Staff

Advising Board

• Stephanie Odegard
• Karen del Aquila
• Eileen Phelan
• Taylor Hall

Cynthia Alberto / Founder & Director

I am an artist and teacher. I graduated from the Fashion Institute of Technology (F.I.T.) in New York City, where I studied textile surface design with a specialization in weaving.

In 2007, I founded Weaving Hand, a Brooklyn based studio for children and adults that celebrates the art of hand weaving. In addition, Weaving Hand is a healing arts studio. Weaving Hand facilitates weaving as a creative tool to enhance developmental growth of children and adults with intellectual, emotional and physical disabilities.

I am also a resident artist at League Artist Natural Design (LAND) in DUMBO, a studio and gallery that feature work of adult artists living with disabilities. As a former employee of Odegard, I was inspired by the hand-knotted rugs that sustained weaving communities, and raised awareness and respect for the legacy of textile and carpet weaving. Weaving Hand studio focuses on the traditions of countries such as Nepal, Guatemala, Bolivia, Philippines, Japan, Laos, Morocco and Tibet.

I have exhibited my work around the world, and was the recipient of the Dan River Weaving Award, The Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant, Peters Valley Craft Center Art Educator Scholarship, NY Contemporary Art Fair, United Nations International Womens Day Exhibitions.

Rachel Miller / Teaching Artist

Rachel Miller received her MFA in Fiber from the Cranbrook Academy of Art in Michigan and her BFA from the University of the Arts in Philadelphia. Currently a teaching faculty at the Pratt Institute, she teaches Sustainable Practices in Design and additionally teaches in the Fiber Department at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia. She recently returned from a professorship in India, where she was researching and teaching Textile Design and Fibers to University students in Bangalore.

Reuben Marrquin / Teaching Artist

Ruben Marroquin is an American born Venezuelan artist. He studied fine arts at the I.U.E.S.A.P. Armando Reveron in Caracas, Venezuela, specializing painting. He received a 2 year AAS degree in textile and surface design, from the Fashion Institute of Technology and is currently in the BFA program for textile and surface design at FIT. His work has appeared in publications such as the Village Voice, the Icon and the Hue magazines from FIT and has formed part of a group exhibitions at the Sala Mendoza Gallery in Caracas, Venezuela, the umbrella gallery in New York and the Museum at FIT. He lives and works in Brooklyn.

Carolina Sutuj / Teaching Artist

My name is Maria Carolina Sutuj, I am a graduate of the Fashion Institute of Technology, State University of New York.  My major at FIT was Textile/Surface Design.

I started weaving at an early age in my home country of Guatemala.  As a child, my beloved mother taught me to weave on a traditional back-strap loom and my mother also taught me how to embroider.  I am from the ethnic group Kaqchiquel which is descended from the Mayas and making textiles is part of our culture.  Later as an adult, I came to the United States as an au pair with a private family.  In the U.S I went to community college and later I went to FIT to learn professional textile and woven design.  At FIT I use modern looms to make my textile designs. In 2009, one of my woven collections appeared in the FIT Icon magazine.

My special skills include textile and woven design, proficiency in Photoshop, Illustrator, and U4ia special textile design software, as well as fluency in Spanish and English.

Guillerma Escobar / Backstrap Weaver

Guillerma Escobar, is a backstrap weaver from cajola Guatemala. She continues the Mayan tradition of weaving handed down by her ancestors. Guillerma is also a member of DESGUA, Economic and Education Development for a Sustainable Guatemala. An organization of Guatemalans who believe in the empowerment of women, and the conservation of Mayan craft and tradition. Guillerma is our resident teacher who specializes in giving backstrap weaving workshops here at Weaving Hand.

Bonnie Breen / Occupational Therapist

Bonnie Grisar Breen has been providing Occupational Therapy (OT) services for almost 30 years since graduating from SUNY Downstate Medical Center in 1981. Her extensive work history has included working with clients  ranging from infancy to geriatrics. Her experiences have included adult rehabilitation by helping people recover from physical, cognitive, emotional, perceptual and psycho-logical impairments due to strokes, arthritis, surgery, developmental delays and other traumatic events. She formerly held the position of Chief OT of the inpatient and outpatient clinic servicing adults and pediatric clients at Lutheran Medical Center. For the past sixteen years Bonnie has focused on her pediatric practice where she has provided early intervention home care services and has been an independent contractor for the NYC Department of Education where she has serviced school aged children at the Brooklyn New School in Carroll Gardens for the past 12 years and serviced the children of P.S.321 in Park Slope, Brooklyn.

Iviva Olenick / Teaching Artist

Iviva Olenick is an embroiderer, weaver, and textile/surface designer based in New York City. She designs textiles for men’s clothing at Jhane Barnes Collections, and exhibits her embroidered art work regularly. She is currently represented by Muriel Guepin Gallery in Brooklyn, NY. Iviva teaches embroidery to adults at 3rd Ward in Brooklyn, NY; Pratt CCPS in NY; and the Center for Book Arts in NY.