Ages:  Adult – ages 15 and up
Day/Time:  SATURDAY, APRIL 8 and SATURDAY, APRIL 15
10:00 am – 1:00 pm
Class Fee: $40 member / $45 nonmember

If sold out, contact Jill Neumann to get on a waiting list: jneumann@watermarkartcenter.org

Explore the shirred standing rug making technique with local artist Starr Ann Lenz.  During this class you will learn to how make traditional shirred standing wool rugs and how to incorporate rich textures, colors, and patterns into your rug.  You will leave this two-part class with a trivet sized mini reversible rug.

Prerequisite – Participants must know how to crochet

 Materials List – Participant may bring if they have, otherwise Watermark will provide for loaning

Sharp fabric scissors

Rotary cutting tool, mat, guide ruler

Materials Fee $25 – Paid by participants to instructor

Includes a specialized hook needle, seine cotton thread, and wool fabric

Want to preview the process? Ask questions? Starr will demonstrate her craft on March 18 from 11am to 3pm at Watermark.

INSTRUCTOR – Starr Ann Lenz

Starr Ann Lenz grew up in Griswold, Iowa but spent a week or two almost every summer on Cass Lake, MN.  Once Starr and her husband, Jerry, retired, they began spending complete summers at the lake. In March of 2022 they chose to move to Bemidji, MN to live out the rest of their lives.

Most of her adult life, Starr has worked on multiple hand work projects.  In 1999 she learned how to make shirred rugs and since then it has become her favorite medium. She has taught shirred rug classes in a weaving guild in Sun City, AZ until relocating to Bemidji, MN. During her time in Arizona, her weaving group met each week to develop patterns that she is now ready to share in her classes here in Bemidji.

Starr also enjoys weaving as a close second to rug shirring, as well as traditional rug hooking, tatting, and incorporating what Mother Nature has  to offer into her art.

This project is supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts