NYGH Member Spotlight - July/August 2023 Sandra Dudley
Sandra Dudley has been influential in connecting a number of New Yorkers with intellectual and other developmental disabilities to the craft of weaving. And in doing so, Sandra connected with an important mentor in her life, Cynthia Alberto, formerly of Weaving Hand in Brooklyn.
Originally from Detroit, Sandra came to New York to become an actress, landing some acting roles and a few commercials. She is also a dancer and toured the world with a Brazilian Dance group. After an injury sidelined her from her dancing career, she went to school to become a graphic designer. She graduated from Lehman College with a BA in Fine Arts at what Sandra says was ‘a later age in life.’ After graduation, she worked at AHRC NYC as a community habilitation professional. AHRC stands for Advocacy Humanity Rehabilitation Change. Part of the job was taking her clients out into the community and get them immersed into activities. Her clients are people who have psychiatric issues ranging from bipolar to schizophrenia. She was in Brooklyn with a group of clients and saw Cynthia Alberto, from Weaving Hand. She took her first group of students to Weaving Hand, and was amazed at how her clients took to weaving. Sandra then started taking classes with Cynthia. Sandra has connected so much with weaving, she got rid of her television and now uses that space for her looms. Sandra’s style is free-form, and she finds weaving to be very soothing and relaxing.
On her mentor, Cynthia Alberto:
“Thank you Cynthia for sharing your light to a population that would otherwise be overlooked. I am forever grateful for your encouragement and support.”
One of the many things Sandra has appreciated about Cynthia Alberto:
“She included my clients in shows… She was very inclusive with my population, which I loved.” “She had a really wonderful place… My clients got to see a whole different world. It was a really great opportunity for my clients.”
Wisdom Sandra heard from Cynthia:
“Just keep plowing through. Don’t keep restarting. Everybody makes mistakes, and if they had to keep restarting, nothing would be seen. You gotta learn to work through the mistakes.”
Sandra, in reaction to Cynthia’s current health challenge (Stage IV lung cancer):
“She’s a part of the community…She’s really a very talented woman who graced everybody with open arms.”
Sandra has observed how a number of her clients felt the soothing effects of weaving. Another observation, “it’s amazing that every studio that deals with this population all have weaving looms.”
On seeing her clients weave:
“I love it - watching them and seeing the expressions on their faces.”
On what weaving means to her:
“For me personally, it means a way to express myself and create that artist inside me that for all of my life has been dying to get out in some way, shape, form or another. And I’m happy that I’m able to do it in this field. I wish I could have gotten to it a lot sooner, but hey, there’s nothing like the present.”
On being a member of the NY Guild:
"It opened up my eyes a lot… It means a lot to me. It’s a way for me to connect with people. See people who I probably would never have known. It helps me to expand my own resources, and get out of being shy about it.”
On being featured in the Member Spotlight:
“I was going to turn this down… I’ve seen some of the work that some of the other Guild members have done and I’m like, I don’t want to do this, I’m still a beginner. But I did this more so for my mentor, it was a way to talk about her, and also to show my work. It is what it is. Who knows where I’m going to be at two years from now.”
We look forward to seeing you progress on your path, Sandra!
Check out Cynthia Alberto’s Go Fund Me page: https://gofund.me/3cdb77d7
Some of the other influential weavers Sandra mentions:
Pat Williams https://www.patwilli.com
James Koehler https://www.americantapestryalliance....
Archie Brennan https://www.brennan-maffei.com
Molly Elkind https://mollyelkindtalkingtextiles.bl...
Rebecca Mezoff http://rebeccamezoff.com
With almost 200 members, the NY Guild of Handweavers provides inspiration, information and mutual support to anyone interested in weaving, tapestry, spinning or fiber arts through speakers, workshops, as well as our lending library. Visit handweavers.org for more info.
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