Private, semi-private and virtual instruction is available through my studio in The Mill at Shady Lea in North Kingstown, RI.
Weaving cloth is magic! My mission is to share my skill and passion for the vanishing language of handweaving. This language speaks to the quality of life I want to live. I strive to keep handweaving current and necessary. Learn to weave; warping and technical skills; pattern drafting and structure; unusual materials; Special needs and high risk populations; professional development; consultation. Have questions? Email me at realfibers@aol.com
Weaving Studio
Beginner & Beyond
Beginning to weave can seem overwhelming with so many elements to consider!This introductory level class presents basic knowledge of tools, materials and techniques. It is also perfect for those who want to improve before moving into more advanced level. We will have fun building confidence, learning the vocabulary, and developing critical craft skills. This will be project based that includes further development of fundamentals for students who have had at least one class.
Intermediate
This level assumes a working knowledge of basic studio tools, materials and equipment necessary to accomplish the projects and techniques to be explored. Participants feel comfortable in the studio setting. Includes reviews and builds on basic skill sets that allow for those with more experience to work at their own pace.
Learn to Weave Winter 2024
Come join me at the Art Annex for a fun and hands-on weaving workshop! Whether you’re a beginner or have some experience, this event is perfect for anyone interested in learning the art of weaving. You will be guided through the process step by step, learning the basic techniques of this unique craft. Get ready to unleash your creativity and discover the joy of weaving! Don’t miss out on this exciting opportunity to learn a new skill and meet fellow weaving enthusiasts. Sign up now and let’s weave some magic together! All materials included.
DIY Espadrilles
Yes, make your own Espradilles!
Imagine the fun of expressing your sole as you step out in shoes you have designed, woven, and stitched. This project is the ultimate statement for sustainable style.
For this workshop, come prepared with fabric you have already woven. We will discuss fit as you tailor the pattern to your own foot. Next, we secure the fabric for toe and heel uppers with interfacing and seam or binding tape. Finally, we start attaching the fabric to the soles with a sturdy blanket stitch.
You will leave with the pattern and all the skills necessary to adorn the feet of everyone you love. Once you make one pair of custom shoes — you will make at least 2 more.
Basic machine sewing skills are needed and hand sewing is required.
Fearless Loom Dressing
Weaving Intensive: Ms and Os
This unassuming, traditional 4-shaft weave structure can be surprisingly fun and sophisticated! Explore how different yarns can create texture and pleasing color effects. Although it is most often 2 blocks on 4 shafts it can also be 3 blocks on 4 shafts. We may even discover a 4th block!
Looms will be warped and threaded with colorful cottons and ready to weave according to the draft provided. Bring a few bobbins of your favorite yarns and threads. Note: Participants must be able to read a draft and thread a loom. There will be lots of samples to inspire your creativity. Come learn with other weaving enthusiasts!
February 7th and 14th, 2024
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/791313338497?aff=oddtdtcreator
One Day Weaving Adventures
Enjoy a day creating an 18″ x 28″ cloth at The Art Annex, my beautiful teaching studio located in a refurbished Mill in Pawtucket. You will learn to weave on a floor loom and take home what you have made. Patterns and color are fun and easy to follow. No experience necessary. The looms are threaded and set-up with colorful cottons. All supplies included!
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/786316021387?aff=oddtdtcreator
Paper. Book. Art.
Every aspect of hand papermaking allows for repetition, concentration, discovery and opportunity – just like weaving. Using a fusion of Eastern and Western techniques we will work with abaca, flax, iris, day lily, persicaria, and other common garden plants to bring these fibers to their fullest expression. Through beating, sheet forming, manipulation, and drying we will uncover the distinct personalities that allow us to tell a story.
Each participant will have samples to handle, compare, explore and question. We will use these handmade papers, along with threads, buttons, adornments, and other papers to create visual metaphors that will extend the way we communicate. Folds, covers, stitched folios and embellishments will encourage investigative ways a story can be read and experienced. After making a series of samples, we will choose one method of telling our own unique story. Guaranteed, you will be giving books all year long after this! 90 Minute Presentation or Workshop
Make Paper! Pull Paper!
Fiber has characteristics that can be articulated through the paper-making process. In this immersive and hands on class, you will learn a fusion of Eastern and Western techniques to pull paper. You will experience abaca, flax, iris, day lily, persicaria, and other common garden plants and how to bring these fibers to their fullest expression. Through the practice of sheet forming, pressing, manipulation, and drying we will uncover distinct personalities inherent in these materials.
90 Minutes Presentation or Workshop
Paper. From Sheet to Spindle
Spinning paper is a dynamic process that has been used for centuries to create textiles from Obi to undergarments to WWI uniforms to accessories. Join me in exploring the characteristics of fibers that create the best paper yarn. We will learn the straightforward method for preparing paper to spin and then, start spinning!
As we gather to sit and spin, we will learn the unique behaviors of these fibers. This knowledge allows us to communicate a deeper understanding of intention and meaning in our work.
90 Minutes Presentation or Workshop
Renegade Treadlings on Traditional Threadings
Ms and Os, Huck-a-Back, and Swedish Point : These three traditional weave structures offer weavers the opportunity to explore myriad possibilities for towels, clothing, and accessories. Once we learn what distinguishes these threadings from others, we can expand our treadling vocabulary to create our own voice in creating innovative designs for our cloth. 90 Minute Presentation or Workshop
Transforming Tools and Weaving Wonders
Understanding the equipment we use, as weavers, is the first step to changing the way we use it. We will identify way for disrupting the fluid order of warp and weft through closely observing loom anatomy. Then you will learn how to use the knowledge of weaving equipment to achieve fantastic and unexpected effects in your cloth. Contemporary tools such as Open Reed®, Supplementary Beater®, and RailReed will be explored and demonstrated as simple alternatives we can use to transform the traditional grid into a woven wonder. Don’t be put off by the anatomy of your loom — learn it and use it! 90 Minute Presentation or Workshop
Using Color to Create Pattern with Turned Taqueté
Turned Taqueté is a perfect opportunity to step into the fun of color as the basis for exploring pattern and geometry in weaving. You will be amazed at how easy it is to use color to create designs with this simple and diverse structure. Using color in Taqueté will convince you there are no “bad” combinations. You will learn how only a few colors can create exciting shapes and designs that are individual and stunning.
Your individual colors and treadlings will allow you to create multiple widths of squares, rectangles, lines, and crossed intersections. This is a chance for your personal aesthetic to com
The Stories a Bedsheet can Tell
Indulge for a moment, in the idea of sleeping in linen bedsheets that you have woven! Linen has imperceptible elasticity, incredible strength, and a finish that will last generations. Linen will tell you exactly what it wants and what you have “done to it” if it doesn’t like the way you handle it. Material objects such as these are not divorced from their owners, inert ‘things’ with no life of their own. Instead, they are invested with meaning – emotional, religious, and even political. This presentation looks at material culture – linen, the history of bedsheets, and the process of making. We will share the inspiration and challenges of our quest to be hand weavers in an automated society.
90 Minute Presentation
Community Weaving Project (All Ages)
This activity involves the use of large wooden frame looms (typically 4’x6’) that the students help build. These frame looms are free standing and two-sided allowing participants to work from both sides as they weave wide cloth strips through the holes to weave their design.
This project is most successful when students produce designs that have been inspired through earlier classroom discussions on color, pattern, texture, and symbolism. We discuss finger-manipulation techniques, woven joins, embellishments, color choices and finishing.
The Community weaving process takes 8 – 20 hours from start to finish. It is amazing to watch this process! Just when you think it is done, it becomes clear that the weaving could use a bit more fabric here or a touch of color there. It is a wonderful lesson in group dynamics and offers students a chance to interact directly with their peers – they are the leaders in this.
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More information: About Suzi Ballenger | Curriculum Vitae (pdf) | Press | News & Events | Contact