By Linda Emmerman
I would like to start by thanking the Northern Colorado Weavers Guild for the gift of receiving a scholarship for this workshop which I attended on September 14, 2024.
I recall as a young girl, my first experiences with weaving. My parents bought me a plastic table loom called the Easy Weaver. I remember enjoying it a lot. I also had fun creating pot holders on a pin loom. Not having any evidence of what I made, the memories are something I do cherish fondly.
As a young adult, I did dabble a bit with a tapestry loom and an inkle loom, but then life got busy and I took a different creative path of studying music. Weaving was always something I might get back into when I had more time.
Fast forward to my current chapter in life of retirement, and I now have the time to learn more about the wonderful world of weaving.
I was excited about the 3-D Weaving class given by Martina Celerin. I do like to collage with paper and this class looked like collage with fiber. It didn’t disappoint. Here is how the weekend progressed.
This is the loom provided. I really had no preconceived ideas or concepts of what would transpire, but trusted in the magical process that is creating. Martina provided a lot of materials to choose from.
After warping the loom, the experimenting began. I chose some different fiber and started to build the “grassy” area using yarn and small branches cut from the pieces of fake Christmas tree branches from the materials stash. I then added some feathers I had brought with me, which led me to design a “body of water”. From there, I finished with the sky.
Throughout the session, Martina showed us how to add embellishments by either weaving them in or hot gluing if needed. She also taught us how to create an armature and wrap it to create a tree. We learned two different ways to then add leaves to the tree. The final technique she taught was soumak and I used it to create a cloud in my piece.
Now to Finish It
Well, the class was in September 2024, and it took until April 2025 to take it off the loom and frame it. Martina’s pieces are custom framed and look great but she has someone make her frames. I did not have that luxury, but an artist friend encouraged me to go and chat with the folks at Jerry’s Artarama in Ft. Collins, Colorado.
The frame department employee talked me through a few options and I took her advice. After following Martina’s instructions, I cut a thread at the back in the middle of the piece, which then loosened its partner and tied a square knot, progressing through until all threads were tied off. On the back, the ends are secured by hot glue.
The framer then suggested mounting the tapestry to a thin foam core board by sewing it. I used a tapestry needle and thread and secured it on the top and bottom. I then purchased a frame which I assembled to fit the piece.
Here are some photos of that process.
My piece on the loom, and my finished piece
A piece by Martina Celerin
