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Soft Connection Lab
Talk
Soft Connection Lab is a four-year research project embedded in the University of KASK in Ghent, Belgium. Within the Lab they explore the possibilities to restore the emotional connection with each other and our material surroundings. In a world increasingly dominated by digitalization – which disconnects designing from making - they believe in the value of hands-on experiences, fostering deeper connections with the material, the object, and the people they are interacting with.
During the talk, they are happy to introduce their newly developed methodology that aims to stimulate a conjunctive design attitude. They will share their experiences and interesting footage on the ongoing research. Inspired by forgotten artisanal textile techniques and the social cohesiveness of maypole dancers, the team has researched transversal creative making methods which add an intangible emotional value to the created objects. Besides scaling up and slowing down to enhance insight, they’ve developed a set of four Soft Tools. These four Soft Tools function as their new design vocabulary and contain various obsolete braiding techniques. With these four tools SCL aspires to restore the emotional bonds between makers, consumers, and objects.
Parallel to the talk, they’ll launch our design challenge Healing through braiding. They invite enthusiast makers to use our Soft Tools to heal an object, transforming it and imbuing it with new significance. By exploring repair and restoration, emotional links can be forged between individuals, their material world and society.
Soft Connection Lab is a research project embedded within KASK – School of Arts HoGent in Ghent, Belgium. A collective of five researchers and designers is exploring whether ingenious textile techniques can be transformed into co-creative methodologies and healing artifacts.
In our Western industrialized society, the processes of designing and making are often disconnected. Soft Connection Lab aims to develop methods to reunite these processes through a conjunctive design methodology. Drawing inspiration from ingenious braiding techniques and the social connections exemplified by maypole dancers, the team investigates how this collective energy can enhance the emotional relationship between makers, consumers, and objects. They aspire to determine if this process can serve as a catalyst for sustainability.
600+ Wool Skirts: Collection Preview and Conversation
Talk
Join fashion archivist Sarah C. Byrd in conversation with Mae Colburn and her mother, Carol Colburn, about a collection of 600+ secondhand wool skirts assembled by Mae’s grandmother, Audrey Huset (1922-2022), between 1960 and 2000.
This spring, Mae, Carol and other family members worked together to catalog the entire collection, before moving it from Carol’s home in Duluth, Minnesota to Mae’s rag rug weaving studio in Brooklyn, New York. In the process, they created a striking photographic record of the wool skirts, now viewable on the collection website.
For this event, Mae and Carol will introduce the collection and trace its evolution to date, as well as discoveries made during their cataloging process. In conversation with Sarah, they seek to create a broader platform for discussion about home collections, inter-generational stewardship, and possible futures for this collection and others like it.
Sarah C. Byrd is a textile archivist with a special focus on American designers and the artifacts of daily living. She currently teaches courses related to the history, preservation, and material culture of fashion and textiles at FIT, NYU, Parsons, and the Textile Arts Center, and is co-founder of the Fashion Studies Alliance.
Mae Colburn is a scholar and weaver with a particular interest in textile archives, collections, and legacies. She works as archivist for tapestry artist Helena Hernmarck and collects her own weaving activities under the name Common Loom.
Carol Colburn is Professor Emerita in Theatre, Costume Design at the University of Northern Iowa. Her graduate studies included art history, museology, and textiles and clothing. She currently teaches sewing workshops at North House Folk School and John C. Campbell Folk School.
Talk & Presentation: YOROKE-ORI (Ondulé Weaving) by Yukiko Yokoyama
Talk
Loop of the Loom is featuring a talk and presentation by textile artist Yukiko Yokoyama, renowned for her YOROKE weaving (aka Onduree weaving technique). This in-person event is a rare opportunity to meet Yokoyama, visiting from Japan, and discover the beauty of this contemporary meticulous craft. During the presentation, participants will learn about her 50 years of experience in dyeing and weaving while demonstrating with a loom and viewing her work. Attendees will also hear stories from her creations and participate in a Q&A session. If it's not possible to attend her other workshops or are just starting to weave, don't miss this!"
Loop of the Loom is a wonderful retreat for those seeking relaxation through textile art. It allows participants to unleash their infinite creativity using looms and various textures. Since 2005, we have offered ""Zen weaving"" a free-spirited approach to weaving with SAORI's weaving philosophy that breaks away from traditional weaving concepts.
At their two weaving dojos, they sell Japanese natural dyes, organic yarns, and SAORI looms, carefully curated with sustainability and wellness in mind and suitable for environmentally conscious crafters.
Tickets costs $30.
Textile Medley: Bryana Bibbs and Anna-Maie Southern in conversation
Talk
Join Intertwine Arts for an online talk wherein artists we admire describe their textile influences. We will examine two artists’ fiber art, as well as discuss the intersections and divergences of their craft and experiences. Featuring Bryana Bibbs and Anna-Maie Southern, they will explore how their art and teaching practices reflect a journalistic sense of weaving, navigate mental health, as well as highlight the virtues of plain-weave.
Bryana Bibbs is a Chicago-based artist who works at the intersection of textiles, painting, and community-based practices. Bibbs earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts with an emphasis in Fiber and Material Studies at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She founded The We Were Never Alone Project - a weaving workshop for victims and survivors of domestic violence, serves on the Surface Design Association’s Education Committee, and was named one of Newcity’s Breakout Artists of 2024.
Anna-Maie is a teaching artist and maker originally from the UK, now based in Manhattan. She studied BA Textile Design from University of Arts London, where she specialized in woven design and construction. Since then, Anna-Maie’s practice has evolved to focus on the Japanese weaving SAORI - a free-form approach to weaving that encourages experimentation and self expression. Anna-Maie loves to teach students of all ages and abilities, and is also hugely passionate about disability advocacy and the therapeutic benefits of art making.
intertwinearts.org @intertwinearts
The mission of Intertwine Arts is to inspire creativity, joy, and self-confidence through free-form weaving for people of all ages with disabilities or chronic illness. Intertwine Arts envisions creating and promoting inclusive communities of weavers by partnering with organizations that provide programs and services to people with intellectual, developmental, or physical disabilities or chronic illness together with their families and caregivers. We aim to promote accessibility in the arts, as well as champion the legitimacy of disabled weavers in the art world.