Healing with Weaving | May 2024

Workshop Description: Join textile artist Debbie Barrett-Jones, creator of Healing with Weaving, for a two-hour weaving workshop hosted by the Leedy Foundation as a part of their Art & Mindful Workshop Series. Weaving can help reduce anxiety and can help with grief and loss, leading to a healthier and more grateful you. During this two-hour workshop, you will learn weaving basics, all while connecting with others. Weaving together fosters human connections and reminds us that we’re not alone in this journey. Each participant will receive a small frame loom and yarn supplies to create their own woven creation to take home after the workshop. About the Artist: Since graduating from the Kansas City Art Institute (KCAI), textile artist Debbie Barrett-Jones has exhibited her work throughout the United States, including the Kansas City area locations, such as Children’s Mercy Hospital in North Kansas City, Truman Medical Center, Community Christian Church, Lead Bank in the Crossroads of Kansas City and The Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art. And in late 2016, she collaborated with the Kansas City Ballet for an Unspoken art installation and performance. In May of 2023, Barrett-Jones graduated with her Master of Fine Art at the University of Kansas, focusing on textiles. Currently, Barrett-Jones was one of nineteen Kansas City artists to be commissioned to make permanent public artwork for the new KCI Airport. In 2016, she began envisioning the “Healing with Weaving” initiative to highlight how art, specifically weaving, can be a therapeutic tool for healing. The first Healing with Weaving Community Outreach Program’s pilot project at Children’s Mercy Hospital Adele Hall Campus in Kansas City, MO. The project provides 200 Healing with Weaving Frame Loom Kits with instructions to be used by patients, family members and staff to explore the meditative and therapeutic benefits of weaving during the summer and fall of 2021.