Scholarship Opportunities for 2012 Michigan Fiber Festival

Susan B. Drummond Memorial Scholarship The board of the Michigan Fiber Festival has authorized a number of half-day scholarships in memory of Susan Black Drummond, founder of Fiberfest, Michigan Fiber Festival’s predecessor. Sue was active in  the arts and community education programs. To honor her memory, the membership and board wish to help continue her work in education by establishing these scholarships, allowing recipients to learn new skills and pass their knowledge on to others.

 Applicants must be at least 18 years of age and a  member of the Michigan Fiber Festival; applicants may apply for a half-day scholarship (if the class is for more than a half day, the recipient will be asked to pay the additional cost of the workshop).  The board will determine the number of scholarships to be awarded each year.

Sheryl Jensen Memorial Scholarship 

In memory of Sheryl Jensen her husband and family have established scholarships at Michigan Fiber Festival for felting workshops.  Sheryl kept a small flock of angora goats and, over the years, she experimented with various aspects of fiber preparation and use.  Of all the processes she tried, she found felting to be her favorite.  As her health declined, she had to give up her flock, but her enthusiasm for felting continued.  She enjoyed teaching others as much as she enjoyed doing felting herself.  These scholarships have been established in her memory so that others may learn the art she enjoyed so much, and share what they have learned with others.  Applicants must be at least 18 years of age; membership in the Michigan Fiber Festival is not required; an applicant may apply for one half-day or one full day felting class.  The total number of scholarships to be awarded will be the equivalent of two half-day classes.

Terrie Hale Memorial Scholarship

Terrie Hale loved to make things.  The Portage resident          knitted, cross-stitched, spun, tatted, quilted wove, and did             bobbin lace. “She had a           passion for her hobbies and was talented at all of It.” said Mary Stillman, owner of Stitching Memories, a Portage store where Hale was a regular.  “She wasn’t married and didn’t have children, so this was her life”.
Hale died May 1, 2010 at age 42 of pancreatic cancer, leaving behind an extensive collection of craft materials and equipment.  Stitching Memories had a sale in June of 2010 to sell off Terrie’s stash. The sale was a day to remember Terrie, who taught classes at the store and worked there as a part time saleswoman before her illness.  “We were like her second family” Stillman said.
Terrie was diagnosed with stage four pancreatic cancer three years ago.  Laid off from her secretarial job at a law firm, she was without health insurance and most of her treatment was experimental.
”She dealt very well with her illness” Stillman said.  It was interesting because she almost became a totally different person after her diagnosis.  She started going to church and adopted a more positive, hopeful attitude toward life.  She always kept up hope that her cancer would be cured. 
Terrie wanted her stash to go to those who shared her love of her hobbies. Terrie always looked forward to the Michigan Fiber Festival booklet coming out and planning which classes she would take.  Terrie also looked forward to the weekend of the Fiber Festival and spending time there.  Terrie would love to know that her love for the arts was being extended to others thru this scholarship.

Karen Pearson Memorial Scholarship 

The board of the Michigan Fiber Festival has authorized a scholarship’s in the memory of                            Karen Pearson for her years of          dedication to Michigan Fiber Festival as a committee chair, on several committees over the years;  in the beginning as co chair on the vendor committee and later as the membership chairperson. She was an avid spinner and knitter.  Recently she started creating lovely rugs crocheting or knitting from roving.  Karen was a lover of antiques and had an excellent eye for decorating. Cancer took Karen in January of this year, the festival wanted to honor her love of fibers and the fiber arts by offering a full day scholarship in her name, applicants must be at least 18 years of age and a member of the Michigan Fiber Festival; applicants may apply for any full day workshop being offered.                    

 

 The Weavers Guild of Kalamazoo  Fiber Arts Scholarship

The Weavers Guild of Kalamazoo (WGK), a nonprofit organization founded in 1968 to share the fiber arts, offers a scholarship(s) to an attendee(s) of the Michigan Fiber Festival held each August at the Allegan Fairgrounds in Allegan, Michigan. Members of the WGK are united to teach, learn, and share, the knowledge of traditional and contemporary fiber and related textile arts. As part of our scholarship award, the recipient(s) will also receive a one-year membership in our guild.

Eligibility: Any person interested in attending the Michigan Fiber Festival. Criteria for receiving the WGK Scholarship may include, but are not limited to, financial need.

Guidelines to apply for all scholarships:  

1.     To apply, write a letter to the scholarship Chairperson.  Letters of application must contain the following:

        Name, Address, telephone number, Email addres (if applicable), date of birth or age.

         Scholarship applied for, Permission to publish photo from the workshop, and how the information gained will be shared with others. (for example, by making a presentation to a local guild, school, or group; or writing an article for a local or national publication.) A statement of membership if applying for the Drummond scholarship; that the applicant is 18 years or age or older.

2.     Applications must be typed, computer generated, or neatly printed. The scholarship committee reserves the right to disqualify incomplete or illegible applications.

3.     Applications are due on or before May 1, 2012 An applicant may receive a scholarship only once in every three years unless the applicant can demonstrate extenuating circumstances which will be considered by the MFF board.

4.     Each accepted application will be presented to the MFF board by the scholarship chairperson for approval or denial.

5.     Scholarship applicants will be notified in writing immediately following the board meeting at which scholarship decisions are made (usually the June  meeting).

6.     Scholarships are nontransferable and must be used for the specific purpose for which they were awarded in that year.

7.     The letter should also state that scholarship recipients agree that their photographs in the workshop setting may be used for publicity purposes.

 8.    Decisions of the Scholarship Committee and the Michigan Fiber Festival Board are final.

Send application letters to:

Diane VanderPol
MFF Scholarship Committee Chairperson
1925 Woodcliff SE
Grand Rapids, MI 49506

          The board of Michigan Fiber Festival wishes to express our sincere thanks to the Jenson family,

             The Weavers Guild of Kalamazoo, and Stitching Memories for their generous support of our

             scholarship programs.