Amy Meissner is Artist in Residence at Bunnell Street Arts Center from October 2-15. Her accompanying exhibit opens on Friday, October 2nd from 5-7pm with an artist talk at 6pm, alongside artist Kalina Wińska. While in residence Meissner offers two repair workshops to the Homer community on October 3 and October 10.

Artist Statement:

“My studio practice combines traditional handwork, found objects, and abandoned or valueless textiles to reference literal, physical, and emotional labor. My social practice fosters repair culture by teaching the craft of clothing and textile repair as an act of prolonging, care, and accompaniment of vulnerable objects in transition. These two facets have either led or followed one another for several years — one conducted in solitude, the other in community, both addressing material fragility and long-term care of things.

Repair as the burdensome, inefficient task seems defined in our consuming-discarding-replacing society, but isn’t repair the generous entity? It offers itself relentlessly while we often ignore this insistent appeal to accompany, learn, and make better. What if we took this invitation seriously? Repair asks us to care, act, commune with more-than-human worlds, occupying the attachment between use and disuse. It tests our hubris.”

A Residency in Repair acts as a site for learning about construction, deconstruction, re-construction, and the evolving nature of materials, community, and self. Daily tending through repair elicits an aesthetic of care – and whether a completed mend is visible or not, Amy believes the act of repair should be. Witnessing this labor allows us all to understand its potentiality and consider the potency of repair as a first response to brokenness.

Repairing by Hand

Saturday October 3, 11-2 pm | $10 – $40 sliding scale

Plain weave darning, patching, embroidery and Sashiko – We will discuss techniques and tools for repairing socks, sweaters, and lightweight/fashion denim or woven fabrics with needle and thread. Exposure to other people’s repairs and solutions broaden all our skills. Various yarns, needles, and tools will be provided. If you have extra, please consider sharing with others. If you require a specific color yarn, please source in advance. Registration required: https://bunnell-street-arts-center.square.site/tickets-workshops

Repairing with Children: Stuffed Animal Repair

Saturday October 10, 11-1pm | $10-30 suggested donation

Families are invited to bring beloved stuffed friends in need of care. We will repair seams by hand, hand clean and re-stuff animals, and learn how to look at our toys closely and often to determine when and how caregiving can happen. Basic supplies such as fabric scraps, needles, thread, scissors, and polyfil stuffing provided. Minors must be accompanied by adults. Registration required: https://bunnell-street-arts-center.square.site/tickets-workshops

Bunnell Street Arts Center’s “Alaska AIR” Residency Program is made possible with support from the National Endowment for the Arts, and Bunnell members and donors to the 2025 Alaska AIR fundraising campaign. This residency is made possible with additional support from the Homer Fiber Arts Collective.