Harmony Weavers Guild

Eli Akerfeldt-Howard will present a program/workshop on May 11, 2023.

This presentation will aim to lay the foundations for what sustainability is, who is responsible for it, and how we can contribute as fiber artists. Some of the topics that will be covered include:

• • How to define sustainability as it relates to the fashion and textile industry
  • The emergence of sustainable discourse in North American culture
  • A closer look at corporate social and environmental responsibility
  • Who is responsible for making sustainability “happen”?
  • The Maker Movement and topics of scale and locality in relation to sustainable discourse
  • The intersection of fiber arts and sustainability
  • How sustainability has shaped my practices at Hemma Textiles thus far

March’s Program — Zoom and in-person

March 9 @ 10:00 a.m.
Deflected Double Weave presented by Natalie Drummond

Natalie Drummond is an educator and fiber artisan from Fremont, Indiana.
She learned to weave from a Fort Wayne Weaver’s Guild instructor 2017. Fine Arts instruction in Craftmanship and Design from Purdue (Fort Wayne) University followed in 2015. She expanded her weaving knowledge with classes at the John C Campbell Folk School, The Mannings, Red Stone Glen, Island Fiberwork Retreats, Midwest, MAFA, and Convergence conferences.
She was awarded a MAFA fellowship in 2019 and has been studying and working with Deflected Doubleweave ever since. She was featured in Handwoven magazine in November/December 2021. Her work has been featured in area exhibitions in Indiana.
Her handwovens have been exhibited in the Orchard Gallery of Fine Arts in Fort Wayne as part of the Georgia: Color: Classic to Contemporary Exhibit, as well as at First Gallery, the History Center, and Crestwoods Gallery.
Natalie will be presenting a talk with slides of her work to illustrate her use of color and weave structure. These were developed within her weaving journey; and, may hopefully give us insights into her process for mixing fibers and colors with the Deflected Doubleweave weave structure.
Natalie weaves on an 8-shaft Macomber loom. She has effectively proven that wonderful designs are possible with four or eight shafts by good use of color, fiber, and block arrangements. She also writes a blog with excellent photos and commentary on color pooling – see https://www.nataliewoven.com/blog

February’s Program
February 9 @ 10:00 a.m. — via Zoom

Decades of travel to over 30 countries has given me a deep appreciation for textiles and their history.
I learned to spin in the UK. I’ve sold yarn on Etsy and in marketplaces – I love to spin in public as so few people these days have ever seen a spinning wheel or spindle in action!
These days I teach hand-spinning and very gentle chair yoga. My yarns focus on sustainability, making use of rare breed (endangered) wool and reclaimed & recycled materials.
I am on the Handweavers Guild of America’s Board of Directors in regards to the importance of sustainability in the fiber arts, and I give talks on sustainability and the fiber arts.
I have been published in Ply Magazine (The Prep Issue). I have also written for Shuttle Spindle & Dyepot – the journal of the Handweavers Guild of America – Spring 2021 & Summer 2022.

presented by Mary Jane Svenson
10:00 a.m. — via Zoom & In Person

I went in search of the rebozo. What I found was an amazing rich history of many crafts, including textiles and an abundance of current productive and creative artisans.

In February and March 2020. we traveled through Mexico in our Airstream as part of a caravan, crossing into Mexico at Nogales and traveling as far as Taxco, the silver city, south of Mexico City.

I had plans to spend time visiting weavers in two locations but due to Covid, my plans were cancelled. However, every market, shop and gallery featured the arts and crafts of their town, city, region. Museums and regional art centers provided the abundant textile history and information about specific regional crafts.

Included in the presentation (but not limited to) photos and/or examples I collected:

• Overview of Mexico
• Rebozos, history of and how/where they are oven — including ikat methods
• Embroidery, examples and applications to huipils, runners, etc.
• Beadwork by Huichol
• Basketry of the Raramuri
• Handwovens of Patzcuara – Tablecloths, bedspreads

January Meeting Place:
NEW ARK UNITED CHURCH of CHRIST
300 E. Main St.
Newark, DE 19711

If you are traveling west on East Main, the church is located on the right side of Main St., just past the Newark Emergency Room. If you pass the restaurant, “Grain on Main”, you have gone too far. There is a blue sign with white letters in front. The turn into the church is just before the sign. Please park in the back of the church. There are 3 handicapped parking spots in front of the church. Those parking in back can use the back entrance to the church.

Presented by Gynnie Moody
November 10 @ 10:00 a.m.
October’s In person/Zoom Program
Triaxial weaving is adapted from a basket weaving technique intertwining three elements at unique angles. The program will cover its history, modern applications, and artistic adaptations. After a brief program, those who have registered will have an opportunity to create their own piece using ribbons. It will be a wonderful way to experience the magic of color interaction.
Mad weave is another name for Triaxial weaving and you will understand why as you are adding that third elements.
Registration and payment of a $5.00 material fee will secure your spot in the workshop. If you have not already done so and would like to participate, please contact Gynnie Moody. You may pay the material fee with PayPal no later than October 5. You will need to bring your lunch, a pair of scissors, and sturdy straight pins or T pins. Ribbons 7/8″ wide in a wide variety of colors will be provided, as well as, foam core boards and instructions. You will leave by 2:00 PM hopefully with a finished piece.
Gynnie comes from a family of makers and does not remember a time when she was not fascinated with textiles. She has traveled extensively focusing on textiles and has dabbled in a number of textiles arts. Her work usually reflects her interest in layering and creating an illusion of depth. She has been a member of Harmony Weavers Guild since the late 1980s.

September’s Program
September 8 @ 10:00 a.m.

Igshaan Adams hails from Cape Town, South Africa and works specifically with textiles, beads and wire sculpture creations. His art is very abstract; imprinting a contemporary and modern twist to weaving. It can be a wall hung tapestry made with found objects, bits of cloth, fiber, shells, rope, wire and beads; a filigree freestanding structure containing elements reminiscent of dust or small storm clouds; may cover a spot on the floor – reminding one of a memory of a garden path or park; or an installation in this exhibit which represents his childhood memories. A prior exhibit of his work, “Kicking Dust”, incorporates his own history and community with a dance done in Cape Town in which the participants actually kick up clouds of dust. Indeed, his pieces incorporate his history and life’s journey.

We will explore his work in a long interview with the artist about his works in an exhibition called “Desire Lines” by the Art Institute of Chicago. The interview will touch on pathways he chose and boundaries that he encountered as he proceeded along his journey. In truth, where do we expect to go and where do we actually end up? Indeed, Igshaan will discuss his works in depth and how his experiences and beliefs have evolved his art and contributed to what we see in this exhibit (it closed in July so these are his most recent effort.) His work employs symbolism which is at once both exotic and beautiful.

Some ideas to consider while viewing – do you consider your weaving a practice or an art form? And what is the difference between the practice of your craft and art or is there a difference? How has your practice evolved and where will you go next with it? Has your life’s experiences and choices influenced your art / craft and how so?

We’d love to have you join us (either via Zoom or in person), but if you can’t, here is a link to the movie – Art Institute of Chicago Artist Talk: Igshaan Adams,
April 2, 2022

Thursday, April 14, 2022 @ 10:00 a.m.

Justin Squizzero describes his work as weaving “cloth that honors the integrity of its material and traditional technique.” His family was involved in historical re-enactments, so developing expertise in historic crafts was not far afield for him. In his early teens, Squizzero learned from his grandmother how to spin, knit, sew, and dye yarn. She taught him how to card a fleece of raw sheep’s wool and use the threads to weave fabric on a loom.

Justin interned and then worked at the Marshfield School of Weaving in central Vermont. From there, he worked at museums and as a historical re-enactor at Plimoth Patuxet Museums and Old Sturbridge Village in Massachusetts. He is now living in rural Newbury, Vermont, in an 1810 farmhouse he is restoring called The Burroughs Garret after the original builder. He works on historically accurate reproductions, on 18th and 19th century equipment, and has an appreciation for the handmade tools and the quality of workmanship prevalent at that time. Squizzero knits together a living creating high-end fabrics for museums, galleries, collectors and historical sites such as Mount Vernon and Colonial Williamsburg.

In this program, Justin will give a brief overview of how he came to handweaving and then details the history of his Jacquard equipment, how the loom works, and the entire process of recreating a coverlet woven in 1830. For a preview of his work, go to his website: www.theburroughsgarret.com There you will find videos, photos of Justin, his equipment and some of his creations.