New England Weavers' Seminar: 2023 Instructors
Louise Lemieux Bérubé
Weaving 3D Shapes
Louise Lemieux Bérubé, distinguished pioneer in the innovative use of Jacquard techniques in textile weaving, explores a many faceted vision of life, man, and nature through the use of a computer-assisted technique that she pioneered. This technique enables the artist to use a photograph, manipulated to produce the desired effect and transformed into a woven textile. Louise Lemieux Bérubé has exhibited her work throughout Canada and the United States as well as in Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Japan, Korea, Argentina, China, and Spain. Her work is represented in public collections as well as in numerous private collections. Lemieux Bérubé is the Founder of the Montreal Centre for Contemporary Textiles, and there she has taught Jacquard weaving to students from around the world. She is the author of Le Tissage Créateur, a comprehensive textbook on weaving and is the co-author, with Carole Greene, of Louise Lemieux Berube, Unwinding the Threads published in 2012.
Carol Birtwistle
Weaving for Beginners on the 4-Harness Floor Loom
Carol Birtwistle began weaving in 1968 with classes in design and weaving at the Cleveland Institute of Art. She has also studied at Haystack Mountain School of Crafts and continues studies of fiber structure and color theory through workshops, conferences, and independent study. She has been presenting weaving workshops and lectures to guilds and conferences and has been teaching at Webs for over 35 years. Her classes focus on weaving skills, drafting structures, and developing designs supporting the use of the textile.
Maggie Casey
Start Spinning: Learn to Spin or Refresh Your Skills
Maggie Casey has been addicted to spinning since the last century, and, while some people are proud of their wine cellars, she much prefers her fleece basement. She was co-owner of Shuttles Spindles & Skeins until it closed in 2020. Besides teaching spinning at Shuttles, she also teaches at the Estes Park Wool Market, Harrisville Designs, John C Campbell Folk School, Maryland Sheep & Wool, PlyAway and SOAR. She holds Part 1 of HGA’s COE in Handspinning and is the author of Start Spinning, Everything You Need to Know to Make Great Yarn and several Long Thread Media videos.
Lucienne Coifman
Beyond Rep Weave: Exploring Non-traditional Rep Weave and its New Variations
Lucienne Coifman has taught weaving for over 40 years at the Guilford Art Center, The Creative Art Workshop, and in her own studio. She also conducted workshops throughout the Northeast and the Midwest and participated in the last 4 Convergences. For the last 30 years Lucienne has been studying Rep Weave, experimenting with different fibers. Her main interest has centered on color interactions and patterns, using up to 8 harnesses and using pick-up techniques when needed. Lately she has researched many unusual ways to weave Rep Weave that do not follow the traditional path. Her weavings have appeared in Shuttle Spindle & Dyepot, Handwoven, and has been included in many juried exhibits. Her book, "REP, RIPS, REPS Weave" (2015), is a complete workshop for both beginning and advanced weavers.
Karen Donde
Turned Beiderwand to Double Two-Tie
Color, Pattern, Shape: From Inspiration to Design
How & Why to Turn a Draft
Spice Up Your Weaving
Karen Donde weaves garments, fashion accessories, and home textiles for sale and teaches beginning-advanced weaving classes and assorted workshops for guilds and conferences. Teaching credits include HGA’s Convergence (2012, 2014, 2016, 2020), Southeast Fiber Forum, Mid-Atlantic Fiber Association’s Workshop Weekend, Midwest Weavers Conference, Intermountain Weavers Guild Conference and Florida Tropical Weavers Conference. In Asheville, NC, Karen has taught at Sutherland Handweaving Studio, Friends & Fiberworks, and Local Cloth. Karen is a juried member of the Southern Highland Craft Guild and graduated in 2013 from Haywood Community College’s Professional Crafts-Fiber program. An experienced and award-winning writer with a Bachelor of Journalism degree from the University of Missouri, Karen now writes for and about weavers. She is a contributor to Handwoven magazine and other industry publications.
Laurie Duxbury
Fashion Show Tour
Masters of Overshot: One Threading - Countless Weaves
Laurie Duxbury lives and works at the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. As a child she was fascinated by all things fiber, particularly when visiting Colonial Williamsburg. She learned to spin first, on a spinning wheel built by her grandfather. Spinners hang out with weavers and spinning became the entry drug as she developed her fiber habit. She has been weaving for over 30 years. Through conferences, weaving schools, and community college, she learned to develop her own weaving voice. Laurie shows and sells her work regionally and has taught across the US. As a teacher, she hopes each student understands what draws them to their craft. Her goal is for them to begin to understand what they love about weaving, and to develop the tools they need to express themselves through weaving. Her favorite moments are when a student has an “aha” experience. Then she knows that a weaver has been inspired to continue in their growth as a craftsperson.
Molly Elkind
Collage: Design Tool and Art Form
Collage to Cartoon… and Beyond!
Molly Elkind earned an M.A. in Studio Art from the Hite Art Institute at the University of Louisville in 2002. She has focused on weaving for 13 years but is also fluent in papermaking, mixed media collage, and embroidery. Exhibition highlights include a solo show at Mercer University in Atlanta (2009) and numerous juried and invitational shows nationwide. Molly has been published in fiber art-related publications, and her work is in several private collections. She recently served a three-year term on the board of the American Tapestry Alliance as the Director of Volunteers. Her tapestry work was exhibited in a solo show in 2018 in Atlanta, just before she relocated to Santa Fe, New Mexico. Besides making art, Molly is passionate about teaching it, with a particular focus on design principles and processes. She teaches both online and nationwide for guilds and conferences.
Deb Essen
Color for Fiber Artists
Color in Weaving
Deb Essen lives, weaves, and runs her business, dje handwovens, in the Bitterroot Valley, nestled in the Rocky Mountains of western Montana. In 2004, Deb achieved the Certificate of Excellence in Handweaving - Level 1 through the Handweaver’s Guild of America and in 2011 was recognized by the Montana Arts Council with induction into the Montana Circle of American Masters in Folk and Traditional Art. Her book, Easy Weaving with Supplemental Warps, was published originally by Interweave Press in 2016 and as a revised edition with more projects and weave structures through Schiffer Publishing in 2022. Five videos, on topics ranging from supplemental warps to profile drafting, are available through Long Thread Media. She has written multiple feature articles for Handwoven and Little Looms magazines. Deb is passionate about teaching about the wonders of weaving and teaches at shops, guilds, regional and national conferences, and festivals.
Adrienne Gaskell
Introduction to Kumihimo Fiber Braids
Multi-Strand Necklace
An Exploration into the Oimatsu Braid
Knotted Elegance
Adrienne Gaskell attributes a love of, and background in textile arts for her exciting color combinations, one of the trademarks of her work. Her mother, who taught her needlework and how to make her own clothing, was fond of saying that Adrienne was born with a needle in her hand. “When I first discovered beadweaving I realized that all the years of working in needle arts were a great preparation for some of the techniques I use in my jewelry. So many skills from my past influence my work today.”
Chris Hammel learned to weave over twenty-five years ago while attending graduate school in Iowa City. Shortly after completing her graduate work in Latin Language and Literature, she enrolled in the six-year weaving program at Hill Institute in Florence, MA. In 1998, Chris earned her Master Weaver Certificate and, in 2004, became the Director of Weaving at Hill Institute. Her work has been published in Handwoven and Complex Weavers Journal. She has taught classes at WEBS in Northampton, MA, Fiber Arts Center in Amherst, MA, Snow Farm in Williamsburg, MA and the New England Weavers Seminar. Chris produces textiles for the home, wall hangings, clothing, and accessories under the name Ekphrasis Defined Designs.
Chris Hammel
Beyond Beginning
Lisa Hill
Big Blankets, Little Looms
Elizabeth (Lisa) Hill is a weaving enthusiast. She has been weaving for over 25 years and , in 2012, completed a six-year Master Weaver Program at Hill Institute in Florence, MA. Elisabeth is past Program Chair for the Weavers of Western Massachusetts and is formerly a tech editor for and frequent contributor to Handwoven Magazine. She has taught at guilds, weaving conferences and folk schools all over the country and has kept a weaving blog since 2010. Elisabeth has designed weaving patterns for WEBS yarn store and Gist Yarns and continues to create original designs for sale through plainweave.net.
Deborah Jarchow
Dorset Buttons & Cross Wheel Ornaments
Weave a Ribbon Basket
Rigid Heddle Techniques
When Deborah Jarchow discovered weaving, her love of fiber, texture, and color came together. A full-time weaver, author, designer, and artist, Deborah has exhibited at galleries and museums across the country, winning numerous awards. Her work has been commissioned by many churches and private collectors. She travels extensively from her Arizona home to share her weaving enthusiasm and expertise. As a nationally recognized teacher, she is known as a generous educator who makes weaving accessible and exciting to students of all levels. Deborah co-authored The Weaving Explorer: Ingenious Techniques, Accessible Tools & Creative Projects with Yarn, Paper, Wire & More, and her new book, Rigid Heddle Weaving: Basics and Beyond, is now available from Ashford dealers.
Rebecca Jensen
Introduction to Ply-Split Braiding
A Ply-Split Basket in Three Hours
Rebecca Jensen started out as a multi-harness weaver but became attracted to ply-split braiding about ten years ago when seeking a portable weaving method. Each design begins with cords, 16 strands and 20 feet at a time. With a basic shape in mind, Rebecca’s three-dimensional pieces grow and morph into whimsical objects d’art that have been displayed on three continents and won awards in New England. She shares her skills spontaneously, teaching anyone who shows an interest (and doesn’t run away!). Ply-splitting taught Rebecca that unweaving is not only okay but often necessary and ultimately fulfilling!
Denise Kovnat
One Warp, Many Structures: Explorations in Extended Parallel Threadings
Denise Kovnat has been weaving since 1998. She has taught virtually and at conferences and guilds across the United States, Canada, and Australia, focusing on Echo threadings, collapse techniques, painted warps and deflected double weave. She exhibits her work at national and international conferences, and her award-winning hand-dyed and handwoven garments have been juried into Convergence fashion shows since 2008. She is most proud of serving on the founding team for the Weaving and Fiber Arts Center in Rochester, NY, which opened in 2002 and currently offers hundreds of classes every year. She blogs about weaving and fiber art at www.denisekovnat.com.
Connie Lippert
Wedge Weave
Connie Lippert weaves tapestries using the wedge weave technique with yarns hand-dyed using natural materials. Her work has been exhibited in 30 states and been accepted into over 150 juried exhibitions. She has received several artist grants from the South Carolina Arts Commission. Her work is represented in museum, corporate, academic, and private collections and has been widely published including a book by author Carole Green: Connie Lippert: A Wedge Weaver’s Storied Cloth. Her tapestries are represented in
several new books including Tapestry Design Basics and Beyond by Tommye Scanlin, The Art is the Cloth by Micala Sidore, and The Art of Tapestry Weaving by Rebecca Mezoff. She has taught wedge weave workshops and given seminars in California, New York, Michigan, Colorado, New Mexico, Georgia, Florida, New Jersey, South Carolina, North Carolina, Massachusetts, and Wisconsin. Connie is represented by Blue Spiral 1 in Asheville, North Carolina.
Annie MacHale
Color, Design, & Weave on an Inkle Loom
Horizontal Bar Pickup on the Inkle Loom
Annie MacHale first discovered the inkle loom at the age of seventeen, sparking a lifelong love affair. She built her first loom in 1976 with the help of her dad and a library book. Since then, she’s woven miles of bands. She loves to play with color and pattern and finds the inkle loom a very satisfying way to do this. Annie is known to many through her blog, ASpinnerWeaver.com. The popularity of her patterns shared there have led to the publication of a book, In Celebration of Plain Weave: Color and Design Inspiration for Inkle Weavers.
Stephanie Morton
Krokbragd: All Dressed Up in Rags
Stephanie Morton studied ethnic weaving in the early 1970’s through Friends World College, traveling to Mexico, Denmark, England, Norway, India, and Nepal to examine their weaving styles. This was the start of a lifelong pursuit of traditional handweaving on non-mechanized looms. She has (out of necessity!) focused on rag weaving, pushing the limits and perfecting her rug and catalogne weaving. After a long hiatus from teaching Tibetan knotted pile weaving, Stephanie resumed teaching rug weaving in 2012. She now teaches rug weaving and beginner 4-harness weaving in Guilderland, NY. Stephanie is a member of the Hudson Mohawk Weavers Guild and is a former member of the Handweavers Guild of Connecticut.
Rosalie Neilson
Rep Runners on Eight Shafts
Rosalie Neilson uses color and geometric design in her weaving and kumihimo braiding. As a designer and teacher, she publishes regularly in weaving and braiding journals and maintains an active teaching schedule throughout the United States, Canada, and England. Her published works include “The Thirty-Seven Interlacements of Hira Kara Gumi,” “The Twenty-Four Interlacements of Edo Yatsu Gumi,” “Kongō Gumi: A Cacophony of Spots—Coils--Zags—Lines,” and a two-volume book on block design, “An Exaltation of Blocks.” She is featured in a 2-hour rep weave video by Interweave Press (now owned by Long Thread Media).
Gretchen Romey-Tanzer
Drafting & Design For 4 Shafts
Drafting & Design For More Than 4 Shafts
Gretchen Romey-Tanzer has been weaving for 50+ years, with a current focus on multi-shaft doubleweave. Her handwoven wall works are in museum collections (including the MFA, Boston) and many private and corporate collections. Gretchen has taught and presented sessions to a number of the New England Weavers guilds in the past 5 years, both in person and via Zoom. She runs a weaving studio and gallery in Brewster, Massachusetts, where weavers can take independent or group classes. The classes she teaches there include beginning weaving, doubleweave, inkle weaving, and drafting and design.
Sarah Saulson
Creative Paper Weaving for Handweavers & Beyond
Gallery Show Tour
Sarah Saulson started weaving as a child in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and has pursued fiber arts as her full-time profession for more than three decades, for most of that time in Syracuse, NY. Now she lives in Providence, Rhode Island. Her fiber arts practice is based at Hope Artiste Village, a historic weaving mill repurposed into a space for artists and entrepreneurs in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. Her practice includes both studio work in complex weaving, dyeing and spinning as well as teaching nationally and internationally.
Deborah Silver
Split-Shed Weaving: Multiple Structures on 4 Shafts using a Straight Threading
Deborah Silver earned a BFA in Fiber from the Cleveland Institute of Art. She weaves art using the split-shed technique, transforming traditional weaving structures into a signature method of hand-weaving. She authored The Technique of Split-Shed Weaving, a book that illustrates pictorial weaving using the split-shed process on four-shaft looms. Deborah’s weavings have been shown in numerous juried exhibitions. She is the recipient of several awards, including the Complex Weavers Award and first Place at Complexity in 2018. Her articles have been published in Complex Weavers magazine. Deborsh teaches split-shed weaving workshops internationally.
Cameron Taylor-Brown
Gallery Show Tour
Materiality: The Tactile Experience
Cameron Taylor-Brown was introduced to textiles by artist Ed Rossbach at the University of California, Berkeley, and studied textile design at the Philadelphia College of Textiles and Science, where she later taught woven design. Since 1985, she has lived in Los Angeles where she is active in arts and education. Her work is widely exhibited and has been featured in Fiber Art Now, American Craft, Handwoven and Shuttle, Spindle and Dyepot. In 2019, she curated the critically acclaimed exhibit Material Meaning: A Living Legacy of Anni Albers at the Craft in America Center. She teaches workshops at schools, guilds, museums and conferences throughout the United States and Canada, and is the founder of ARTSgarage, a textile resource center in Los Angeles. She is a past president of California Fibers and serves on the advisory boards of the Fowler Textile Council and Textile Arts Los Angeles.
Marjie Thompson
Mystery Decoded- Reading the Earlier Drafts for Four Shaft Float Work
Sheep, Angels, and Other Little Figures
Marjie Thompson enjoys being "stuck' in the pre-20th century weaving world. Her focus is the textiles produced both at home and by the professional weavers. Marjie enjoys adapting these weaves to contemporary colors and uses. She is the coordinator of the Complex Weavers "Early Weaving Books and Manuscripts" study group, the “Preserving Our Past” study group, past president of NEWS,
a past Dean of the Weavers’ Guild of Boston, past president of Complex Weavers, an active guild member Weavers' Guild of Boston, past president of the New Hampshire Weavers' Guild, and a member of many study groups including Cross Country Weavers. Her woven pieces have received the HGA award, Handwoven’s Weaving for the Home Award, and Marjie is one of a handful of weavers awarded the “Weaver of Distinction” title from NEWS in both the gallery and fashion shows. She is the co-author of Forgotten Pennsylvania Textiles of the 18th and 19th Centuries, The Huck Pattern Collection, Miniature Patterns for Weaving by Josephine Estes, and the editor of The Gartner Manuscript. Her articles have appeared in Weavers, Handwoven, Complex Weavers Journal, Shuttle, Spindle, & Dyepot, and The Spinning Wheel Sleuth’s Loom Supplement.
Mihoko Wakabayashi
SAORI Weaving; Weave, Sew, and Wear
Mihoko Wakabayashi hails from Japan and has a background in alternative education. While teaching weaving (as well as English and music) at Tokyo Shure (a pioneer alternative school), she became attracted to the philosophy and freely expressive style of SAORI weaving as promulgated by its founder Misao Jo. Following instruction in the SAORI approach and specific techniques, she earned her certificate as a SAORI leader and also was awarded a solo exhibition of her woven work in Kyoto. Mihoko moved with her husband and son to Worcester MA in 2000 where she opened the first SAORI studio in the USA. She has taught widely since that time, promoting SAORI weaving and training new teachers. Since 2005, Mihoko has conducted an annual SAORI Japan tour.
Kathrin Weber
Controlling Creative Chaos
Kathrin Weber (aka Blazing Shuttles) has been living in the North Carolina mountains as a full time, self-employed fiber artist since 1980. Known for her colorful hand-dyed yarn and handwoven fabrics, she markets her work nationally through craft shows, galleries, and commissions. Kathrin teaches weaving and dyeing workshops throughout the U.S. at guilds, conferences, retreats, and personal studios. She has a fearless approach to using color and guides her students into “informative play” while designing, weaving, and dyeing.
Carolyn Wetzel
Introduction to Bobbin Lace
Carolyn Wetzel has studied bobbin lace, tatting, and needle lace techniques for over 40 years, both in the USA and abroad. She regularly teaches lace making workshops at lace conventions and for individual guilds. She has written lace-related articles for Piecework Magazine and The Bulletin of the International Organization of Lace, Inc. Carolyn is an active member of the New England Lace Group (outgoing President; https://nelg.us) and IOLI (former Eastern Director, currently head of the Virtual Events Committee). Aside from her lace life, Carolyn is a full-time college biology professor, raises and processes flax into linen, and recently completed the Hill Institute Master Weaver certificate.
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