Free-Style Weaving: Joyful Alchemy

Free-Style Weaving: Joyful Alchemy

With Lianna Gilman

Thursdays, 10 am to 12 noon

March 16, 23 & 30, April 6

Suggested donation: $5-$10 per class day if you are able (donations go to our future teachers fund to allow us to offer classes after our current grant runs out).

For covid safety we require mask wearing.

In free-style weaving, there are no patterns or rules to follow, no right or wrong ways of creating.  What emerges is simply an exploration of color, texture, curiosity, and natural self-expression that creates a joyful alchemy and a sense of liberation. Anyone can easily learn this free-style approach - no previous weaving experience is needed.

Over the 4 sessions, I’ll share the basics of how to warp a simple cardboard or frame loom, weave, tie off, and attach a hanging rod, plus some additional techniques for playing with both warp and weft. Beyond that, everyone is encouraged to follow their own curiosity and share their innovations in the spirit of learning from each other.

At the end, you’ll take home at least 1 finished weaving (or as many as you want to create!) and a cardboard loom, if you’d like one.

Basic materials will be provided:

• Cardboard looms in a variety of sizes, plus a few small frame looms
• Exuberant assortment of yarn, fabric, roving, ribbon, wire, bubble-wrap, mesh produce bags, feathers, and more

Participants, please bring these additional materials:

• A fork or comb with well-spaced tines/teeth
• Any of the above materials from home that you particularly want to use, plus anything else that sparks your interest – e.g., trim, buttons, beads, paper, raffia, charms, shoelaces, old favorite clothing that’s no longer wearable, pantyhose, etc.
• A few bags (e.g., 1-gallon zip-locks), for taking materials home between sessions
• Dowel, driftwood, bamboo or anything else that will serve as a hanging rod
• Optional: A jumbo-eye weaving, netting or craft needle, or a stick shuttle, if you happen to already have one

Extra benefit:  Free-style weaving on these cardboard looms is a great activity for sharing with friends, children and grandchildren. With a pre-warped loom and a bag of weavables, you can easily make up a kit that travels well and provides lots of opportunity for creative play.

Lianna Gilman is a free-style weaver and fiber artist with an adventurous mixed-media spirit.  She creates one-of-a-kind wearable art, wall-hangings, table-runners, home decor, vessels, and whimsical whatnots – all of which are lively with the interplay of magic and craft.  Visit www.heartsong-weaving.com for more about her work. Lianna grew up with her father’s textile business as her playground, which sparked her life-long delight in exploring textures, colors, and scraps of all kinds.  In 2015, she discovered the Japanese SAORI free-style weaving philosophy. Its themes of spontaneity, innovation, and authentic self-expression continue to be a major influence in her work