Celebrating TWO Group Skillbragd Warps
October 22, 2018 1 Comment
A new pop-up exhibit of several skillbragd pieces woven by members of our Scandinavian Weavers Study Group is up at the Weavers Guild of Minnesota. Since May we’ve put on two warps and given many members the opportunity to try this traditional Scandinavian weave structure. Some pieces on view are hemmed and finished, and many in their “off-the-loom” state. If you can visit sometime through the end of November, you’ll see the wide variety of materials, colors, stripes, and patterns created by treadling, chosen by the weavers. Most people used wool for their pattern weft, but there are examples of linen and perle cotton on display, too.
The signage is minimal for the exhibit; three signs read, “Hello, Norwegians! Here are some skillbragd pieces woven on the Guild’s Glimakra loom by members of the Scandinavian Weavers Study Group.” “Wait! Are you a Swede? Here are some opphämpta pieces, or perhaps you recognize them as Smålandsvëv?” “Everyone else! Don’t worry about it; it’s a Scandinavian overshot weave.”
Lisa Torvik is writing an article with lots more information about our project–in the meantime, visit the exhibit or enjoy these photos.
Here are closer photos, taken in sections.
Swedish art weaves are at their best in the highly decorated weavings of the Skåne area of Sweden. Dukagång, krabbasnår and halvkrabbe are woven in a similar manner using butterflies to inlay designs, but each have a distinctive look. Dukagång is made up of columns. Krabbasnår designs move on a diagonal while halvkrabbe is made up of squares like a checkerboard. Rölakan is a geometric tapestry technique that is also seen in the weavings of Skåne. Students will weave a sampler of these techniques, discuss color choices, finishing techniques and ideas for making a sampler into a pillow or bag.
Today we celebrated Carol Johnson’s passionate textile collecting and generous sharing of her weavings for a Weavers Guild exhibit. A good reason for a cake! Lisa Torvik took the cake decorations as cutting instructions. Next week is Jan Mostrom’s class in Swedish Art Weaves. Luckily for the students there are seven exquisite art weave pieces up on the walls in the same room as the class–perfect for inspiration.
Jan Mostrom brought two books on Swedish weaving. She purchased the beautiful and huge Swedish Textile Art: The Khalili Collection, by Viveka Hansen, online. What’s the best thing about the book, I asked. The pictures. When she took the Swedish art weaves class in Sweden last summer, that book was in the classroom, and the students used it to pick out design elements for their samplers. If you look for this book online, note that there are English and Swedish editions.
Scandinavian Weavers Study Group 