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A monthlong exhibit showcasing Maine farmers, mill owners and artisans who are part of a growing effort to rebuild a textile economy rooted in natural fiber is opening in early October at the Rockport Public Library.
Running Oct. 3-30, the exhibit will feature around 20 participants and teach people how local textiles are made: grown without synthetic chemicals, processed in local mills, dyed using natural materials and returned to the earth at the end of the cycle.
Selected farmers, weavers, dyers, mill owners, spinners, upcyclers, garment-makers and composters whose works will be displayed are all part of a system known as the “fibershed network.”
Exhibited materials will be supplemented by diagrams indicating each exhibitor’s role in the soil-to-soil cycle: growing, processing, designing, dyeing with natural elements, and composting or recycling the materials. Some exhibitors have multiple roles in the process.
“I think it’s going to be a beautiful exhibit,” exhibit organizer and assistant director Julia Pierce said. “It’s like nothing that we’ve ever done before.”
At the heart of the exhibit is Maine’s soil-to-soil initiative, which returns fibers and nutrients to the earth. Like food, fibers are given a full life cycle that begins and ends in the ground. The approach mirrors broader efforts like the Maine Soil Health Network, launched in 2021 by Wolfe’s Neck Center and Maine Farmland Trust to help farmers improve soil health.
Because it is about 50% carbon, wool can act as a natural carbon sink when returned to the soil. It also retains up to 30% of its weight in water, making it a tool for drought and flood control. Wool that cannot be spun or woven can be broken apart and used as garden mulch to retain moisture so plants can survive without being watered as frequently.
The model is part of Fibershed, a nonprofit that helps farmers and makers collaborate to grow fibers and turn them into locally made, environmentally friendly clothing, art and textiles. Founded in 2010 by Rebecca Burgess, Fibershed now has 71 participating affiliates, including Maine Fibershed.
Like a foodshed or watershed, a fibershed connects local farms, makers and consumers to produce sustainable textiles. Garments and pieces are locally produced and then passed along from one farm to another. Exhibitors Elizabeth Goundie and Josh Emerman, who own and run Moorit Hill Farm in Troy, raise Icelandic sheep for fiber and custom fiber processing, in one example.
Once gathered, their fibers are sent out to another source to be dyed, woven and designed into garments. Andrea Hungerford of Meander Made Weaving Studio in Tenants Harbor, another featured exhibitor, specializes in exactly that: her handwoven and handsewn functional art — blankets, rugs, shawls, wraps and wall hangings — is created with local fibers and often dyed with Maine-grown botanicals.
“The full spectrum is going to be represented here, to give people a sense of how interconnected their fiber supply is,” said Pat Harpell, co-founder of Maine Fibershed.
Several events over the course of the exhibit will bolster the educational effort. On the day the exhibit opens, the library will display an EarthLoom—a large loom designed for group weaving with many people adding to one textile. Susan Barrett Merrill, the creator of the EarthLoom, will demonstrate the preparation for weaving.
Community members may participate, for the remainder of the exhibit, in weaving sustainable fabrics into the loom to make a “community tapestry,” Pierce said. Multiple tapestries may be created over the course of a month. Organizers may use the community tapestries as fundraiser items — possibly in a raffle or auction — to benefit the soil-to-soil network, Pierce and Harpell said.
Maine Fibershed Festival Day, which takes place on Oct. 25, will feature hands-on activities for visitors, including live demonstrations. There will also be a presentation by Alison King of the University of Maine’s School of Food and Agriculture to address how communities can control erosion with wool and build soil health in their gardens.
“I would say it’s an opportunity to expose people who may not get to the countryside, who may, under no other circumstances, interact with the farmers or the dyers or the makers. This gives them that chance to come face to face with the people who are doing this work and who are making these incredible products,” Pierce said. “Bringing together people to learn is the most exciting thing for me.”
