The Center for Maine Craft welcomed their first Winter Artist in Residence, Sara Palumbo, fiber and mixed media artist of Bath, Maine. Sara moved her studio to their West Gardiner location nestled in their retail space for the winter. Sara is creating in the space and bringing her passion project to life- Words into Wool. She is meeting with people who call Maine their home, listening to their personal story and creating a felted piece representing the essence and vibration of each story. “I see this project as the joining of ancient practices of storytelling, felting and shamanism. My dream is to have this be a travelling installation that will grow around the state of Maine”.

Sara’s installation went up on January 7th, and she has been crafting people’s stories into her woolen art pieces in real-time in the craft center. Sara’s interview subjects include a broad range of women from across Maine, the captain of a lobster boat, an entrepreneur and forager, a shaman and many others, and her great joy in this work is bringing the soul of each story into physical being that can be shared with the world. Visitors are encouraged to watch her as she works and ask questions. Sara’s method is wet-felting, the creation of fabric from layers of wool roving kneaded together with water and friction. Sara turns individual fiber strands into sheets of cloth, the same way that she turns the strands of other people’s stories into works of art.

The installation will be up at the Maine Center for Craft in West Gardiner until March 2nd, and there will be a closing reception on Saturday, February 29 th from 3pm – 6pm. Learn more about Sara’s work at www.sarapalumbo.com.