Mastery

 

GCW Master Weaver Certificate holders and their monograph topics:

 

1955      Mary Black:  Tartans and Mary Sandin:  Linen

 

1958      Nell Steedsman:  Two Frame weaving

 

1959      Grace McDowell:  Box Loom Weaving

 

1973      Adrienne Whitelaw:  Ceinture Fleché

 

 1975      Mary Andrews:  Fundamentals of Weaving

 

1976      Sandra Feenstra:  Double Weaves and Dini Moes:  The use of Colour in Handweaving

 

1979      Judith Rygiel:  Stitched Double Weave

 

1980      Eileen Shannon:  Point Twill Treadling Variations

 

1986      Jane Evans:  Tied Latvian Weave; Linda Heinrich:  Linen; Noreen Rustad:  Beiderwand

 

1989      Anke Keizer-Bles:  Exploring the Moorman Technique for Clothing and Margaret Berg:  Multiple Tabby Weaves and Twills

 

1990      Sandra Fearon:  Shadow Weave Design

 

1991      Patricia Corbett:  Colour and Texture Variation in Knotted Pile; Ruth-Carrol, ; Gaye Hansen:  Twice warped – Twelve Techniques for the Second Warp Beam; Kay Reiber:  Summer and Winter – a System for All Seasons; Frances Timbers:  The Handkerchief.

 

1992      Valerie DePorto:  Design Dynamics of Multishaft Swedish Lace

 

1993      June Bell: Finnweave; and Mabel Verigin:  The Forgotten Weaves

 

1994      Margaret Hahn:  Opphamta

 

1995      Christine Hill:  Wool – Fleece, Fibre and Fabric; and Evelyn Oldroyd:  The Wonder of Weaving Silk

 

1997      Laura Fry – Transformations:  Fulling Handwoven Fabrics

 

1998      Carol Oberg:  Brain-based Learning in the Weaving Studio – process of regeneration

 

2001    Ruth Jarvis:  Ramie

 

2003     Helene Ruel:  La Magie de l’Ikat (The Magic of Ikat)

 

 There may have been more people who have achieved the master level granted by the Guild of Canadian Weavers since 2003, but I have not belonged to the organization for a number of years so no longer get the newsletter where such things are announced.

The program is a testing program, not a teaching one.  It is a way for people who may not have easy access to others to discover if they have enough knowledge about the craft to be considered a 'master' at it.  I chose to do this program in part because it was economical compared to others, and I could do it on my own schedule.  I could set my own goals and deadlines, which was helpful given my work load during the time I was working on the program.

Not everyone wants to take a deep dive into the craft, but for those who do?  This program might be just the thing.

If, however, someone wants an element of teaching of the craft, the Olds College program approaches the craft from that direction.  There are other programs, here and there, that do similar things - either testing or teaching/testing.

However one approaches learning the craft - on their own, taking as many workshops as they can afford, having a teaching program they can follow - I encourage people to look below the surface by reading, watching videos, taking on line classes.

On the other hand, it is also valid to work from kits and/or published patterns.  There is room for all.

With the growth of the internet we now have multiple resources.  Janet Dawson's Craftsy class is a great introduction.  Jane Stafford's on line guild will take students through the craft on a much deeper level.  There are all the videos through Long Thread Media, including my own, available as on line 'workshops'.  

With Covid and self-isolation, the internet has been a god-send and even I have bitten the bullet and begun to learn Zoom.  

But neither should we forget our history - the Margaret Atwaters, the Harriet Tidballs, the Mary Blacks and so on.  

I encourage new weavers to take a look at resources like the GCW library where many of the monographs done by the above are stored and available for guild members to take out and examine, including mine and the copy of Magic in the Water I donated to the guild.

Over the years many of the master weavers have gone on to write books, from Mary Black, to Nell Steedsman, Linda Heinrich, Jane Evans, Mary Andrews, Dini Moes.  Some were published by the authors themselves, others were done via traditional publishing houses.  I took the self-publishing route because I wanted to include actual fabric samples for Magic, then because The Intentional Weaver was a niche topic for a niche market, I didn't even try to find a 'real' publisher.  (I was asked to send a sample of the manuscript to one - they declined saying it wasn't 'right' for their market, which I expected and wasn't actually disappointed about.)  

One of the challenges about being such a small/independent publisher is that the marketing also falls on my shoulders.  OTOH, the book is as I wanted it - nice large text, white space, photos that showed what I felt needed to be seen.  Yes, I could have done better, but after five years of working on the manuscript, off and on, in between Life Happenings, I had to stop.  

It is said that authors never finish writing a book, they just stop writing the book.  I wrote until I felt I had the essentials, then stopped and called on expert assistance to first edit, then publish it on line via Blurb.

 A person can pursue weaving in the way that brings them joy.  Follow the rules or not.  Learn the rules well enough to break them.  Follow a pattern or make up their own.  Or all of the above.  The thing is, the people who hand weave in the 21 century are continuing a tradition that goes back thousands of years.  No one person can know everything there is to know about how to create cloth.  But individuals can 'master' the craft in such a way as to remember the shoulders of the giants we stand on.  And maybe help others along the way.