Barbara J. Walker is a weaver, ply-splitter, and creates mixed media pieces. She is a member of Northwest Designer Craftsmen, an HGA Master Weaver, and has taught in the US, England, and Canada. Her award-winning work has been exhibited internationally, and two of her pieces are the only examples of ply-splitting in Lark Books’s 500 Baskets. She is the author of Supplementary Warp Patterning: Turned Drafts, Embellishments & Motifs; Ply-Splitting from Drawdowns: Interpreting Weave Structures in Ply-Split Braiding; and has written numerous articles for Complex Weavers Journal, Strands, The Journal for Weavers, Spinners & Dyers, and other major weaving publications.
If Two Warps Are Better, Why Not Three?
We all learned to weave with one warp. Adding a second, supplementary warp offers many more design possibilities. Now we will venture into the realm of weaving with three warps and one shuttle! How can solid lines be added to cloth to enhance the design? How can we place dots of color just where we want them? Can we make some threads hide and then appear at will? Yes indeed, whether you have eight shafts or forty. In addition to many design options for two supplementary warps, we will discuss how to warp a loom with all three warps and keep tension problems at bay. Bring any handwoven cloth you would like to show and discuss how a third warp might be used for its enhancement.
Putting It All Together: Mixed Media & Collaborations
Complex Weavers is made up of extremely talented members, many of whom enjoy a variety of fiber techniques in addition to weaving. This seminar encourages you to go beyond your comfort zone by developing ways to combine one or more fiber techniques into one sensational piece. What can you learn from other techniques and media? How can disparate techniques actually work together? We will discuss ways to approach the rewarding experience of collaborating with other artists, no matter the media and no matter if artists live close to each other or a great distance apart.
How does a collaborative piece evolve? How is the work divided? Exercises include developing ideas for a mixed media piece, and brainstorming collaborative pieces with another person. Of interest to those who do at least one other fiber technique in addition to weaving.