Imagine a folded piece of paper, like an envelope or ddakji disk. Now, imagine those shapes as cloth formed on the loom. In her class Expanding the Pliable Plane, Jerome Fellow and WGM instructor Heather MacKenzie leads students in exploring and creating dimensional cloth using multi-layered structures and hand-manipulated pick-up processes, starting with paper models and then moving to eight shaft looms.

WGM member Jan Hayman took the class this past summer. She writes:

“If you’re looking to be blown away by the possibilities of 3-dimensional cloth on your eight shaft loom, this could be the class for you.

Heather encourages experimentation and she helps you implement your ideas into cloth. Weaving two, three, or even four layers? No problem! Heather will show you how. Crafting four layers of interlocking cells – don’t worry, Heather can help you figure out the lift sequence. If you find it hard (as I did) to visualize how to weave in several dimensions, just go with the flow and you’ll soon experience dimensional weaving on 8 shafts.

A half dozen students participated in Heather’s class last summer and no two pieces were alike! Projects ranged from a multilayered scarf with intersecting layers, to a wall hanging with two twisted layers that forked along diagonal lines, to an experimental piece combining single and double layers with a diamond-shaped pocket. Amazing!

In a time when multi-shaft weaving of 36 or more shafts is trending, it’s so refreshing to push the boundaries of the eight shaft loom into multiple planes of possibility.”

There is still room in this term’s class. Registration closes on Friday, January 25.  Read more and sign up here ?

Heather’s work is also on view at the Textile Center as part of the Common Thread exhibition. This exhibition will up through Saturday, March 2 and includes the work of other WGM instructors and members including Sandra Brick, Lucy Brusic, Doreen Hartzell, Jan Johnson, Robbie LaFleur, and Chiaki O’Brien, Karen Searle.

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Have you taken a class that you really loved at WGM? To share your WGM story, email education@weaversguildmn.org.