Renowned author and professor Joyce Carol Oates came to the Center for the Arts Tuesday and taught a special, one-hour workshop on the art of sewing oats and other various grains to fabric.
"The craft of sewing oats is vastly under-appreciated among academics these days," Oates said.
Oates began the seminar by sewing 300 oats from a packet of instant oatmeal into a cashmere sweater.
"The key to this garment is not wearing it outdoors near any birds, especially crows," Oates said.
Jimbo Jones, a sophomore English major, said he greatly enjoyed Oates' oats seminar.
"Mostly I've been taking English classes, which I like - especially the one on how to write headlines for newspapers - but her seminar is making me seriously consider a career in arts and crafts," Jones said.
Oates also attached wheat grain to a winter jacket and sewed barley to a scarf.
"Sewing oats has always been an obsession of mine," Oates said. "If it wasn't for my publisher's objections, I would be known as the author of 'Foxfire: Confessions of a Oat-Sewing Girl Gang' and 'Small Avalanches of Oats.'"
Uday Sukhatme, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, said he hopes to bring Oates back for more seminars on sewing oats in the future and added the series may even be expanded.
"We're seeking a corporate sponsorship from the Quaker Company, which would really boost the promotion we would be able to do for the event," Sukhatme said.
Sukhatme added the College of Arts and Sciences is looking to bring author Amy Tan in to teach a seminar on tanning beds and the proper use of sunscreen.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
