Frances Timbers – From Weaving Silk to Weaving Silver

From childhood onward I have made stuff – by sewing, embroidering, crocheting, knitting, paper making, weaving, pottery, beading, and quilting. I discovered weaving… and I was in love. I eventually became certified as a Master Weaver, marketing at One of a Kind in Toronto and a wholesale venue in Philadelphia, as well as the Apsley Studio Tour. But textiles are hard to sell. A weaver’s competition are beautiful machine-woven scarves from the East that sell for pennies. I needed to rethink how my need to create beautiful things could result in a living wage.

I enrolled in Trent University in Peterborough, earned a B.A., M.A., and PhD in the next 8 years and started teaching university at several institutions. My creative energy went into writing instead of weaving, but writing does not satisfy the desire to make stuff, even when the writing is published in the form of three books. I took up knitting and quilting to feed my textile junkie’s soul.

Now scroll ahead a few years. I found myself spending most of my winters in Panama. Too hot to wear sweaters or put quilts on the bed. I finally had the time and money to pursue another interest of mine — silver jewellery, but, there were two issues: silver is an expensive medium and I couldn’t just keep making earrings, bracelets, and necklaces for myself or to give as gifts. It was clear that I needed to sell some of my creations to sustain my addiction. Where better than among my friends and colleagues on the Apsley Studio Tour!

I was welcomed as a guest artist, first by woodworker Britt Olauson and then by painter Lisa Mace, Studio S. It felt like coming home. Many of the tour visitors remembered me as a weaver and embraced my transition from weaving silk to weaving silver. Thank you for supporting my creative compulsion!