It’s hard to say goodbye to this September. Warm and sunny weather throughout, lots of weaving happening in the studio, and many visitors, including quite a number of Sievers Alumni. (Did you know we keep a calendar in the office to write down those who aren’t here for class, but stop in while on the Island? In the last 10 days, we’ve recorded 18 names. How fun!) We continued weaving in September, first with Betty Glynn Carlson and her Navajo Weaving Techniques class. Several students were new to weaving in general, or to Navajo weaving, and a few returned with either a work in progress from a previous class or worked on a piece which needed the last few rows […]
Ways of weaving
There are many ways of weaving and many types of looms. Last week in one class, upright frame looms were used to teach the ways of Navajo weaving, and in another class, students learned the basics of weaving on a table loom. Although geared for beginners, each class could be used as a refresher, too. In the Navajo Weaving Techniques class taught by Betty Glynn Carlson, the looms are warped with one continuous warp and authentic Navajo wool yarns are used to create the designs. There are no mechanical parts involved in Navajo weaving, it’s just the wool placed in the warp and tamped down with a comb-type beater in the hands of the weaver. Betty has offered Navajo weaving […]
Two by twos
Weaving two by twos refers to the foundation of weaving pairs at the start (and end) of a Navajo textile, which is characterized as a child taking their first steps. With our most recent weaving classes, Navajo Weaving with Betty Glynn Carlson and Beginning Weaving with Nancy Adams and Susan Johnson as her assistant, weavers took those first steps and beyond. Using authentic Navajo patterns and wool yarns, students new to Navajo weaving worked on a small piece while those who had works in progress or wanted to explore techniques they had not tried before had the opportunity to do so with Betty’s guidance. Warping the loom as well as weaving isn’t (or shouldn’t be) measured in hours, but in […]
Stories
Each hand crafted piece has a story and the pieces made in last week’s Navajo Rug Weaving class and Open Quilt Studio all have their own stories. The reason for the choice of colors and design, who it may be given to and why, what it will remind the maker of each time they see it or what was happening around them during the process are all parts of the story. We have a story for you, too. Once upon a time, a group of people met at Sievers School for a Navajo Rug Weaving class with Betty Glynn Carlson. They started by warping the Navajo looms and choosing colors and designs that were to be the words of the […]
In contrast
There’s been a definite contrast this past week between Kay Rashka’s Metalwork Jewelry Boot Camp with students using hammers, drills, motorized hand tools, torches and all sorts of shiny and possibly even sharp-edged components for fabricating jewelry and Betty Glynn Carlson’s Navajo Rug Weaving class where students quietly and reflectively place each strand of authentic wool yarn within the warp. Come along for a tour! With Kay Rashka’s instruction, each student leaves with a collection of interesting, personalized and textured art jewelry. Navajo Weaving in itself is a journey, using unbroken warp threads and meaningful designs woven out of (often) specific naturally dyed wool. To finish one piece in this 5-day class is a real accomplishment. Some of the students had started a rug in a prior year […]
Animal, Vegetable and Mineral…?
I guess you could classify the previous three classes that way with Navajo Weaving taught by Betty Glynn Carlson representing “animal” for the authentic wool yarns used, Natural Fiber Basketry with Jo Campbell-Amsler as “vegetable” for the willow, grapevine, Siberian Iris and Daylily leaves incorporated in all shapes of baskets and the Metalwork Jewelry Boot Camp with Kay Rashka as “mineral” for the sheets of copper, brass and silver as base materials. Some students brought back Navajo rugs started in (or finished from) a previous class and others started their first pieces. The steps along the way to a finished rug involve patience, thoughtfulness and perseverance. The many varieties of willow, barks, leaves and vines gathered here on the Island or brought by […]
Simply September
As we get closer to the middle of September the first notes of fall have started to appear. Simple changes in the ways the clouds look, a few leaves turning, flowers reaching for the last bit of warm sun and more deer by the roadsides are all clues that in just a few weeks, we’ll be surrounded by glorious reds, yellows, golds and browns. Before that happens though, we plan to fully enjoy September! We’ve been “back to school” for several days with Betty Carlson’s Navajo Rug Weaving and Jo Campbell-Amsler’s Natural Fiber Baskets classes. The students are using simple elements of authentic wool yarns and gathered willow to create not-so-simple pieces. A version of this is posted in the Navajo Rug Weaving studio and we hope you […]
