop by anytime to learn more about her work and the art of dying! For more information on Rhonda and her workshops, click here to visit her website.

*Written by Nicole Brooks, Public Relations Intern