Twisp of Fate

Greetings from Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington, where I am attending the biannual weaving conference of the Association of Northwest Weavers’ Guilds (ANWG), along with 7 of my fellow members of the Methow Valley Spinners and Weavers Guild.

The Gonzaga campus is very pretty, the weather is warm, there are a lot of neat people here, the food is mediocre and the dorm room is acceptable!  I opted to have a room to myself for a slight additional fee, and am glad of that.  They have provided high speed (hardwire) internet in the room, so that lets me blog!  Life is good.

Today I took a half-day workshop in the morning from Sharon Alderman, a well-known weaver/teacher.  It was called “Snazzy Yarns:  how to use them, not lose them.”  I learned a lot and am pleased that my understanding of weaving is far enough along that I could follow her when she started drawing diagrams of threadings and treadlings.

After lunch I went down to the vendors’ market and also visited the exhibits put on by various member guilds from western Canada and the northwestern U.S.  There is a lot of great work there, and some of the guilds created really beautiful, interesting and/or whimsical displays.  The conference theme is “Weaving Waves of Color” and the guild displays were built off that theme.

2 Dye 4 study group

amazing felted display

fabulous fish

collection of scarves

inspiration from colors of Central Oregon

towels inspired by colors of nature

My friend Diana and I took off mid-afternoon in the car to visit some of the local art galleries that are showing weaving in conjunction with the conference.  It was well worth the journey.  The Tinman Gallery is showing the creative clothing of Anita Luvera Mayer of Anacortes, WA.  The Chase Gallery in the Spokane City Hall has 7 artists on display, including tapestry artists James Koehler of Santa Fe, NM and Sarah Swett of Moscow, ID.  There is also amazing work from Rebecca Laurence, who seems to be a master of stonework, woodcarving, metal working and astounding beadwork.  I think she is from Spokane.  Artisan’s Wares Gallery (in the big Riverside shopping complex) has beautiful felted wearable art and wall art by Theshini Naicker of Rossland, British Columbia.  Those were our favorite displays.  I will be taking a 3-day post-conference workshop from James Koehler next Monday through Wednesday, so it was interesting to see some of his work in person.