This tender moment

Monson Community weaving in process.

Last week I was in Monson Maine, guiding a Community Art Project. This was truly a collaborative effort. The quarry shaped loom was built by one of the staff of Monson Arts, the fabric we wove with was all donated by the community and volunteers helped cut and prepare the materials for our weaving.

With the loom and work tables set up in a prime location next to the Monson General Store, we wove and made small people to tell the story of Monson, her people and her quarries. The finished creation will be assembled soon — I can’t wait to see the pictures!!

Monson Community Weaving. The loom is shaped like a quarry!

The Monson Community!

Clothespin Momma holding a baby.

Along side this Community Art project, I continue to guide my apprentice Katherine Ferrier through the Maine Crafts Apprentice Program, make my own art and play in the summer waters.

Monson Love Letter #2 - slate shard woven with hand-spun paper

Indigo stone cozies




Nurturing, Tending and Cultivating

Surround yourself with love.

Here in Maine, April is a tease, a long slow awakening to the warmer, greener months ahead. April is a time for nurturing, for tending the tiny seedlings in the greenhouse, for opening windows and leaning into beginnings.  We get a day here and there in the 70s, but for the most part April is rainy, wet, foggy, damp, chilly, dreary and grey. And then…like a long overdue freight train, the greens and floral brilliance explode and we quickly forget the dim days of April.

Here is what I have been cultivating in my studio and beyond:

·      Two workshops for middle school students at Sedomocha Middle School in Dover Foxcroft Maine – teaching paper weaving/poetry and a workshop using found object for sculptural weavings. Supported by Monson Arts, Monson ME. Be sure to check out my Instagram feed for news about these workshops!

·     Attleboro Arts Museum - 200 of my crocheted stones “Hold Me Tight” are on exhibit in a NE Regional Surface Design show. Until May 6, 2023.

·      I am two months into my apprenticeship with Katherine Ferrier, a textile artist, poet and educator from Rockland Maine. I’m teaching her how to spin, use natural dyes and weave on a floor loom. This program is supported by the Maine Arts Commission and Maine Crafts Association

Katherine’s indigo hands with her hand spun wool

·      A lovely interview with Textiel Plus Magazine – a Dutch arts publication. Look for the translate button!  https://textielplus.nl/artikelen/sarah-haskel/

·      “Hold Me Like A Mother: Pink” has been accepted in the Surface Design Association exhibit titled “Safe Keeping” . The exhibition will be held at 108 Contemporary Art Gallery, Tulsa, OK from June 2-July, 23 2023

·      Bar Harbor, Maine – I have a mini-exhibit- four pieces on display at Island Artisans. If you in the area - please check it out!

Hold Me Like A Mother: Pink

Here’s hoping you are finding ways to nurture and tend those around you….and that you feel cared for as well.

What Can I Tell You?

Monson winter moonscape

It’s been several months since I have written a blog post — and simply put I have been absorbed in the joys and challenges of life. Making art. Taking care of a wee one. 

And most importantly — loving life so completely….embracing the chaos, the  messiness, the heartache and the celebrations, that I ache with emotion.

I make art - to try to put into concrete terms this immeasurable joy of living in this physical world. 

The elegant simplicity of hand- spun linen, dipped in indigo.

Monson slate shards woven with hand-spun paper. My tribute to the industries of this region - past and present.

Currently I am up in Monson, Maine on the tail end of a month long residency. Being in this community of hardy rural folks with my cohort creatives has nurtured a steady stream of work, exploring new techniques and revisiting familiar turf.

Winter has traditionally been a vibrant and productive time in my studio - and this winter retreat has nurtured my curiosity and opened my eyes and heart.
The FiberArt Now exhibit “Yarn Rope String” is still up at the New Bedford Art Museum check it out before it closes on March 12th. And in other news — I have been selected as a Mentor in the Maine Crafts Associations Craft Apprentice Program. For the next 9 months I will be working with quilter/poet Katherine Ferrier of Rockland Maine. We will explore making and dyeing threads, weaving from start to finish and building a cohesive body of work. Read more about this fabulous program!

Check out this on line exhibit at Speedwell Projects! So happy and honored to be included.

As always - the latest images and news can be found on my Instagram page.

Stay beautiful, my friends - Sarah