UDIST300 Local Fiber Incubator
SPRING 2012

Interdisciplinary Studios extend a student's cross-school experience from Core Studio up into his or her upper division years. 3 units of Interdisciplinary Studio are required of all majors and must be completed in the junior or senior year.

This class explores the range of local fibers found within a one and a half hour radius of San Francisco, and the processing of them into felt, yarn, knits and artifacts. This class bridges theory and practice, drawing on philosophies in the sustainable agriculture movement and applying them to fiber, and then processing the fiber into a form that engages the end user/viewer. The class is built on experience based learning, bringing students to work directly with ranchers and farmers and a local spinner as well as having instructional time and making in a studio environment. The course will develop primary research skills, mapping and documentation in hard copy, video and photographic form, as well as hands-on making at a variety of levels. By following and documenting fiber from its source through to final products, students will develop a strong sense of place as well as a 'globalocal' perspective by experiencing first hand the economic pressures of small farmers and ranchers and the community benefits of 'adding value' to local resources through design. Reflections on the life of a farmer/rancher during class and studio periods will help students to ruminate on larger economic systems, trade and commerce, sustainability and the shifting role of design. A number of local non-profit partners will be involved in the class, including The Sustainable Cotton Project, Community Alliance of Family Farmers, Slide Ranch, and local chapters of the Alpaca Breeders and Grower's Association. The class will provide a unique learning environment and rich experience for students by providing not only exposure to the while lifecycle of fiber and textiles, but also insights into the relationships between rural and urban, local and global, rancher/farmer and designer, and slow and fast cycles.