Carole Ricketts Corey, a Plainfield fiber artist, holds one of the Angora rabbits that she raises for their natural wool, which she uses in her projects. Ricketts Corey will be the Maker in Residence at The Studio inside the Greenwood Public Library in the month of April.
SUBMITTED PHOTO
One thing led to another.
Carole Ricketts Corey describes herself as always being a crafty, creative person. The Plainfield resident learned to sew and quilt in grade school, cross stitch and scrapbook in high school, crochet and knit in college, and she learned to spin her own wool on a spinning wheel while earning her master’s degree.
“I just kept going down the rabbit hole,” she said. “I’d learn a skill, and see what was next.”
Ricketts Corey is set to share her love of fiber arts with the community throughout April. She can be found all during the month at the Studio at Greenwood Public Library, where she is the latest installation of the Maker in Residence program.
Over the month, she will offer classes in needle felting, drop spindle, natural fiber dyeing and Kool-Aid fiber dyeing for kids.
Ricketts Corey is set to host a “demo day” at the Studio on Saturday to introduce herself and showcase a little bit of the art that’s become a passion for her. Visitors may even get to meet some of her furry Angora rabbits, which provides her with the yarn she uses in her work.
“It’ll be cool to see the whole process, from the rabbit to the finished pieces. So we’re excited for that,” said Valerie Holbrook, marketing specialist for Greenwood Public Library.
Ricketts Corey is the third artisan to be include in the Maker in Residence program. Library officials started it in early 2023 to take advantage of The Studio on the library’s second floor.
The Studio opened in 2019 as the Greenwood Public Library’s designated maker space. The renovated room houses a wide variety of equipment available to the community, such as a Glowforge and Cricut. Nearly 30 art and STEAM-based kits are also available to use within the studio space.
Library staff have envisioned The Studio as a place where the public could interact with local artists.
“It really fits well with our maker-space. We’re all about celebrating the artists in the area and the creative types in that space, so being able to highlight different artists seems like a great fit for that area,” Holbrook said.
In April 2023, they welcomed their first artist as Maker in Residence, Dianna Porter, an award-winning fine artist, illustrator and teacher from Greenwood. September featured Sonja Lehman, a whimsical paper artist.
When Holbrook was researching artists to come in for one of the library’s demonstration events, she found Ricketts Corey.
“I was looking around her site, and thought she did quite a bit of cool stuff. I thought she might be a good Maker in Residence,” Holbrook said.
Ricketts Corey’s talents have grown from quilting and crocheting to spinning machine embroidery, dying wool, needle felting, jewelry making and Cricut crafting.
Her pursuit of fiber art excellence has led her to maintaining a “bunny barn” with Angora rabbits so she always has her own fiber source.
“I fell in love with it, and just wanted to keep increasing my skills and learning how to do it all,” she said. “It’s always been my creative outlet.”
Greenwood library staff connected with Ricketts Corey about being a Maker in Residence, and she thought it sounds like a fun idea. She had previously served a maker residency at Plainfield schools in early 2023, so she was prepared to step into the position in Greenwood.
“I love supporting public libraries, so literacy and books are important to me,” she said. “I think we need to have more of a conversation about the importance of the role of libraries in communities. Those libraries are more than just books; they are resources for programs like this.”
After an interview with Ricketts Corey, library staff worked with her on creating a month of activities for the community. They had learned from the first two Makers in Residence that the most popular aspects of the program were classes, so they focused on creating a multitude of classes.
“We worked with Carole about what ideas she had on what would be good for classes. There are quite a few things she does with fiber, but we were very interested just on how she makes yarn,” Holbrook said.
Throughout April, Ricketts Corey will lead classes in needle felting, drop spindle and natural fiber dyeing. For kids, she will be doing a special dyeing class using Kool-Aid.
“There’s a need for fiber arts education. There seems to be quite a desire for classes on crocheting and other heirloom skills,” she said. “It can be hit-or-miss if that need can be fulfilled, so I’m happy to fulfill it.”
People are invited to the demonstration day from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Saturday to learn more about Ricketts Corey’s art.
“I feel really blessed that this is my job,” she said. “I get to do what I love, I get to share my passion with people. And it’s often something people don’t understand, how things get made from the animal to the end product. I’m very happy to be able to fill in those blanks.”
AT A GLANCE
Greenwood Public Library Maker in Residence
Who: Carole Ricketts Corey, a Plainfield fiber artist specializing in crochet, knitting, spinning and dyeing wool, needle felting and more.
What: Ricketts Corey will be offering classes and demonstrations throughout April as part of the Maker in Residence program at the library.
Where: 310 S. Meridian St., Greenwood
Classes
Saturday: Demo Day, 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
April 10: Drop spindle class, 6 p.m.
April 18: Needle felting class, 6 p.m.
April 20: Kool-Aid fiber dyeing class for kids, 10:30 a.m.
April 20: Natural fiber dyeing class, 1:30 p.m.
April 22: Drop spindle class, 6 p.m.
Information and registration: greenwoodlibrary.us/makerinresidence
