Time Warp: Contemporary Textiles of the Northwest Coast

EXTENDED until February 27, 2011

Public Programming
– Mark Your Calendars!
Weaving Demonstration
A Public Program with Textile Artist, Clarissa Rizal
Saturday January 29 & Sunday, January 30, 2011 1:30 – 3:30pm
At the Bill Reid Gallery of Northwest Coast Art
639 Hornby Street, Vancouver

Admission included with regular Gallery Admission
Adults $10, Seniors/Students $7, Youth/Child $5, Members FREE
(RSVP not required)

Clarissa is one of 20 Aboriginal fibre artists participating in the Gallery’s featured exhibition, Time Warp. Of Tlingit ancestry, she is a dynamic presenter and excels in both Naaxiin and Raven’s Tail weaving and other art media, winning six best-of-show awards to date. She will be demonstrating both Raven’s Tail and Naaxiin (Chilkat) weaving.

This public program is presented as part of the Gallery’s featured exhibition, Time Warp: Contemporary Textiles of the Northwest CoastTime Warp celebrates the textile and fibre art of 20 emerging, mid-career and internationally recognized Aboriginal artists from Alaska, Yukon, BC, and Washington State. The exhibition runs through Feb 27, 2011.

FIBRES WEST 2011

WHAT: Third Annual FIBRES WEST 2011 , a spinning, weaving, knitting trade show
WHERE: Abbotsford Exhibition Park, AgRec Bldg, 32470 Haida Drive, Abbotsford
WHEN: March 18, 19, 2011. Friday 10-6, Saturday 10-5
COST: Adults $8.00, Students/Seniors $5.00, kids 12 and under free
URL: www.fibreswest.com

Local, BC Fibre Vendors
Free lectures
Knit Cafe (sponsored by the Fraser Valley Knitting Guild)
Artisan Gallery
Kids Fibre Activities
Free demos – watch experts spinning, weaving, needle felting, knitting, carding and more!
Inexpensive, short classes – weaving, spinning, knitting, felting, basketry and more…

osloom: open source jacquard loom

Dear weavers, fiber friends and colleagues,

For those of you who are not familiar with the project, osloom is a project aimed at creating an open source electromechanical thread-controlled floor loom that will be computer controlled. osloom will be a Jacquard style loom which unlike traditional floor looms which allow for basic patterns to be created, Jacquard looms allow for the individual control of each thread which in turn allows for photographic imagery to be woven. Jacquard looms like this exist commercially but they are very expensive (upwards of $60,000) which puts them out of reach for individuals and small educational facilities.

The osloom could be produced way more economically than that and truly revolutionize what the studio weaver could accomplish. The idea of a DIY open source loom is one that not only artists could benefit from but many individuals and learning centers could gain a resource by building one of these looms as well.

The project looks forward to whatever help you can provide and couldn’t come to fruition it without it and for that I thank you.

● Spread the word. Have a blog? Or know a friend who might find osloom interesting? Know of a forum or list that may be of interest? Forward this email to anyone that may be interested. Spread the word, and let us know if you need more information!

● Join. Join our mailing list at osloom.org, our Facebook group and follow us on Twitter. There will be contributor opportunities available after the May 1st deadline. We will spread the word via all the above mentioned channels once they are online.

● Keep us in the loop. You may be in the know of opportunities that osloom could participate in or benefit from. You may know of lists or people that we should talk to. If that is the case, your suggestions are welcome and please keep us in the loop.

Sponsorship opportunities are available, if you know of a company or institution interested please let us know!

Warmest regards,~margarita benitez

If you require additional information about osloom please visit osloom.org or contact me at osloom.org@gmail.com.

tel. 312-469-8381
email: osloom.org@gmail.com
http://www.osloom.org

Thinking of traveling to Norway??

We are pleased to announce Refashioning Vadmel, a weaving and design workshop in Telemark, Norway that seeks to revitalize traditional Norwegian weaving and fulling techniques and promote the continued breeding and husbandry of spelsau sheep.  Throughout the course of two weeks, participants weave, cut, and shape vadmel using traditional methods of production, fashioning their cloth into distinctive contemporary garments.

Workshop dates: May 29 – June 11, 2011

Visit our website for more information:  http://web.me.com/carolcolburn/Site/Welcome.html

Please help us spread the word!

Tusen takk!

Carol and Mae Colburn (Outreach Coordinators)

Colour and Weave Workshop

Tuesday May 3 & Wednesday May 4: There are 5 seats still available for this Anne Field workshop. Please let Maureen know if you would like to register for this workshop before February 1st. At this point we will be opening the workshop up to other guilds and you may then not be able to get a seat! The cost will be approximately $175 for the 2-day workshop and will be firmed up once venue costs have been determined. We’ll need a deposit of $100 to reserve your seat in the workshop. My e-mail is workshops@lwsg.org . The following is a brief description of the workshop. A more complete description is available on Anne Field’s website www.annefield.co.nz .

Students will bring along a four-shaft loom, already threaded following instructions sent prior to the workshop. Students will be concentrating on the use of colour in weaving. We will experiment with different colour combinations in yarns, firstly planning and sampling colours, using colour wheels as aids, then weaving pieces which reflect each weavers’ personal choices. In the process of discovering colour, we will also be learning such techniques as stripes and blocks, pattern weft-face, boundweaving, flamepoint, linked weft, weaving curved shapes, chaining and crocheting, and rya. Students should be able to thread their own loom, and have done some basic weaves, such as tabby and twill.

Weavolution online classroom

Here is a great chance to learn weaving online from the comfort of your own home.

Cyber-Fiber: the Weavolution online classroom

Take a weaving class from the comfort of your own home. Cyber-Fiber classes are taught online via video web conferencing, compatible with both Mac and PC computers. For most classes, all you need is internet connection, a microphone and speakers to join the fun. Some classes may also require use of a webcam.

Cyber-Fiber classes offer a small, intimate setting with limited class size, and a wide range of weaving topics taught by experienced teachers who are active on Weavolution. Attend a FREE Open House and learn more about how it works. For a list of classes in a calendar view, click on this link. Visit the Cyber-Fiber FAQs to read more about the classes.