Lynn Spratling

I grew up in the small cotton mill town of Lindale, Georgia which is about five miles outside of Rome. I've always felt fortunate to have lived in an area with a strong sense of community, pride, and history. I also had the great fortune of being the granddaughter of two talented women, one of which was an accomplished seamstress. As a child, I would sit by her side as she sewed for hours on various projects for others. We would talk about what she was doing allowing me to learn how to sew, even if I lacked the practice to do it myself.

As a young adult my mother gave me the gift of quilt lessons. It was at this time I began to love fabric, the feel of it, the various ways it could be placed together to create interesting designs. My quilting led me to making wearable art. M7/18/10Halloween.

However, my true love for sewing came with the birth of my great-niece. In making clothes for her, I became interested in many forms of fiber art including felting, embroidery, and women's wearable art once again. I visited Lowel with my family several years ago. Looking at old looms and mill life then gave me a sense of coming full circle.

Living in a community built from similar experiences causes me to see what came before while looking ahead to what could be.