Today is my dear friend Pamela Howard's birthday. Happy birthday Pam! I've not seen her for a month and have no idea when I will see her again since I moved from Ohio. I will miss her quirky sense of humor and stories and our camaraderie.
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| Spindle whorl spinning |
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| Wallet by Pamela Howard |
I also will miss her astonishing commitment to her craft. She is an enormous inspiration to me. Pam is a weaver and textile artist. She cards the wool, she hand spins the wool, she dyes the wool, and then she creates elaborate works of beauty out of the textiles--scarves, shawls, textile and paper dolls, unique hand crafted wallets and books. She also is a paper crafter--making hand made papers and then binding them together into astounding books/journals covered with her gorgeous textile coverings.
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| Hand crank wool carder |
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| Hand crafted book and box by Pamela Howard |
I can attest to the quality of her work. I've been using a wallet she made for more than three years and other than the string closure finally coming off, it has held up as well as any leather wallet I've ever had and is far more pretty. Not to mention that I love the tactile feel of it every time I get it out of my purse and the simple reminder of friendship.
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| Hand crafted paper and textile woven book and binding by Pamela Howard |
Before I moved from Ohio, I was fortunate to be able to purchase a black and white textile journal book which I absolutely love. I have not had the heart to sully it's gorgeously hand crafted and pristine pages with writing. I'd originally planned to use it to write my poetry in, but I have not been able to bring myself to do it. I wonder if there might be some other, better subject matter to put into the book.
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| Hand dyeing wool |
Pamela's work can be seen at the Oxford Community Art Center Art Shop Co-op, a juried co-op, where she has been a member for over three years. She also has a delightful studio (#311) on the third floor of the Center and almost always has her studio open to visitors on the Second Friday Art Nights. She has been honored with several prestigious awards and "Best of Show" awards over the years.
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| Hand crafted (from start to finish!) wallet by Pamela Howard |
To own a piece of her artwork is to have access to a master textile artist. Happy birthday Pam!
