Friday, April 15, 2016

Reasons


One more box of homework to mark.  I will get to it on Monday because the Beginning Weaving workshop begins tomorrow and I need to do class handouts today. 

The Olds program is not a how-to weave program, it is much more than that.  To me it addresses foundation knowledge that lays the groundwork for an intellectual examination of the variables that need to be considered in a thoughtful approach to the construction of textiles.  It dovetails with what I consider important information.  It also requires that students prove they have a good grasp of the theory and the physical skills of weaving.  It attempts to cover in an organized fashion the basics, including weave structure, density, wet finishing, materials and design fundamentals.  And that is just level one.  The other levels build on that beginning.  

It is a for credit college course and certain levels of communication are examined, and homework assigned.  It is meant to expose students to essential (imho) aspects of weaving. 

Because I am who I am I also talk about issues of ergonomics/efficiency.  

Weaving can be done on many different levels, in many different ways.  My hope is that there will be enough people interested in the nuts and bolts of weaving so that this information is not lost but continues.  Each one, teach one.  We stand on the shoulders of giants.  

4 comments:

Vicki Hughes said...

After going through the Master Spinners course many spinners I know said that going that much in depth would take the "fun" out of spinning. Really?? They have said the same thing about the Master Weaver course. Again,really?? I have learned more about fibers and weave structures and myself in the last 12 years than I could have imagined. Now, instead of standing on the edge of the cliff, I embrace the unknown and take the leap.

Anonymous said...

I'm signed up for Level 1, and looking forward to it even more after your description!
Lyn

Suse said...

Can you come to Sydney Australia to teach this course? Everything here is piecemeal, this is the type of depth of information I crave when starting something new. I'm happy to experiment but get more satisfaction with knowing how and why it's done that way etc.

Laura Fry said...

Heh, I'd love to come. The commute is a killer, though...