I welcome both individual students and small groups to my home studio in scenic New Hope, Pennsylvania. New Hope is an "arts destination" worthy of a visit in its own right. So come for some personalized instructions and stay to explore the art galleries and the antique shops.
You've heard the story: "Color‐texture people" collect yarn; "structure‐pattern" people collect looms. When you step through our front door, you'll discover that we collect everything! You may find yourself weaving samples on everything from a 24 shaft dobby looms to a 4 shaft direct tieup loom ‐‐ or something in between. In addition to looms and yarn, you will also find that we collect antique spinning wheels, old barn looms, and a wide variety of spinning, weaving, and bobbin lace tools.
Whether you are interested in mastering a particular weave structure, such as overshot, or a design technique (with or without the aid of the computer), I'll be happy to discuss your interests and tailor a private tutoring session for one or more students.
Below are descriptions of a couple of typical sessions that have been well-received by my private students. Let me know what your particular interests are and I'll be happy to tailor a session or two to fit your needs.
Tutoring rates begin at $35 an hour and range upward depending on your specific requirements and any materials costs that might be necessary. Contact us directly for more information.
Digital images are a wonderful source of color ways for weaving. You will first explore color interactions using colored papers gathered from various sources. Next you will learn how to develop a color scheme for your next woven piece using a favorite digital image.
Learn how to use the image tools you already have on your computer (for example, Microsoft Paint) as well as other free or low‐cost tools readily available on the web. If your laptop has built‐in wireless access, you will be able to download demo versions of some of the tools that I have found valuable so that you can try them out for yourself. Once you have created a few different palettes, you will then make one or more yarn wrappings (using yarns from my enormous stash) to design a multi‐colored warp. Finally, you will choose your favorite wrapping from the several you will have created and wind a scarf warp to take home and weave on your own loom.
You will need to bring your laptop computer (either MAC or PC). Also each student should bring note‐taking supplies and a selection of magazines and/or old calendars. These will be torn into small pieces (around an inch across) to use for color interaction experiments. A printer and scanner will be available for use during class. Optional, but handy: A USB flash drive for sharing images and color plans.
Weaving programs allow us to do more than just document samples to exchange with our study groups. They provide a whole new range of creative tools for developing novel, (and weave‐able!) designs. Not only can you try out single ideas quickly, you can put together commands and keystrokes in iterative procedures to generate many designs quickly‐‐designs that you are unlikely to come up with using more traditional means. Fiberworks, PixeLoom, WeaveIt Pro and Weavepoint will be used individually and in combination to illustrate how you can devise your own ‘Computer Games for Weavers’.
And, weaving programs are just as valuable to 4 and 8 shaft weavers as they are to those of us with many more. You will develop new designs and then weave samples on my pre‐warped looms. If you've been thinking about upgrading to an electronic dobby loom, this is a great opportunity to try out a couple of the ones that are available. If you want to focus on designing for the number of shafts you already have, never fear. All the multishaft looms in the studio can be programmed to weave 4 and 8 shaft designs as well as those requiring more shafts.
You will need to bring your Windows based laptop and note taking supplies. If you don't own any of the above weaving programs, you can download one or more demo versions to use during the class. It will also be useful (though not necessary) to bring a USB flash drive for sharing drafts among all participants.