Gold Medalist Portfolios

I have been weaving since 1976 when I took an adult education class in beginning weaving on a rigid heddle frame loom and must admit that I was amazed to realize that I was making cloth. Oneota Weavers Guild had just begun; Vesterheim was offering a number of weaving classes that intrigued me; and we had a thriving yarn store in Decorah. It was the perfect time to start weaving. I discovered that I really enjoy the detail work of tapestry and danskbrogd. Classes at Vesterheim under excellent teachers such as Lila Nelson and Jan Mostrom gave me encouragement and a solid foundation for designing and executing my own weavings. The loom appeals to my nature, holding the warp ends nice and tight, thus allowing me to weave and unweave and reweave as many times as I need to in order to finally “get it right.” Although I plan extensively and look to works of others for inspiration, with danskbrogd I often find the design evolving as the pattern on the loom emerges.

Comment about the weaving “Firestorm Sunrise”: I wove this piece in the winter of 2020 when devastating wildfires were sweeping across Australia. Danskbrogd technique allowed depiction of the sun’s rays both reflecting from the surface of the Pacific Ocean and radiating into the smoke-filled sky showing the beautiful yet terrifying atmospheric changes that accompany wildfire. Flocks of birds, the only living animals that were able to escape, are making their way to new lands. I hope that the viewer will come away from this weaving with a renewed sense of urgency to address climate change by government, business, and individuals.