Don’t throw away your old garments, clothing or fabric! These clothes from the attic that date from another period in your life, the worn shirts your ex-lover left behind or just the silly purchases you made and which haven’t left the closet since: everything that creates a meaningful story, an interesting pattern or just a beautiful colour scheme will be the perfect starting material for this workshop.
From the beginning of civilization, weaving has played a cultural and artistic role in societies worldwide. Also the economic and scientific influence of the design and technology of looms has been significant: more than two centuries ago, the first punch cards were used on looms, which can rightfully be seen as the prerunners of the computer and formed the basis for the industrial revolution. Weaving is far more than a hobby and it certainly isn’t dull or prissy.
This course offers the participants an exploration into the multiple meanings of weaving on a traditional Finnish weaving loom. It is a communal journey for which the Independent School for the City has teamed up with visual artists Bart Gorter and Ernst van der Hoeven, to understand the principles of weaving and to discover it as a metaphor for urban planning, for architecture and storytelling, for the computer, for the landscape and many more things. The course will result in one large rug, collectively woven by the participants.
Over a period of only 3 full days, you will be introduced to all the ins and outs of weaving. After an introduction and a weaving trial on a small loom, we will make a collective design for a rug and work on a traditional Finnish weaving loom. During the process you are presented with all the functional elements of weaving: the beam, the reed, the heddle, the slay and the treadle. After one day of individually weaving under guidance you are welcome to come back any time after the course (on appointment), to extend the rug. Eventually we will free the rug collectively and discuss the results.