As the Director of Howard University’s Community Association and the former chair of the DC Zoning Commission, Maybelle Taylor Bennett, is always up for a challenge. While the Shaw neighborhood is not her neighborhood of residence she has shown a deep commitment to the community through her work and exemplary service. It was through this commitment that she learned about ArtSpace.

Maybelle got her start with fibers early in her life from her mom, Ruby Mills Bennett. Since then she has developed an incredible set of skills in the fiber arts. She has graced the ArtSpace program with something she loves to do…getting her hands tangled in thread and teaching others what she has learned. She has an incredible sense to detail and a special sensitivity to working with others who are realizing their creative potential. All of her students know her as the “take it out queen”. She can spot the slightest deviation from a pattern a mile away. Her attention to detail also means that she knows what it takes to intricately bring threads together. Therefore she is the first to praise each student for the success in each step of the project. She has not only taught students to do amazing work, but she has produced many masterpieces, as well. The fiber arts class often takes time for “show and tell”.

For 15 years, Maybelle has faithfully taught many, many students at ArtSpace voluntarily. She has a knack for gathering “heavy” equipment and supplies needed to make a successful fiber arts program. She has remained dedicated thru the many changes and challenges of the ArtSpace program.  Watching her students succeed and grow in their own creative endeavors is what she is most proud of. But what is most impressive about Maybelle is the way she is able to weave and knit a community through her fiber arts classes. This community that she has helped to create becomes more important than completing a project.