Split-shed Weaving:
Multiple structures on 4-shafts using a straight threading
Deborah Silver
March 9 - 11, 2023
10 AM - 5 PM daily
Vestry of Congregational Church, Westborough, MA
Attendee Limit: 20
Break out of blocks with split-shed weaving. Weave curves and blend colors using continuous wefts on a four shaft loom with no special equipment. In this three-day workshop, students will learn to weave multiple combinations of weave structures using only four shafts and a straight threading. Only tie-ups and treadling are changed between samples. Most of these combinations would normally require a minimum of eight shafts. Work with combinations of twills, summer and winter, double weave, Han damask, taqueté and more! Weave samples using continuous, complementary, and supplementary wefts, as well as wefts which combine to produce shading for pictorial weaving. (This is similar to the process Deborah Silver uses to create her art.) Students will also learn to make a cartoon on cloth that will advance with the warp and will not wrinkle when beating.
Although students will not be able to complete all of the samples in class, they will leave with the ability to complete them at home with all of the drafts and instructions. Looms that allow multiple shaft tie-ups to each treadle are most preferable (and easiest for weaving), but table and direct tie-up looms may also be used.
Looms will need to be pre-warped. Students will provide their own weft yarns (instructor will email samples of acceptable yarn types). Students will also need three 10” – 14” flat shuttles and one other shuttle of their choosing that will be comfortable to use with an 8 to 9 inch wide warp.
Tuition for members: $ 200.00
For Non-Members: $ 245.00
Handout Fee: $ 15.00 per student to be collected by presenter
Deborah Silver is a native of Cleveland, Ohio. She discovered her love of weaving while attending the Cleveland Institute of Art, attaining a BFA as a Fiber major and Drawing minor.
After a weaving internship, Deborah learned the craft of antique furniture upholstery. She then combined her skills to open her own fiber art business. She worked closely with interior designers, creating site-specific fiber commissions for private residences, businesses, and religious institutions.
Currently, Deborah designs and weaves pieces using the split-shed technique, transforming traditional patterns into a signature method of hand-weaving. All weft yarns travel from selvedge to selvedge, differentiating this cloth from tapestry. Her work is inspired by the increased cross-culturalism in the world which has been facilitated by technology, the ancient realm of road and trade, now advanced to hyper-speed.
Deborah’s weavings have been shown in numerous local and national juried exhibitions. In 2015, she received a Cleveland Jewish Arts and Culture Fellowship award. In 2017, she received third prize in the ARTneo national juried competition. She received the Complex Weavers Award and First Place at Complexity 2018. Deborah is also the recipient of a 2019 Ohio Arts Council Individual Excellence Award.
Deborah teaches split-shed weaving workshops internationally. In 2019, she published The Technique of Split-shed Weaving, a book that illustrates pictorial weaving using the split-shed process on four-shaft looms. Her articles have been published in Complex Weavers magazine.
REGISTRATION BEGINS AUGUST 15.
TO REGISTER - CLICK ON THE CLASS IMAGE TO THE LEFT.
NOTE: 'Out of stock' means that registration is not yet open or the workshop is full.
Registration opens August 15.
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