Earlier this year, about a month after I broke my wrist, I traveled to Rochester NY to teach a workshop on Color Blending with the Weavers Guild of Rochester. I was picked up at the airport by Jan Hewitt Towsley, a longtime member of the guild. It was an early flight and I arrived before noon. I was to be staying with a volunteer from the guild. Not wanting to drop me there too early, Jan planned some stops along the way. Starting with a trip to her studio and lunch at a very nearby restaurant.

Jan’s studio was a real treat. She’d been there since 1989. Jan weaves with metal which was fascinating to me. I ended up purchasing a small piece (the one in the middle) with a price tag on it I could afford and small enough to slip into my suitcase. She had a huge loom warped up with wire warp and weft, too. I didn’t get a good photo but mention it to say that while these are fairly small pieces from warp ends I think she said, she does do large work, too.

Above, all pieces of Jan’s.

We were also able to stop at the guild’s Weaving and Fiber Arts Center (amazing space loaded with looms by the way- and almost all being used!) where I got to join in on a class that was going on at the time. Joyce Robard was conducting a make-up class on Ply-Split Braiding. She encouraged me to grab some supplies and give it a try.

I’d never heard of ply-split braiding, but I did try my hand at it. It was challenging due to my wrist being in a splint and still not functioning 100% - so I packed it up and brought it home to finish. (I’ve been looking for it to show you here, but for now, it’s hiding away somewhere in my studio.)

From the weaving center, we made a quick stop at Whole Foods, then on to my lodgings where I was greeted by Hope Herting, another generous member of the guild, who very graciously made my 5 night stay super comfortable in her home. I have some strict dietary requests, but I’d had no reason to be concerned (or make that stop at the grocery for that matter). Hope was one step ahead of me all the way- catering to my every whim with just the right mix of downtime balanced with socializing- and yummy meals!

The next morning, I met more members at the monthly meeting. Wow- what a vibrant, professional, and active guild Rochester has! I was really impressed with how many members attend the meetings - both in person and watching through zoom. They’re also very fortunate to have a wonderful “tech guy”, Doug, who made sure everything ran smoothly.

I gave a presentation before the 2.5 day workshop began on A Sense of Place. Then we spent the rest of the time diving into Color Blending, especially with weft bundling techniques (my favorite!).

I often like to start workshops getting to know everyone by having each person bring something that they’ve woven. Below are some of the beautiful tapestries they shared. My apologies for not crediting everyone here; I’ve let too much time go by!*

This guild has a very robust tapestry study group of which most of the class are a part of. I learned that some of the weavings above were from projects or classes they had taken together. A few were from their Silvia Heyden study group and you’ll recognize the little faces if you know Ruth Manning’s work (a member of the group and workshop). She had taught a class on portraits earlier. Still another workshop piece you might recognize: Rebecca Smith’s Weaving with Wire.

I was also thrilled to see some examples from one of “my” online classes included here, too! Mary McMahon’s shape studies from an exercise in Elements: Art Through Tapestry! (bottom far right above).

Below are some random shots from the workshop.

The French Knots were a hit as always!

Thank you, Rochester weavers, for a great time together!

*Please, if you were in the workshop and are reading this, recognize your tapestry above, let me know and I’d be happy to credit you! And if you’ve done more color blending since then, or taken the samples off the loom, feel free to send me an updated image. I apologize to any I might have left out!

Another fun tapestry workshop