Contemporary Handweavers of Texas
Conference
Save the Date - June 2013
Take a look at our 2011 Conference presenters!
Members Exhibit Judge and Presenter:
Betty Vera
Betty Vera is an award-winning artist who has taught fibers at Montclair State University (New Jersey) and the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York. She presents intensive workshops at craft schools, conferences, and fiber guilds. The interactions between warp and weft color have always played an important part in her hand-woven tapestries—which combine warp painting, loom-controlled weave structures, and tapestry techniques—as well as in her Jacquard weavings.
Her work is widely exhibited and collected, and has been published in many books and magazines, includingAmerican Craft, Fiberarts, Shuttle Spindle & Dyepot,Surface Design and several editions of the Fiberarts Design Book. Betty has received numerous grants and awards, including a 2010 Silvio and Eugenia Petrini Grant from the Handweavers Guild of America. A former resident of New York City, she now lives and maintains her studio in the mid-Hudson Valley.
Spinning Judge and Presenter:
Patsy Zawistoski
Patsy Zawistoski will be the CHT 2011 spinning judge and instructor. She earned both the COE Certificate of Excellence in Handspinning from the Handweavers Guild of America and the Master's Certificate. She has taught workshops for many guilds, shops, arts programs, and conferences, including SOAR (four times) and Convergence (seven times).
Patsy will be conducting 3 full-day spinning workshops: “Spinning Cotton”, “Spinning Flax into Linen”, “Spinning Hemp and Ramie” and a ½ day workshop, “Fine Wool Spinning”. Her website is www.spinninguru.com.
Patsy will be conducting 3 full-day spinning workshops: “Spinning Cotton”, “Spinning Flax into Linen”, “Spinning Hemp and Ramie” and a ½ day workshop, “Fine Wool Spinning”. Her website is www.spinninguru.com.
Diane Ferguson – Diane’s love of weaving began decades ago as she watched her sister's Blue Bird troop weave place mats from paper. In Textiles Science class at the university, she was informed that no one used handlooms anymore. After buying an antique floor loom for $20, she went on to buy bigger and better looms and weave more and more complicated pieces in double weave pickup, transparencies and almost every technique offered in a workshop.
Ferguson has taught weaving at a local crafts store and natural dyeing with paste resist at CHT. On occasion she gives lectures on eclectic subjects as requested, including “Just say No to Overshot.” Now she is back to simple off-loom weaving - cutting slits in hand dyed and digitally printed fabric and weaving images of the earth – as well as using her handwoven fabrics as the basis for experiments in deconstructed screen printing with fiber reactive dyes.
Ferguson has taught weaving at a local crafts store and natural dyeing with paste resist at CHT. On occasion she gives lectures on eclectic subjects as requested, including “Just say No to Overshot.” Now she is back to simple off-loom weaving - cutting slits in hand dyed and digitally printed fabric and weaving images of the earth – as well as using her handwoven fabrics as the basis for experiments in deconstructed screen printing with fiber reactive dyes.
Judy Pritchett - With a BFA degree in hand, some travel, followed by a MFA degree, I began a career of teaching art in colleges and art schools. When feeling the need to expand educating others to the benefits of fiber exploration, I became involved as a founding member of Kid ‘N Ewe.
All forms of art require thought and concentration. Fiber art is no exception. I love the colors and textures involved in working with fiber and the endless ways to express myself. My focus has been in weaving and simple knitting but I have explored all forms of art and fiber art. “Experience it” is one of my mottos. Another is “What if…?”.
Presently I am a professor of art at Tyler Junior College. Classes include Weaving and Art Appreciation online.
All forms of art require thought and concentration. Fiber art is no exception. I love the colors and textures involved in working with fiber and the endless ways to express myself. My focus has been in weaving and simple knitting but I have explored all forms of art and fiber art. “Experience it” is one of my mottos. Another is “What if…?”.
Presently I am a professor of art at Tyler Junior College. Classes include Weaving and Art Appreciation online.
Inga Marie Carmel enjoys trying to convince her looms that wire and straw are really yarn, and thinks linen is an easier fiber to work with than wool. She lives and weaves in an old Victorian house in Austin, Texas with her linguist husband and tinkery middle schooler son—with the occasional summer weaving excursion to Sätergläntan in Sweden. She’s a recovering Landscape Architect with a BA from UC Berkeley, and has taught both Garden Design as well as knitting and weaving classes. She is the current Vice President of the Weavers and Spinners Society of Austin, and can be found as ingamarie on Weavolution where she also moderates the Wire, Sticks and Straw and eTextiles groups. Her article on weaving with wire appeared in Weave-zine in August of 2009.
Jennifer Moore holds an MFA in Fibers and specialized in exploring mathematical patterns and musical structures in doubleweave wall hangings. She has exhibited throughout the country and overseas, receiving numerous awards for her work, and has been featured in many weaving publications. Jennifer lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico and travels extensively to teach workshops in doubleweave, in color, and in geometric design. She is the author of The Weaver’s Studio: Doubleweave, published by Interweave Press.
At CHT 2011, Jennifer will present both a full- and a 1/2-day design workshop, and a full day seminar on multishaft doubleweave. Jennifer’s website, www.doubleweaver.com, has many examples of her stunning doubleweave tapestries.
At CHT 2011, Jennifer will present both a full- and a 1/2-day design workshop, and a full day seminar on multishaft doubleweave. Jennifer’s website, www.doubleweaver.com, has many examples of her stunning doubleweave tapestries.
Awakenings by Jennifer Moore
Jackie Abrams has been a basketmaker since 1975, when she first apprenticed to an 81-year-old traditional white ash basketmaker. Since 1990, she has been exploring plaiting techniques, the use of heavy cotton paper as a material, and the possibilities of contemporary basketry. She exhibits her work at shows, galleries and museums, has been included in numerous books, and teaches throughout the US, Australia, Canada, and Ghana. As a teacher, she encourages exploration and experimentation.
At CHT 2011, Jackie will present 2 different full-day workshops using painted cotton watercolor papers to make beautiful baskets and a 1/2-day workshop, “Bookmaking Unfurled”. Jackie’s basket artistry is on display at www.jackieabrams.com.
At CHT 2011, Jackie will present 2 different full-day workshops using painted cotton watercolor papers to make beautiful baskets and a 1/2-day workshop, “Bookmaking Unfurled”. Jackie’s basket artistry is on display at www.jackieabrams.com.
Folded by Jackie Abrams
Charlotte Lindsay Allison - It was love at first sight when this internationally recognized fiber artist first encountered the Acadian style of spinning and weaving cotton. Captivated by the story of the Acadian peoples, she began to study their lives, struggles, and creations. Five years later, she has documented and (with the help of a Complex Weavers’ study group) recreated more than 150 Acadian textiles. Her family sleeps under Acadian-designed blankets, which Charlotte wove on a Acadian two-shaft loom.
Midge Jackson came to knitting and spinning after many years as a seamstress. She then discovered KNITTING! Then SPINNING! She finds that knitting lends itself to experimentation and exploration and loves to share her knowledge and enthusiasm with fellow fiber fanatics of all ages.
For the past sixteen years, Midge has been the chairman of the annual Wildflower Fiber Retreat, a gathering of spinners, knitters and weavers held in Tyler where she has presented workshops on knitting, spinning and other topics. She has earned prizes in knitting and spinning at the East Texas State Fair, the Kid and Ewe, Wildflower Fiber Retreat and Estes Park and Taos wool festivals. In the January, 2010 issue of Belle Armoire magazine, several of her lace wedding handkerchiefs were showcased.
For the past sixteen years, Midge has been the chairman of the annual Wildflower Fiber Retreat, a gathering of spinners, knitters and weavers held in Tyler where she has presented workshops on knitting, spinning and other topics. She has earned prizes in knitting and spinning at the East Texas State Fair, the Kid and Ewe, Wildflower Fiber Retreat and Estes Park and Taos wool festivals. In the January, 2010 issue of Belle Armoire magazine, several of her lace wedding handkerchiefs were showcased.
Sally Gelbaugh is best known as a garment weaver (see “Handwoven” issues 121 and 150). However, she has been manipulating fiber since childhood, beginning with crochet and advancing to knitting. Through classes at knitting or weaving conferences she has mastered the basics, honed her skills, and advanced her techniques so that breaking the rules in lace knitting became a freeing experience. In Random Lace Knitting you will learn how and when to incorporate lace units using the strategies Sally developed. Sally was formerly a schoolteacher in Nevada, and retired to Texas in 2003.
Lynne Lovett has been sewing since she was a little girl making doll clothes, and has been teaching sewing to adults for over 25 years. In the past 10 years, she has been teaching sewing to handweavers with a focus on fit, style, and wearable art that is truly wearable.
Lynne has a MFA in theatrical design. Her background as a theatrical designer gives her a unique perspective on fiber art and wearable art. With a son now living in Japan, her interest in textiles has spread to include the wonderful techniques used in Japan (both past and present) in textile and clothing design. Her students share her love of sewing handwoven yardage and her excitement in creating unique, beautiful, and great fitting garments,
Lynne’s students create exceptional and beautifully sewn clothing and have won many awards at both regional and national venues.
Lynne and her husband currently live in Hico, Texas, where she continues to weave and sew between teaching workshops and seminars around the country.
Lynne has a MFA in theatrical design. Her background as a theatrical designer gives her a unique perspective on fiber art and wearable art. With a son now living in Japan, her interest in textiles has spread to include the wonderful techniques used in Japan (both past and present) in textile and clothing design. Her students share her love of sewing handwoven yardage and her excitement in creating unique, beautiful, and great fitting garments,
Lynne’s students create exceptional and beautifully sewn clothing and have won many awards at both regional and national venues.
Lynne and her husband currently live in Hico, Texas, where she continues to weave and sew between teaching workshops and seminars around the country.
Merry Makela is an experienced beader, both in construction and design of original jewelry and decorative items. She has written a book called The Magic of Beaded Spherical Nets, which describes the design and construction of a family of objects from earrings and necklaces to baskets and bottle covers using seed beads and other small beads. She owned a bead store in Bryan-College Station from 1996 to 2006 and wrote many instruction sheets for the monthly meeting of Primordial Bead Society. Currently she is retired and playing with all her left over beads.
Keynote Speaker, Judge, and Presenter:
Robyn Spady
Robyn Spady completed HGA's Certificate of Excellence (COE) in 2004 with the specialized study "Loom-controlled Stitched Double Cloth." She is committed to turning the weaving world on to double-faced fabrics, four-shaft weaves, uncommon weave structures, and narrow warp weaves through her workshops and programs. Robyn has published articles in Handwoven,Strands, The Wheel, and Shuttle Spindle & Dyepot. She is also the author of Handwoven Decorative Trim and Jewelry from Your Yarn Stash.
At CHT 2011, Robyn will be presenting “Block Party”, a pre-Conference workshop, and three 1/2-day seminars: “Handwoven Decorative Trims,” “Jewelry from Thrums and Weftovers”, and ”The Devil's in the Details -- Inside and Outside the Fashion Show”. Visit her website www.spadystudios.com to view her beautiful fabrics and read her insightful blog entries.
Geraldine Woodhouse - Ever since Mom gave me her sewing scraps, I have loved tactile adventures from sewing to knitting and quilting. Years later, frame and table loom classes got me started in weaving. At Florida State University, I wove my first tapestry in an elective class, and loved the experience, prompting a study of textiles at Auburn University in Alabama.
I continue to love figural weaving (tapestry, twill figures, double weave, summer and winter, etc.). My favorite is tapestry, but I wanted to find a way to make the process go faster, so in 1996, I decided to play with transparency weaving on a small scale to speed up the creative process and to produce pictorial work with fewer picks per inch. From that I progressed to weaving small tapestries using a small diameter linen ground weft in each color weft row, an inlay technique.
Since I also love weaving figural subjects on a 16 shaft computer dobby loom, I am experimenting with combining tapestry techniques with multi-shaft design.
I continue to love figural weaving (tapestry, twill figures, double weave, summer and winter, etc.). My favorite is tapestry, but I wanted to find a way to make the process go faster, so in 1996, I decided to play with transparency weaving on a small scale to speed up the creative process and to produce pictorial work with fewer picks per inch. From that I progressed to weaving small tapestries using a small diameter linen ground weft in each color weft row, an inlay technique.
Since I also love weaving figural subjects on a 16 shaft computer dobby loom, I am experimenting with combining tapestry techniques with multi-shaft design.
DeeDee Woodbury is a weaver trained by traditional craftsmen. DeeDee began weaving in 1972 in Minneapolis where she took courses at the University of Minnesota and the Minnesota Weaver’s Guild there. Her deep interest in textiles led her to travel and study in Guatemala and Mexico and to learn 18th century American weaving techniques from a Colonial Williamsburg weaver. She also studied with Norman Kennedy, Master Weaver from Scotland, at The Marshfield School in Vermont. Connecting all of these traditions is the “clean style” of Dee Dee’s own Scandinavian and German Heritage.
DeeDee has published in Interweave Press publications and has garnered a number of awards, including the Handweavers Guild of American Award of Excellence and the Complex Weavers Award, for her textile art. Selection by Early American Homes for the Traditional Craftsmen Directory from 1995 to 2000 provided custom order opportunities, including the invitation to create a one of a kind, hand woven ornament for the White House Christmas tree in 1999.
By handweaving in natural fibers with traditional techniques, DeeDee produces a varied collection of fine linens and custom order fabrics, which complement both traditional and contemporary homes.
DeeDee has published in Interweave Press publications and has garnered a number of awards, including the Handweavers Guild of American Award of Excellence and the Complex Weavers Award, for her textile art. Selection by Early American Homes for the Traditional Craftsmen Directory from 1995 to 2000 provided custom order opportunities, including the invitation to create a one of a kind, hand woven ornament for the White House Christmas tree in 1999.
By handweaving in natural fibers with traditional techniques, DeeDee produces a varied collection of fine linens and custom order fabrics, which complement both traditional and contemporary homes.
Shannon Hardy - Known for her beautiful and innovative designs, Shannon has been weaving for over 30 years. Her attention to detail and technique is coupled with an unerring eye for color. A talented and experienced weaver, she is also a veteran presenter, having taught classes and seminars locally and statewide. She is currently the past president of CHT.
Deborah Harrison has been weaving since 1986, and she began developing her own drafts soon thereafter. She weaves mostly rep rugs but enjoys the occasional diversions of triaxial and inkle weaving. She teaches across the state, has won awards for her rugs at past CHT conferences, and is currently serving as CHT president.
Deb McClintock is an independent scholar; and most recently a studio artist at the Delaware Center for Contemporary Arts. Her current specialty focus is the study of Southeast Asian weaving technology and how this technique may be applied to her textiles. As a craftsman and artist she constantly reaches to use the traditional technique of weaving to present a contemporary feeling. Currently, she is working on documenting techniques used in Cambodia and Burma.
Publications based on her research include: Ladies of Laos DVD, a self published DVD documenting techniques of Lao silk weavers, and articles in Complex Weavers Journal,September 2001 & January 2003. Deb has been a technical and/or photo contributor to several books on pattern techniques.
Publications based on her research include: Ladies of Laos DVD, a self published DVD documenting techniques of Lao silk weavers, and articles in Complex Weavers Journal,September 2001 & January 2003. Deb has been a technical and/or photo contributor to several books on pattern techniques.
Mary Macaulay is a retired public school art teacher who has enjoyed teaching fiber arts to adults and children throughout most of her entire life. She is especially fascinated with wool, but enjoys the endless possibilities of the creative process that all natural fibers provide. Her love of weaving, knitting and felting comes from a strong appreciation of Scandinavian traditions, which were tied to her up bringing and education in Minnesota. She lives in Austin, Texas, and teaches at Hill Country Weavers.
