Prin van Gulden is a homesteader and craftswoman passionate about illuminating our connections to land and humanity through traditional skills. Humans have spent thousands of years developing ecological relationships, along with skills to create beauty and utility to meet the needs of cultures. She believes the relationships we maintain with the ecological world as we re-learn to utilize the gifts of nature are as essential as the hand’s-on skills we regain.
Prin aspires to help our culture maintain and evolve those relationships, and not to let those skills atrophy, by working in her community, with students, and by always continuing to hone her own skills and keep learning. Her practice is centered on the fiber arts, including basketry and textile weaving, spinning, feltmaking and natural dyeing.
She lives and homesteads in Craftsbury, Vermont with her family (Four people and one big dog in a yurt). There she grows a wide range of plants for crafting, from flax (for linen), cotton, and various dye plants to broom corn and basketry willows.
Prin teaches the Fiber Arts curriculum at Sterling College as well as classes and workshops in Vermont and around New England.
She co-organizes and teaches at the Sloyd Skills Gathering every spring. This community oriented gathering seeks to bring to the fore everyday handcraft and deepen traditional skills practices.
Prin worked for many years as a cheesemaker and herdsperson in the Vermont artisanal cheese industry. She continues to work on her home farm and as the assistant librarian at the Craftsbury Public Library. She has taught a wide range of fiber arts courses and workshops through various organizations around the state and New England.
Prin began as an adjunct faculty member at Sterling College in 2016 and in 2021 joined the faculty. Before that she taught primarily through museums, arts centers, and various other institutions. At Sterling she teaches Basketry, Natural Dyes and Dyeing, Introduction to Weaving, and an introductory course to a broad range of fiber arts.
Profile
Award | Institution |
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BA Sustainable Agriculture | Sterling College |
Presentations |
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Historic Crests of Craftsbury's Founding Families Craftsbury Public Library- January 2017 |
Honoring Ash-An Artistic and Cultural Celebration of Ash Trees; In partnership with The Vermont Land Trust, WonderArts VT and the Orleans County Forrester. September 2019 |
Handspinning demonstration Kingdom Farm and Food Days, Hardwick, VT August 2016 |
Flax and Wool in 1800's Vermont Spring Field Days-Old Stone House Museum 2014 and 2015 |
Regular Spinning and Basketry Demonstrations at schools, farmers markets, and local cultural programs. |
Accomplishments
• Vermont Folklife Center Apprenticeship Master Craftsperson in Fiber Arts and Weaving 2019
• Annual Sloyd Skills Gathering Organizer. A gathering promoting everyday handcraft and the teaching of traditional skills. Organizer and Instructor 2018-2021
Three Books You Recommend?
Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer
Women’s Work: The First 20,000 Years by Elizabeth Wayland Barber
The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
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