A community building tapestry weaving workshop:
Delve into the captivating world of tapestry weaving and unleash your innate creativity with the luxurious and versatile medium of yarn. With roots dating back thousands of years, tapestry weaving adheres to fundamental rules crucial for textile construction. This immersive, hands-on workshop is meticulously designed to lay the groundwork for tapestry weaving, igniting a lifelong journey of self-expression through the art of yarn. Aspiring weavers will learn how to conceive intricate tapestry designs, set up a small frame loom, master weaving techniques for diverse shapes and textures, experiment with various materials for distinct outcomes, and ultimately, achieve the artful completion of their tapestries. At the same time, it will introduce sustainable, slow making techniques with the use of discarded, dead-stock materials.
Valeria Maldonado is a Peruvian-born artist based in New York City. With a Bachelor's degree in architecture, she's currently pursuing an MFA in Textiles at Parsons School of Design. Valeria pushes the limits of textiles and architecture, breaking away from conventional norms. Her focus on feminist architectural principles is central to her work. Weaving takes centre stage in Valeria's craft. Techniques like plain weaving, basketry, along with natural dyeing and embroidery, contribute to her pieces. Through reimagining and repurposing natural and man-made materials, Valeria births three-dimensional "Textile models," that challenge norms and inspire innovative crafting.
Shaochi is born in Taiwan, where she received her BA in Fashion Design. She is now studying at Parsons and creating Textiles in New York. Her approach to making is guided by intuition and yet balanced with methodical discipline. It is often organic in form, but is unafraid of combining the natural with manmade. Although rigorous in the making process, there is always a purposeful subtle rawness in her work. For Shaochi, the surface texture of a work remains equally important as its sculptural shape.
Neha Bhide is an Indian textile artist based in New York, currently pursuing her MFA Textiles at Parsons School of Design. Her work focuses on researching the relationship of cotton, as seen through the lens of India's freedom struggle while drawing parallels between India and the United States to depict the effects of British colonialism on the textiles of the two countries. While her aim is to use sustainable, slow textile making processes to tell these stories, while looking at the context of 'khadi', a hand-spun and hand-woven fabric used to express self-reliance and self-governance during India's freedom struggle in 1918, and what it looks like in today's world.
Nikita Jain is an Indian Textile Designer and Natural Dyer currently pursuing MFA at Parsons School of Design, New York, blends tradition with innovation. Focused on reducing textile's ecological footprint, she extensively researches traditional textile methods and explores new fibers. Her creations harmoniously marry age-old practices with contemporary design. A sustainability advocate, Nikita seeks eco-friendly alternatives through natural dyeing. Her journey inspires environmentally conscious creativity, paving the way for a greener future in art and design.