Study Groups

Overshot Project

Over several years, a group of Guild members wove a variety of overshot designs. Each member of this group selected a specific overshot design and threaded a loom with enough warp to accommodate all the members in the group. Each person selected a weft color(s) and wove each design with their color selection. They completed this project at the end of 2016 and here are the fruits of their labor! Beautiful!
As to how these pieces will be used, some will make pillows, some coverlets.
Kudos to these talented weavers!




































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Rug Tapestry Study Group Minutes

January 17, 2015


Present: Jan Tooker, Cheryl Rennick, Judy Lutgen, Mary Howell, Joan Johnson, Linda Carlson, Shelda Baylor

Theo Mooreman class will start October 3 and run for 4 weeks from 9:00 -3:00, and will be limited to 9 participants. Sign-up sheet is posted. Because of the need for 2 looms for each participant, we will need to have projects finished on studio looms as much as possible especially looms with 8 harnesses. TAKE NOTE OF THIS!!!

You will need 2 weights of linen warp, 8/5 and 8/2. Wool weft of your choosing, but you will need to make sure the size of the yarn is consistent throughout all layers of your piece. There is some wool available at the Studio.
Jan will provide some guidance with your design so that you will be able to learn several techniques for different effects.
Cost: Studio members $50, Guild-only members $75, non-members $100.

Pieces for show:
How many know what they’re going to make (rug vs tapestry)? Several.
How many have started? A few.
Anyone finished with a piece? Mary and Catherine have tapestries done.
Who is anticipating showing?

Questions for The Lux Center:
In order to schedule our show, do we need to show them the actual pieces, or just photos? Do we need to show them all, or a representation? Jan will be talking to them and will get back to us at the next meeting.
Next meeting February 21 at 1:00 p.m. Bring your specific ideas for the piece(s) you’re making for the show. Bring pictures of the piece(s) on the loom if you’ve already started, or of the piece(s) if it’s finished.


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Rug Tapestry Study Group
September 6, 2014, 1:00 p.m.
Minutes
Present: Lori Beck, Cheryl Rennick, Catherine Easton, Jan Tooker, Sharon Vandenack, Tricia Byrne
Venue: Jan has sent submission proposals to the Hillestad Gallery (at UNL) and also the Lux Center for the Arts. The Hillestad Gallery committee is interested in showing our work, but would like to see images of most, if not all, of our new pieces for this show, before making a commitment. They are already booked through next fall, so the show would likely be during the 2015-16 school year. We discussed the timing, and felt that if they need photos within the next 6 months, this will likely not be possible. Jan will let them know this, and that we would like do some more advance planning for a different show in the future.
Other Venue possibilities: New galleries: one on O Street near the Antelope Valley project, one on N Street at about 19th or 20th. Cheryl will ask about having a show at “Out of the Box” where the Lincoln Artist’s Guild does shows; Westminster Church is always a possibility; Aging Partners has hosted shows at the Downtown Center on 10th and O; Shelda said she thought there was a place in Nebraska City that might be willing to have us.
Still waiting to hear from the Lux Center.
Study on Tapestry: Introductory meeting was held August 16. Cost will be $100 for non-members, $70 for Guild members and $50 for Studio members. The class will be on October 4, 11 (or 18), and 25, from 9:00 – 2:30 each day. Topics covered in the workshop will include: basic tapestry joins, make straight and curved figures, make a sampler, and plan and start a new piece. If you will be using a Studio loom for the workshop, you will have to be off that loom by December 31. Registrations are due now.
On October 4 there will be no ending time, the class starts at 9:00 a.m.
No class on the 11th due to Southwest High School Sale
Oct 18th & 25th it will be 9:00 – 2:30
There’s plenty of wool here to use for weft, it is out on the counter now but has to be put away for the open house. Choose what you want.
Catherine has designs today, or she will help us design our own. We will do a sampler to learn techniques, then will apply them to our own design.
Regarding design, Catherine encouraged us to set aside things that we see that we like, which could be used as a tapestry design at some point in the future. Starting a file in this way will help to inspire us when we want to do a tapestry for a show or other purpose.
Show up to first class with our looms warped. Use 8/2 linen for the warp, set at 8 or 6 ends per inch, 2 yards long, 11” weaving width.
Theme: We reconsidered “Recycle” and decided on “Renew, Revive, Rekindle” because it lends itself to a wider variety, and more inspirational pieces, while still allowing for the use of a recycling theme as well.
Next meeting date: November 1, 1:00 p.m.
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HWGL Rug Tapestry Study Group
April 26, 2014 Minutes
We discussed ways to represent our theme to prospective galleries/venues, and decided that simplicity rules. Attached is the proposed write-up that we reviewed and edited.
Our next meeting will be Saturday, September 6 at 1:00 p.m.
Jan Tooker
Chairperson

Hand Weavers Guild of Lincoln Rug/Tapestry Study Group

The Hand Weavers Guild of Lincoln (HWGL) is a diverse group of beginning to advanced weavers and artists who share an interest in the art of handweaving, spinning, and other fiber arts. The Guild offers educational opportunities and the exchange of ideas.

The HWGL Rug/Tapestry Study Group is a specialty group which exists to promote understanding and skill in the techniques of rug and tapestry weaving.

“Recycle” is the theme for our upcoming show featuring works created by members of the Rug/Tapestry Study Group. Our theme will be expressed differently by each artist, but you can expect to see evidence of Recycle, Reuse, Repurpose, and various depictions of the “green movement.”

Following are some of the rugs and tapestries which were exhibited in our last show, “Inspired by Nature” presented in October 2013 at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Lincoln.

Note: I was not able to get the pictures to show up in this post. I will send the document to the Rug Tapestry Study Group in an email. Joan Johnson

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Rug Tapestry Study Group
March 29, 2014, 1:00 p.m.
Minutes
Present:  Catherine Easton, Cheryl Rennick, Jan Tooker, Mary Howell, John Geppert, Jane Marie.
Unable to attend: Joan Johnson, Sharon Vandenack, Shelda Baylor, Lori Beck.
We reviewed our comment sheets from Wendy Weiss from the October show. We found her comments informative and generally positive.
Minutes from the February 1 meeting were approved.
Venue: Hillestad Gallery may be an option. Jan will send a proposal, with representative photos, a short description of what the show would be about, how it would be organized, and so on. They have already been discussing shows for the 2014-15 year. (The committee met January 31, 2014.) We will likely try to schedule during the 2015-16 year. Wendy did suggest we try the Lux Center for Art.
Elder Gallery at Wesleyan: Mary Howell said they may be interested, would like to see examples of previous shows, etc. It would be during the 2015-16 school year. They also suggested we contact Lux.
Student Union Gallery at UNL: John will check on this.
Lux Center: Mary will check on this.
Galleries in David City, Nebraska City, Columbus, Fremont, Beatrice, Louisville.
Other ideas:
State Capitol or State Office Building, Governor’s Mansion
Wells Fargo downtown exhibits art (usually from LPS students)
Love Library at UNL
Lauritzen Gardens in Omaha
Considerations: we would like a reception area. We discussed having it in a gallery vs a more common area, and having it in Lincoln vs out of town. Could have a show in Lincoln then take the same show to another city
We decided to pursue a gallery venue for this show, with the option to take the same show to another city in the state afterwards.
Study on Tapestry: Catherine will teach this workshop which will be three Saturdays in October, from 9:00 – 2:30 each day (actual dates will depend on Open House, and Southwest Sale dates). As a prerequisite, we will have to pass a 4 question quiz. Topics covered in the workshop will include: basic tapestry joins, make straight and curved figures, make a sampler, and plan and start a new piece.  The cost will be $100 for non-members, $70 for Guild members, and $50 for Studio members. If you will be using a Studio loom for the workshop, you will have to be off that loom by December 31, 2013. Registrations will be due by the end of summer. Class will be limited to 12 participants. Sign-up sheet is on the board (calendar). The pre-test will be available soon.
Theme: Recycled. Could use recycled materials or recycle a theme, etc. Relate to the “green” idea, using natural materials, relate to how something is recycled, like how water is recycled. We need to plan to bring ideas to each meeting that would stimulate others’ design ideas. Continue to develop the theme. We will probably each need to make a statement about our piece for the show and how it relates to the theme.
Additional discussion items:  John is doing Hue vs Value color program for a Guild meeting, and would like to use photos of some of our pieces from the October show, and would like to get permission from the artists to use their pieces.
We may want to critique our own show, using the same checklist that we supplied to Wendy for the last one.
Next meeting: April 26 at 1:00 p.m.
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Rug/Tapestry Study Group Meeting
February 1, 2014

Members Present:  Linda Carlson, Mary Howell, Sharon Vandeneck, Catherine Easton, Cheryl Rennick

Scope - We voted to have a show with just rugs and tapestry.  We discussed whether we should have a judge, and the general consensus was probably not.

Venue – Several Suggestions were made. There has been contact with Hillestad Gallery and we liked that possibility.  Dan and Mary Howell will contact the Art Department at Wesleyan to see if Elder Gallery would be possible.  Other suggestions were the State Capitol, and Capitol Office Building, or galleries in David City or Nebraska City.

Study Topic --- Tapestry seemed to be favored, but we will need to free up some looms for this.

Theme ---- Sharon Vandenack brought a suggestion from Karen Cantrell of Recycled.  We discussed being able to use recycled materials, or recycling ideas.  We voted in favor of it.

The next rug meeting will be in late March (22 or 29) at 1 p.m.

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October 12, 2013
(Minutes of earlier meeting can be found by clicking "minutes - Rug Group" in the menu to the right.)

Review of Inspired by Nature:
Take down will be November 1 by Lori and Mary (Victoria, Sue, and Catherine will help). It will be nice to have the tables to use for re-wrapping. Pieces can be picked up at the Studio beginning November 2.
Congratulations to all award winners:

Handwoven's "Weaving for the Home" Award of Excellence
Title: The Silence is Deafening
Artist: Jane Marie

Best Decorative Piece
Title: Cardinal in Apple Blossoms
Artist: Catherine Easton

Best Wearable Piece

Title: Summer Sunset (shawl)
Artist: Victoria Hilton

Best First Entry

Title: Child Sweater
Artist: Jane Mailand

Best Weaving Using Handspun Yarn

Title: Navajo Style Saddle Blanket
Artist: Mary Howell

Best Handspun Yarn

Title: Alpaca Yarn
Artist: Victoria Hilton

People’s Choice
Title: Fall Rosepath
Artist: Jan Tooker

Comments and notes for next time:
Theme: Liked having a theme, but “Nature” was too broad for some, worked well for others. It seemed to be represented well.

Venue (Westminster Presbyterian Church):
 Loved it, it was beautiful, but friends have expressed a desire to attend beyond office hours. Accessibility to the entire hallway was a problem. Not being in the Haymarket made it difficult for people to attend on First Friday, although the Haymarket is becoming crowded enough that people are hesitating to attend First Friday there. If we use Westminster again we may want to publish a number to call to set up another time to see the show outside the expressed office hours.

Publicity:
 It seemed pretty good.

Brochure:
 Sue’s flyers were some of the most professional we’ve seen coming from any of the art galleries/guilds. Should we add piece numbers to the brochure? Having pieces entered late makes this difficult but Sue could print the back page at the last minute.

Hanging:
 Catherine and Will did an amazing job. They spent a long day. The hanging enhanced every piece there. It helped to have all the pieces out on the tables to see them as they were planning what to hang where. Pieces need to have a little more information attached to them (the name of the piece, front and back, and the way they are to be hung). Having a time limit for the hanging was not good – needed a full day to hang. “Webbed fishing line” works better for hanging rugs and such.

Awards / Judging:
 Awards needed to stand out more, be a different color, or whatever to make it more obvious as they hang.
Wendy wants a letter for her department chair about our experience, Jan will write it using comments from the group (below):
Many found her critique constructive, helpful, not intimidating, especially for a first time exhibitor/ new weaver, definitely helpful. She not only made comments but went beyond to say how we could make our work better. We learned about construction and design from her input from a textile professional’s point of view. We told her we wanted constructive criticism, and the fact that we got some low marks showed she wasn’t just placating, and helped us learn. She was using an evaluation tool she’d had no input on, she worked from the moment she arrived till she was done, with no lollygagging. She also had no input on creating the award categories, and stepped up to the task. She had a considered, clear opinion expressed on each entry in the show, which were extremely varied. She admitted she’s not a spinner but still willing to make a comment and was helpful on that as well. She was pleasant to work with during the process. And we were pleased that she came to the opening, reviewed every piece again, and interacted positively in that setting as well. She expressed a desire to have a future show during the spring semester when she could bring students to show them what can be achieved. That felt like a real compliment. We will likely plan some workshops where we’ll bring our pieces in and review her comments so we can all learn from them. Some of our weavers were thrilled to meet her at the opening and get to know her.

Include non-woven pieces:
 We were surprised that the best first entry was not a woven piece. Discussion centered around only allowing woven pieces, or not awarding the non-woven (knitted or felted) pieces. We will discuss further at the time we are setting entry requirements for the next show. We want to be inclusive but difficult to set the point at which we’re too inclusive so as to lose our identity. We felt it was fine to include handspun yarns because it’s part of our stated purpose.

Food:
 It was good, easy to carry around, nothing sticky or gooey.

Other comments:
 Needed a sign instructing people to contact the weaver directly. Jan will send Cheryl a list with numbers, weaver’s info, etc. as people are asking during the month.
We will put together a folder of our notes, samples of publicity/brochures, etc., and a list of who we sent information to. This will be put in the file cabinet under show information. We’ll also put a digital copy on the studio computer.


Costs:
 Sue $175, Jan $71.51, Lori for coffee, mints, napkins (about $30). Cheryl moved and Victoria seconded that we round the amount to $20 for each of the 16 exhibitors. Motion carried. Everyone should pay Cheryl.