Shoulders of Giants

 

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)

 

 Today I learned that one of my mentors has died.  Eileen Shannon was a big encourager and supporter and part of a 'study group' that was working their way through the Guild of Canadian Weavers master weaver program.  They invited me to join them and encouraged me to work on the program as well.

I am grateful to Eileen (and Linda Heinrich, Noreen Rustad and Jean George) for including me in their group.  I learned so much from them, and still have Eileen's voice in my head 'What have you learned since we last met?' was her pretty standard greeting.  She normalized making mistakes as part of the learning process.  A mistake was never the end but the beginning of learning as far as she was concerned.

I lost touch with her a few years ago when she moved to Vancouver Island, and was very sorry to hear that she died the end of July.

*I'm no longer a member of GCW and not aware of any master weavers since Helene Ruel in 2003.  If you are self motivated, able to work on your own, want to test your knowledge and skills, the GCW still runs the program.  The test booklet is available and makes a good study guide along with Mary Black's book if you want to push the boundaries of your knowledge and increase your horizons.  It's not terribly expensive compared to other programs and you can work at your own pace.  Which is, in part, why it took me nearly 20 years to finish!  But I did.