2019-2020 Program Calendar

September 28, 2019

“Lace: a Journey”

Elena Kanagy-Loux

October 26, 2019

“Remembering Berta Frey”

Judith Chase

December 7, 2019

Make and Take Crafts & Holiday Party

January 25, 2020

“HGA and the COE”

Elizabeth Williamson

February 29, 2020

“Warp Painting Application and Techniques”

Dosia Sanford

March 28, 2020

“Split Shed Tied Beiderwand”

Deborah Silver

 WORKSHOP: Sun Mar 29, 10am - 4pm  Register Here.

April, 25, 2020

“Texture in the Art of Anni and Josef Albers”

Fritz Horstman 

Programs begin at noon with a social hour. Show and tell is at 12:30pm. The program begins at 1:00pm sharp.

The Guild meets at:
The School of Visual Arts
Room 602C
133 West 21st St.

(bet. 6th & 7th Ave)
New York, NY

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Non-members are welcome for $8.00 per lecture.

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At each meeting, a selection of books from the NYGH's library are available for members to check out.

PROGRAM DETAILS

In my lecture, I will give a brief introduction to the history and development of bobbin and needle lace in Europe. Although it may evoke the singular image of a frothy bridal veil, lace is really an umbrella term for myriad openwork textile techniques across broad periods and regions of history. I will also discuss my own journey into lace, which began on a trip to Slovenia and Italy in 2012. Since then, I have traveled across over a dozen countries, taking classes, visiting archives, and interviewing modern day lacemakers. The world of lace is vast but elusive, and I hope to give an inspiring glimpse into its depths.

Elena Kanagy-Loux was raised by Mennonites in Tokyo, where she was surrounded by traditional craft and DIY fashion. After receiving her BFA in Textile Design from FIT, she won a grant which funded a four-month trip to study lacemaking across Europe in 2015. Upon returning to NYC, she co-founded the Brooklyn Lace Guild, and began teaching bobbin lace classes at the Textile Arts Center. She recently completed her MA in Costume Studies at NYU where she wrote her thesis on modern lacemaking culture. Currently she is the Collections Specialist at the Antonio Ratti Textile Center at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. 

October 26, 2019

“Remembering Berta Frey”

Judith Chase

Berta Frey was one of the founders of the NY Guild of Handweavers on Nov 11, 1940. She worked in New York City's textile industry and ultimately opened her own design studio where she also taught weaving. Most of the Guild's original members held textile-related jobs as teachers, designers or occupational therapists. 

A weaver for 60 years, Judith Chase taught at the Woodstock Guild of Craftsmen, Ulster County Community College, and Thousand Islands Museum School, all in New York State. Her life as a weaver began in 1958 at the home of her college professor and his wife, who invited her to her weaving class where she produced a wool scarf, linen guest towels and many placemats before graduation. In the sixties a notice of a summer weaving class at the Woodstock Guild of Craftsmen caught her eye and so she met Berta Frey, teacher, mentor and friend for some 12 years. Upon Berta’s death in 1972 Judith was asked to assume her classes and those students then came to the studio in Judith’s home.

A study group of Berta’s local students decided to form the Woodstock Weavers guild to honor their inspiring teacher. Berta Frey taught the importance of understanding that fabric structure, as well as design, good technique and yarn choice are integral to all successfully woven pieces. Her affectionate guidance inspires Judith to encourage this quality of learning in her students.

January 25, 2020

“HGA and the COE”

Elizabeth Williamson

Elizabeth Williamson will discuss the Handweavers Guild of America, Inc.’s (HGA) mission and specifically the Certificate of Excellence (COE) in Handweaving, one of four that the HGA offers. The COE is a self-directed certification program for HGA members in the areas of Handweaving, Handspinning, Dyeing, and Basket Making.

There are two levels to the COE:

• Level 1 (Technical Skills) is a focus on technical skills, design principles, and knowledge of materials and equipment

• Level 2 (Master with Specialized Study), available upon completion and certification of Level 1, is a master level with an in-depth study in a specialized area of the applicant’s choice.

Elizabeth Williamson has served as the Handweavers Guild of America, Inc.’s (HGA) Executive Director since May 2015. In her time with HGA she has led the organization to develop a three-year strategic plan, transitioned the organization to a constituent relationship management (CRM) software to increase staff efficiency and improve customer response, oversaw the design of a new website, implemented a professional level of membership, and set in place the procedures to tour the annual Small Expressions exhibit. New programs and following nonprofit best practices and procedures have led to an increase in membership and member participation.

February 29, 2020

“Warp Painting Application and Techniques”

Dosia Sanford

An introduction to how warp painting can be used to achieve color interaction and abstraction in plain weave and beyond. With a discussion on different methods for creating something wholly abstract to controlling the results.

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Dosia Sanford creates work on machines from the 18th and 19th century as a means to explore ideas of class, labor, technology, and our present and future understanding of how things are made. She promotes the idea that in our current time there is inherent power in knowing craft, as well as in recognizing past and present systems where highly skilled work is underpaid and underestimated when commodified.  

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Dosia is a weaver, born in VT and currently living and working in Brooklyn, NY. She studied with master weaver Kate Smith at Marshfield School of Weaving in VT, where she returns from time to time to teach.

March 28, 2020

“Split Shed Tied Beiderwand”

Deborah Silver

Deborah Silver designs and weaves pieces that combine her interest in tribal imagery with contemporary faces. Her fascination with ethnographic art began when she served as the program chair of the Cuyahoga Weavers Guild. To create a more diverse curriculum, Deborah obtained grant funding, enabling Gilbert “Bobbo” Ahiagble to travel from Ghana. The master kente cloth weaver spent three weeks in Ohio. He lectured, gave demonstrations and taught workshops using traditional kente cloth looms. 

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Using a split-shed technique, Deborah has transformed a traditional coverlet pattern into a signature method of hand-weaving. All horizontal yarns travel from edge to edge, differentiating this fabric from tapestry. The work is inspired by the increased cross-culturalism in our world, with an emphasis on our collective history.

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Deborah’s weavings have been shown in numerous local and national juried exhibitions. In 2015, she received a Cleveland Jewish Arts and Culture Fellowship award. In 2017, she received third prize in the ARTneo national juried competition. In 2018, she received the Complex Weavers Award and First Place at Complexity 2018. Deborah is the recipient of a 2019 Ohio Arts Council Individual Excellence Award.

Deb's book, "The Technique of Split Shed Weaving" has sold over 400 copies since it's release on September 5, 2019, and is currently in its second printing.

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Split Shed Workshop: Sun Mar 29th, 10am - 4 pm. Separate fee required. Register here.

Albers Foundation educator Fritz Horstman will speak about the art and life of Anni Albers. Tracing her trajectory from the Bauhaus to Black Mountain College to Connecticut, we will look at ways that she elevated weaving as an art form. 

Fritz Horstman is the Artist Residency and Education Coordinator at the Josef and Anni Albers Foundation, where he has worked since 2004. He has lectured and given workshops at the École des Beaux-Arts Paris, the Bauhaus Dessau, The Royal College of Art in London, Yale University and many other institutions. He has organized exhibitions in Italy, Ireland, Croatia, Norway, and the United States. He is also an artist who has shown his photographs, sculptures, drawings, and videos in recent exhibitions in Norway, France, Russia, Japan, California, Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Brooklyn. 

The Yarn Table

At every meeting the Guild has a sale at the Yarn Table. Members can bring yarn to sell, as well as any small weaving related items (shuttles, heddle hooks, etc.) and publications. This is a good place to look for bargains or clear your supply closet of items no longer needed. 

The Weaver's Exchange

Online listing allows current members to sell their equipment. All sales are between the buyer and seller. The Guild makes no guarantees regarding the integrity of the equipment listed. If you are not a member, join now.

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Submit application for listing on our exchange

Become a Program Speaker

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The Guild is always interested in inviting new speakers on any fiber-related topic that is of interest to our members. If you have a proposal for a presentation, please use the contact page to describe your talk.