Margaux Thys was a resident at Peters Valley in the fall of 2022, thanks to the generosity of the Maxwell/Hanrahan Foundation. Below, she writes about her experience on campus:
“While at Peter’s Valley the past two weeks, I’ve been working on a series of projects related to both of my loves: Architecture and Weaving. By day I’m an architectural designer in the New York area, but by night and weekend I work with textiles, creating and learning the intricacies of the craft. I’ve often thought of these as two separate things, but the more I work in both the more I see them as cousins with common ancestors. Though both have commercialized evolutions through corporate developer driven projects, there is space to recognize that slow building and slow textiles are still worthwhile. Both connect to the human making the item for the humans that will be using them. The way a door detail is drawn makes all the difference in the way people move from room to room. You don’t notice it if it’s done well, but if a tile and a wood floor sit at different heights, something feels off when you step from one to the other. In the same way, if a textile’s pattern or texture is too scratchy or inharmonious, the person drying their hands notices the irregularity. When people design architecture and textiles, these elements have to be taken into account because of that functional element. The larger ideas of both crafts are their inherent details and intricacies. I often refer to weaving as “mental gymnastics”. The outputs of a loom are dependent on the inputs: the intersection of threading, tie-ups and treadling. In a particular warp, you can have multiple outputs depending on those factors and decide how you want to express it. The two progress shots below show how you can have two styles come out of the same threading, one more modern and sporadic and one more traditional and calculated.
In the same way as weaving, architecture is also about the intersections of pieces at larger scales. These ideas play with dimension, color and perspective through the details of their construction. With the time I’ve had at Peter’s Valley, I’ve been able to explore how those motifs can translate to handwoven pieces and express the same
architectural features. Though all of the pieces are woven, architectural movements like Bauhaus and De Stijl as well as modern textile artists such as Susie Taylor and my grandmother, Margriet Carrico, help to inform the ways in which I’ve approached textile design through architecture. Intersections of weft weight and color choices force certain perspectives and perceptions of the pieces, creating the dimension found often in architectural projects. These projects are still in progress and will hopefully be off the looms and into the washing stages very soon, but experimenting with these two ancient crafts has helped to prove that they are not separate art forms, but heavily related and harmonious when given the correct inputs and details.”
Patrick McMillan
Shelby Reed
June Melton
Sarah Patterson
Ernest Aryee
Jayne King
Adrienne Sloane
Xin Xu
trying to organize it all. I guess this is one of those random situations that I wouldn’t have imagined myself in. If there’s one thing that a lot of my courses have taught me, it’s to not think too hard; just do, create! There’s beauty in entropy! Some things don’t need to be organized, dissected, and understood to be beautiful and appreciated for the “mess” that it is.”
“Hello everyone! My name is Inique– Unique with an I– and I make things. I’m so grateful to GlassRoots and Peter’s Valley for this opportunity! During my time here at Peters Valley, I’ve taken bookbinding, blacksmithing, fine metals and fibers. While I’ve genuinely enjoyed every class I’ve taken, fibers with Shannah Warwick has taken the cake (you can check out her work 
With my time here so far I’ve grown to learn that there are genuinely no mistakes in art. With every piece you create, you are the narrator and your art is the story, and when you’re an artist, the stories never end.”
“I am an art educator who is entering into her 25th year of teaching (23 spent at High Point Regional High School in Sussex, NJ). I teach wonderful 9-12 graders drawing, painting, sculpture, ceramics, jewelry, stained glass, and many other fine crafts. I am honored to be a teacher and I have built lifelong friendships with my art students (including Raechel, who works in the Peters Valley office).
I learned so much and made a really gigantic pot! I was amazed by the challenge and fun of it all. I loved my course mates, who were all females ranging from a college student at Temple University to a retired art teacher who gave me a glimpse of myself in 10 years. The retired art teacher and I immediately gravitated toward one another and made plans to visit art museums together as soon as we can! Everyone who comes to Peters Valley is so special and I love how each has their own unique story. 
On the second-to-last day of our course, our pots had gone into the firing and our entire group – including our instructor – decided to take a long walk up to the studios at Thunder Mountain. It was an amazing 5-mile trek that included getting to know each other on a deeper level, exploring the local flora and fauna of our gorgeous area, and seeing an old foundation of a tavern from the early settlers of the area. We also got to visit the fibers/fabric-dying artists and the woodworkers in their respective studios. It was so fun to see their wide range of work and share in their excitement of being completely immersed in the making process!
One of my advanced level painters recently took her first-ever sculpture class, and again, I went to go visit her and have lunch with her under the pavilion. Each time I ‘crash in’ on any Peters Valley course, everyone is so welcoming. Last time I went, Bruce had such glowing things to say about the high school program I run at High Point and publicly announced them to all the folks taking the course. It made me feel so validated as a teacher and an artist hearing that from Bruce, who happens to be an absolute ROCK STAR in the international art world. Each and every experience I have had at Peters Valley has been positive and life-changing for me. 
I’m excited for my next couple of weeks here at Peters Valley and for all things I can make here. See you at the end of the summer.”