Image + Cloth: workshop with Joanna Schleimer

An emerging multi-award winning textile artist and weaver based in Hamilton, Joanna Schleimer’s weaving focuses on creating delicate, personal and nostalgic woven textiles using fine thread. She is inspired by textiles that have had a life before, handed down to loved ones by family members. All of her work echoes this reverence and respect for the past and previously cherished textiles.

Though the themes of the preciousness of human relationships and the sentimentality they invoke imbues her work, she is equally inspired by the yarn and its fineness. Upon closer examination of her weaving, the
off-white woven surface is a combination of transparency and opaqueness, revealing a form that emerges, delicately and finely woven, often in an inlay technique, at other times embroidered. These inlayed forms, serene and ephemeral, allude to some past life or tradition that once existed. Depending on proximity, the image is revealed.  These combination of elements are repeated throughout Schleimer’s body of work and imparts it with an intimacy embellished with preciousness.


While being a teaching assistant in the Material Arts Department at OCADU, she has already had several exhibitions and received a commission for the President’s Office at the Ontario College of Art and Design University, where she obtained her Bachelor of Design and a university medal for Best in Program.  Joanna had a residency at Harbourfront Centre’s textile studio, and is a past member of the Contemporary Textile Studio Co-Operative.

In this workshop, weavers will have the opportunity to embed personal imagery into warp and weft.  Participants will explore various woven image-making techniques including inlay, brocade, boutonne, embroidery and tapestry techniques as well as digital printing in a sampler-like fashion.

Workshop details:   Burr House, 528 Carrville Road, Richmond Hill. June 13-16 2016. 9am-4pm. $350. For more details, contact Line Dufour at linedufour.tapestry@gmail.com. To see more of Joanna’s work, go to her website www.joannaschleimer.com.

Weaving + Wire Workshop with Sayward Johnson

Weaving  +   Wire:            a workshop with  Sayward Johnson                                                                                                                                  

Sayward Johnson started weaving with wire at the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design University. She was influenced by her weaving professors, Governor General Award winning Sandra Brownlee and the very accomplished jacquard weaver/artist Professor Robin Muller.  From there she went on to study at the Montreal Centre for Contemporary Textiles and jewelry at a CEGEP - l’École de Joaillerie de Montréal. These two artisanal practices have remained artistic partners ever since. 

Textures in nature and organic forms are Sayward’s greatest source of inspiration and opened the door to accessing her emotions as a source to guide her creative process. She sees beauty in the natural processes we cannot control such as decay and moss on rocks.  “I love trying to recreate nature’s beauty in an abstract way”.  

She creates wire woven canvases,  applies patinas and explores other textile techniques as surface embellishments. The lack of control she has over the patina process provides moments of spontaneous creativity in contrast to the control she has in weaving and knitting wire. Elements are repeated, like patterning, colour schemes and surface embellishments such as embroidery.  

In this workshop, an assortment of patterns will be explored, as well as different surface treatments, using 4 and 8 shaft looms. Participants will prepare and warp the looms with copper wire, using a variety of patterns. The workshop will take place as a ‘round robin’ meaning that each loom will be a station that each participant will weave at. When samples are removed, registrants will experiment with fold-forming, dapping and various methods for manipulating the metal fabric. A variety of patina options will also be explored (green, black, brown and heat), as well as how to finish and seal the pieces, with shellac, varnish and/or was.  While the main focus of the workshop is weaving with wire, registrants  can also choose an additional option: “Intro to Knitting with Copper Wire”. Participants will learn the basics of knitting (and/or crocheting) and forging with copper wire to create small sculptural pieces. Basic patterns for creating small orbs and vessels will be provided. Bring a variety of knitting and crochet  needles for experimenting. 

Instructor: Sayward Johnson

Dates: June 21-24 2016

Time: 10-4

Location: Burr House, 528 Carville Road, Richmond      Hill, On

Cost: $350 plus materials and accommodation

( a list of nearby accommodation is       provided upon registration)

Deadline: May 31, 2016

To read an article about her, see Fibre Focus (Vol. 63 Fall 2015)

Her website: http://saywardjohnson.ca/

Line Dufour © 2016

August 2015

TABLET WOVEN SIDE BORDERS: August 10-13 2015

tablet borders woven simultaneously with loom weaving

Inge Dam is known for her meticulously crafted and artistically hand dyed woven yardages with card woven embellishment inserts,  from which she creates luxurious  garments . She has garnered many awards for her weaving and has taught extensively, in particular throughout the United States, including for many Convergence conferences, organized by the Handweavers Guild of America. She has recently authored a book on her techniques, Tablet-Woven Accents for Designer Fabrics Contemporary Uses for Ancient Techniques which you can purchase from her at any time.  

Through her studies of ancient textiles Inge became fascinated with the concept of weaving tablet woven borders jointly with a piece of fabric on the loom. This technique was used on many of the ancient garments she  studied. Students will be introduced to this type of weaving through a brief introduction to its history and hands on practice. They will set up a loom with a simple weave structure and learn how to make a tablet warp and how to arrange it beside the fabric warp so the border and the fabric can be woven together using only one shuttle, rather than attached separately. The students will also be taught how to avoid tension problems between the border warp and the fabric warp and how to accommodate for the differences in the take up of the two weaves.

A simple tablet weaving technique will be employed and the students will learn how to add embellishments to the tablet woven border, such as tassels, twining, beads at the edges and on the surface, braiding overlay, wrapped warp ends, loops, Ghiordes knots, and brocading.

Level of expertise : participants should know how to weave plain weave and 4-shaft straight twill. 

Location: Burr House, 530 Carville Road, Richmond Hill 

Time:             10am – 4pm

Maximum:              12

RSVP              by June 1 2015

Cost:              $350 plus $2 material fee

Send Cheque for $350 to Line Dufour,  25 Beckett Ave, Holland Landing L9N 1E6. linedufour.tapestry@gmail.com

Woven Drawings workshop: Nieves Carrasco           August 17 to 21 2015 

For her exhibition "Woven Drawings" at the David Kaye Gallery in January 2014, Nieves wanted to bring the universe of drawing, printing, and painting into weaving by using paper in the weft.

It took a lot of experimentation to develop a technique that she thought was suitable aesthetically and technically, which she will share with you during this workshop.  

During this workshop participants will weave narrow samples (approximately 6 inches wide) using paper that has been drawn and painted on, in the weft. By the end of the workshop each participant should have at least one sample finished and mounted, ready for framing. Two or more samples will be assembled to explore creating larger pieces out of narrow modules.

The workshop is divided into two parts. The first part will be dedicated to learning the techniques required to prepare the paper and weave a few samples. Once the techniques are learned, participants will have time to explore the possibilities of what they can do with the techniques acquired with a new set of paper sketches and samples. 

Location:         Burr House, 530 Carville Road, Richmond Hill 

Time: 10am – 4pm

Maximum: 12

RSVP by June 1 2015

Cost: $350 plus material fees

 Send Cheque for $350 to Line Dufour, 25 Beckett Ave, Holland Landing L9N 1E6. linedufour.tapestry@gmail.com. 

Toronto Weaving School Summer Summer courses 2012

KASURI/IKAT Workshop Warp Kasuri, Weft Kasuri Intro
Instructor: Keiko Shintani
June 11 - 15 2012 10am - 4pm
$250, or $300 with lunch included, materials extra
Must have own loom, rentals are available. Location of workshop -
Contact: Line Dufour tapestryline@sympatico.ca
FULL

PAINTED WARP/OFF AND ON LOOM
Instructors: Barb Hilts, AOCAU.
April 4 - May 15 Wednesdays 6pm - 9pm
$250  materials extra
Must have own loom, rentals are available.
Contact: Line Dufour tapestryline@sympatico.ca

DESIGNING FOR TAPESTRY WEAVING
An intensive painting and design course for the tapestry weaver without art training.
June 18 - 22 10am to 4pm
$250. plus materials, $300 if you would like to include lunch.
Contact: Line Dufour tapestryline@sympatico.ca

KASURI/IKAT Workshop
Warp Kasuri, Weft Kasuri Intro
July 9 - 13 2012 10am - 4pm
$250, or $300 with lunch included, materials extra
Must have own loom, rentals are available.
Contact: Line Dufour tapestryline@sympatico.ca

All workshops will be held at Burr House in Richmond Hill. Click on the link to learn more about Burr House, its activities and location. https://sites.google.com/site/burrhousefiberarts/home

Direct all inquiries to contact given above.
Toronto Weaving School is close to all public transit, streetcars, buses, subway and GO Train. Class sizes are limited to 15.

Designing for Fabric Weaving

Niagara Guild of Weavers and Spinners
Welland Museum
140 King Street, On L3B 3J3
April 9 and 10 2011

This talk and hands on activities and workshop was created to help weavers and spinners mine their creativity. Strageies and approaches to designing for fabric weaving will be explored and practiced. An understanding of the Elements and Principles of design will help inform your choices in weaving.

Painted Warp, Ikat and Woven Shibori techniques and Visit to Weaver's Studio - Judith Fielder

o Spring 2011

o Mondays 10am to 1pm

o 8 classes 3 hours each class

o Registration begins February 22, 2011.

o First class will start April 4 2011.

o Location: Toronto District School Board, Mimico Adult Centre, 255 Royal York Road, Toronto, 2nd floor.

o Adult under 60: $160 Adult over 60 (M postal codes only): $81.

o Other costs apply – see below and/or contact instructor

With the colours of the garden bursting forth, it is an ideal time to get dyeing some yarns and create intoxicating woven accessories. Learn the various techniques and what media to use to paint directly onto the warp for a a scarf, shawl or garment. Registrants should provide their own portable loom and warp and weft materials. Both materials and looms can be purchased from the instructor. Looms can be rented for the duration of the course for $25. Cost of additional materials (dyes) $25.



Registrants should come to the first weaving class with the warps already prepared. Recommended fibres are tencel, soy, bamboo, silk, mercerized cotton and rayon. No wool please as this requires a different 'chemistry'. The finer the yarn the more success you will have with the various techniques. You will prepare 3 warps ( 2 yards each) and if you have enough time a 4th warp where you will choose the technique of your choice to make a scarf or shawl. Discuss details with instructor as to epi, fibre, quantities etc.



As part of this special workshop series, we will be visiting Judith Fielder's studio on Wednesday, May 25 between 10am and 1pm. followed by lunch. Judith is a very inspiring and inspired weaver and fibre artist and has taken a great interest, in particular, in Japanese textiles and Ikat. Just to view her notebooks is a great pleasure and this visit will undoubtedly affect all weavers on a profound level. Please rsvp as soon as you register. This field trip will be at no added charge to you, but will be for those who are not registered for a weaving class. The studio can only accommodate a small number of people so its best to reserve as soon as you can. The cost to attend will be $10 for those not registered in a class, plus the cost of lunch of you choose to join us for lunch though, this is purely voluntary.



For more information contact the instructor, Line Dufour at 905 836 1321 or by email at tapestryline@sympatico.ca . To register, contact Line Dufour at 905 836 1321, by email at tapestryline@sympatico.ca or through the TDSB website at http://www.learn4life.ca/.

above scarves woven by Cheryl Raymond

OHS Tapestry Unit

The Ontario Handweavers and Spinners will be offering instruction at Georgian College to those who wish to obtain their certificate or wish to further their knowledge and experience in weaving in a structured manner. I will be teaching the Tapestry Unit at the college. The course will be offered March 25th to the 27th 2011. For more details contact the OHS at http://www.ohs.on.ca/ or Georgian College at http://www.georgian.on.ca/.