Janet Shipley Hawks
Jan Hawks is a fiber artist who grew up with adults who created clothing and decorative items by knitting, crocheting and sewing. Her interest in fibers started very early as she hung on her Mother’s back as she sewed on a treadle sewing machine. At age six she learned to knit, was sewing all her own clothing by fifteen and at seventeen began to learn to weave. These interests led her to a degree in Occupational Therapy from the University of Kansas and a career in rehabilitation medicine where craft activities were adapted to provide strengthening, coordination and stamina for patients affected by neurological and muscular injuries.
Through the years she has learned many crafts but currently is working mostly with fibers and the sewing machine. She started into quilting when she saw a magazine article on Seminole patchwork and much of her previous work contains this technique. She has had several magazine articles published showing her own designs using this technique and has had wall hangings and wearable art shown in juried shows in Texas and Oklahoma.
Currently she is working in the art form she created that uses machine embroidery thread and free motion stitching on a regular home sewing machine to create jewelry and decorative items made only of thread and embellished with beads. Her experimentation with this new fiber art led to the publication of her book Sculpted Threads, Artful Brooches, Earrings and More that was released in June 2007 by Martingale & Company.
“Key West Sunset” “Undersea Fire”
“Fantasy in Turquoise”
