About the Artist

Here I am, surrounded by a variety of Ethnic projects I have created during the past 25 years.

One of the first questions I am asked about Ethnic needlework is: "How did you get involved with this type of needlework?" I attribute my interest in Ethnic techniques to my membership in the Embroiderer's Guild of America. When I first joined our local guild, one of the first projects I enrolled in was a correspondence course in Norwegian Hardanger. This was a technique that was part of my personal heritage, growing up in a Norwegian-German family.

After completing the Hardanger doily, I decided it was time to discover what the needlework of my German side was like. To my surprise, there was very little information available about German textiles. When I investigated further, I discovered that this was the case for many, many other cultures. Thus began my journey – to learn not only of the needlework, but also of the reasons behind a unique technique being found in a specific ethnic group. It has been a twenty five-year adventure, which - God willing - stretches ahead of me for many more years.

Prior to offering instruction in any specific technique, I will spend about two years learning as much as I can about it. I begin my research by picking likely titles from my collection of needlework books, and reading as much as I can about the technique. Because I have a collection of over 400 books (continually growing), this phase can take several weeks to complete. If I am lucky, during this time I have found someone on the Internet that has "hands-on" knowledge about the technique that they are willing to share with me. Occasionally, as a result of visiting an antique store, I will have found a hands-on example to examine.

Then – needle in hand – I try to duplicate the needlework I've found. The majority of the time, I will be working from pictures or brief descriptions of the technique. This experimentation is a very messy process, which ends up with a pile of sample swatches using a variety of fibers and fabrics. Somewhere during the process I will have also charted some of the designs I have used.

The majority of the ethnic / folk techniques I study were stitched on functional objects, which were then used up / used out during their lifetime. This fact is reflected in my choice of class models, which I create as useable projects - no samplers here. I feel my model should reflect a use appropriate to the traditions of the culture, as well as being an example of the technique. I try to instruct in a manner that represents a time-honored approach to the technique. I hope this intent is expressed in my company motto: "Honoring Cultural Diversity."

For those of you interested in just the facts, here they are: My name is Phyllis Maurer. I have lived in Lincoln, Nebraska since 1975, after growing up on a farm in rural Nebraska. My husband, Les Williams is the rock I have depended on throughout our 30 plus year marriage. I retired from a full-time job with the local telephone company in March 2004. Les retired from his position with the USDA Soil Conservation Service in 2006. We look forward to traveling (and to my teaching needlework) during our retirement years – provided we can find someone to cat-sit the two "family" members we share our house with.