Christie Lower — a self-taught fiber artist based in Eastern Oregon — returns this year for her second residency at Pine Meadow Ranch Center for Arts and Agriculture, where the theme is Adaptation.
Lower has been adapting ever since her 2024 residency at the ranch, when she launched Rustic Fiber Academy, an online teaching portal that offers scores of video courses on how to needle felt everything from baby sloths and morel mushrooms to drink coasters and Christmas ornaments. The courses allow folks of all different skill levels to learn at their own pace.
“I had a Facebook group back then where people just wanted to know how I was making the things I was making,” said Lower, who sculpts life-like figures using wool, a needle and sometimes a base. “There were so many it just got out of hand, and I needed a specific (online) space where I could do this.”
The academy’s website offers more than 150 courses, Lower said, with new ones being added all the time. Meanwhile, she continues to work on her own art, and she still has pieces on display at Art Center East in La Grande, Royal Artisan in Baker City and the Josephy Center in Joseph. Birds remain a reliable go-to, she is focusing more on animals and other denizens of the Pacific Northwest, including whales and mushrooms.
Recently, Lower has been starting pieces with small vintage items and building on them when inspiration strikes. And last year, she and her whole family went to Morelia,Mexico, where she participated in a residency at a school and taught mothers, girls with special needs and others about her craft. “My husband taught kids there how to use tools, and my son attended the school, which was fully Spanish speaking,” she said. “We lived on the property. It was pretty awesome.”
Christie Lower residency events
Soon, Lower will be teaching at PMRCAA, too. Mark your calendars for her upcoming needle felting workshop, where attendees will explore 2D needle felting and create a yellow-headed blackbird in wool. The workshop is scheduled for 10 a.m.-noon on March 14.. For those who simply want to see her artwork, Lower will also participate in a Studio Tour alongside River Dandelion from 5-6:30 p.m. on March 19.
