Send your news items to Tim Prins by the 25th of the month for inclusion in the next month’s newsletter.
Guild Calendar
Thursday, June 13, 2024 – June Bonus Presentation with Giovanna Imperia
10:00am Only on Zoom
Thursday, June 13, 2024 – June Annual Meeting + Strawberry Social
Multnomah Arts Center + Zoom, 7688 SW Capitol Hwy. (503) 823-2787
7:00 pm Evening Meeting – Gym
6:30 pm – 7:00 pm: set up, social and library browsing time
7:00 pm – 9:00 pm: Meeting
President’s Message
It’s my last time writing a president’s message for the newsletter. Come this time next month someone else will have the job of leading the guild. But it’s not a job, really. Jobs are things one associates with work, drudgery, or something you just do for the money. I actually enjoy it, and when I think of why I came back to the president’s role it’s really the people that you see and interact with that make it such a pleasure for me. I’ve truly enjoyed the last couple years, seeing everyone at meetings, and seeing all the great work being done. It’s truly an inspiration.
So, if I enjoy it so much why don’t I do another year or two? Well, let me share a story. I used to belong to a group in San Francisco. The group was run by Karl, and Karl had run the group for several years. He wrote the newsletter every month. Not only did he write it, but he had it printed, and folded and stapled it, and put the labels and stamps on it, and dropped it in the mail. He ran the meetings. He arranged the activities and events, and basically handled just about everything. Then one day Karl had an emergency operation, and everything ground to a halt. No one was ready to step in and take his place because he had done everything by himself for so long. I truly wondered if it was the end of the group. Thankfully, Karl recovered, and within a couple months he was back at the helm, keeping the whole thing afloat again. But I wonder, what would have happened if he hadn’t.
It’s very unlikely that something like that would happen here. But I always thought of Karl when I began to contemplate another year as president. Luckily, we have several past presidents around, which means we have a good group of people to turn to when there’s questions about what we do or why we do it that way. But it’s good for new folks to lead and get the chance to become that resource for future guild members. New presidents bring in new ideas, new perspectives, and new voices. It keeps the group growing and evolving. So that’s why I’ll be handing over the reins to someone else.
If you haven’t thought about becoming president I hope you’ll take a few minutes to consider it. It really is a pleasure, and you certainly don’t have to do the job alone. The guild is blessed with a good board and people who are happy to lend a hand.
As always, I hope to see you at a meeting soon.
Dan
P.S. Billy and I will be doing the baking for the strawberry social at the June meeting. He’s doing cake, and I’m doing the more traditional biscuits. Sarah and Lynne are handling the strawberries. I really hope you’ll join us. It’s always a fun and tasty meeting.
Upcoming Programs
2024 June Annual Meeting + Strawberry Social
The June meeting is always our annual meeting. There’s lots going on, including:
- Show and Tell, as always.
- Presentation and vote on next year’s budget.
- Presentation by each of the study groups – what have they done this year, what are they planning for next year
- Presentation from Rebecca Norwood, this year’s grant recipient, about her experience getting the grant, where she went and what she learned.
- Presentation and vote on next year’s board.
- Final viewing of the PHG mannequins. After nearly 10 years being displayed at various events, including last year’s award winning guild booth at the ANWG Conference in Bend, the mannequins are going on display one last time. Given their age and fragility the board has decided to turn them over to the artists who have made outfits for them. Here’s your last chance to see them before they are turned over for private display.
- Strawberries!!! Billy and Dan are baking cakes and biscuits, and Sarah and Lynne are prepping the strawberries. There will be all the options – gluten free, dairy free, sugar free, or all the bad stuff combined, including home made whipped cream or the stuff from a can. Yum!!
A fun evening with fellow fiber artists, and a yummy treat, too!
Bonus June Presentation – Giovanna Imperia: Weaving with Metallic Yarns
Giovanna Imperia’s program, “Weaving with Metallic Yarns” has been rescheduled to Thursday, June 13, 2024 at 10 am. It will only be the presentation via Zoom, no in-person gathering. Oftentimes, when we think of metallic yarns, we assume we are dealing with metal. In fact, the terms “metal” and “metallic” are sometimes used interchangeably. However, in this presentation, we will focus on those yarns that are manmade and are intended to have the appearance of metal. Some of these yarns do actually contain some metal, but the vast majority just look like they do. Depending on how they are constructed, metallic yarns can have interesting properties: some may be energized, others may shrink, and so on. This presentation will touch on some of the basic differences between metallics and review how they can be effectively used in weaving.
Upcoming Workshop
Registration for the Crimp Cloth workshop, presented by Dianne Totten (Sept 13-15) will be up once I finalize the workshop costs! There will be room for 20 participants.
Guild News
Membership Update
Hello weaving friends!
2 quick notes from Membership!
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It is that time of year again! We are coming to the end of our current Guild year which means it is time to renew your membership with the Guild!
Don’t forget that your membership includes many perks, like access to our very extensive book library, helpful tools library, equipment rentals, workshops, study groups and participating in our guild sales. It is quite a deal! Your membership also supports our technical expenses, speakers, room rentals, and library and equipment maintenance.
Like always you are welcome to renew through our PHG website or send in a check to the Guild PO Box.
If you have always wanted to join the Guild, now is a great time to do so! New member registration happens the same way as member renewals – you can go through the website or mail in a check. If you decide to mail in a check, please give us your contact information (at the very least an email address) so we can add you to our system).
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After 2 years in the membership director role, I am stepping down and the guild is looking for someone who might like to take over. This role doesn’t require a huge amount of time at all, but there is some emailing/question answering that happens, setting up new members in the system, adding people to the guild google group, organizing the annual New Member Tea and attending board meetings once a month. I am working on a document with step by step instructions on several things for the next person and am happy to answer any questions. Please consider helping the guild out with this role! It is great because you get to meet our newest members and get to know the rest of the Guild a little better too!
Thanks so much everyone!
Sarah
The Gathering of the Guilds – Fun was had by all!
We started hoping to get 20 artists to participate in the 2024 Gathering of the Guilds (GOTG), Portland Handweavers Guild (PHG) Spring Sale, we had 43 PHG artists selling their art! It was so exciting! Over 11,000 members of the community attended the event and although attendance was down, our sales were up for many of our artists. The goal of the event is to provide an opportunity for PHG members to sell their art as part of a larger venue and for PHG to at least break even. We met both goals and, with the final tally still in the works, it looks like we might make a few dollars!
It was fun to watch participants revel in the detail and passion that goes into our artist’s work. Our Guild Booth, with 15 PHG members work, was hopping with activity. When an artist sold a favorite piece, whether a wall hanging or hat, the excitement was infectious. And the shear volume of creativity was inspiring to many. There were lots of rugs and towels, but no 2 artists work was the same. There was truly something for everyone. And if I do say so myself, the PHG row of artists was visually appealing and was always filled with people. It is a testament to our artists that we put on such a great show. There are photos of the event on the PHG website.
The event is managed totally by volunteers from PHG and GOTG. As Chair of the PHG Sales committee, the success of the event is due to the work of my committee. When you see Denise Wild, Nancy Erckenbrack, Karin Graves, Diane McKinnon, Judee Moonbeam, Dan Steves, Galadriel Breezy, Joyce Kelly and Janis Johnson please extend your thanks for a job well done. The event would not have been successful without their work and guidance.
PHG will be participating on the 2025 Gathering of the Guilds and will be looking for someone to lead the event. If interested reach out to Nora Gessert or any member of the PHG Board.
Nora Gessert
Latest ANWG Newsletter
The Association of Northwest Weavers Guilds has posted their April 2024 newsletter. Check out the creative ways other Northwest weaving guilds are getting their members together for fiber activities. All ANWG newsletters are available here.
News from Complex Weavers
The latest Complex Weavers Journal has a super article of photography by Barbara Walker in it plus other interesting articles. Only members of Complex Weavers are writers of articles in the Journal. There will be complex weavers seminars alongside Convergence.
If you wish to join Complex Weavers you can ask Ladella Williams how to join Complex Weavers. LadellawilliamsCZZ@gmail.com Or see me at the guild meeting.
Bulletin Board
Violet Protest
A few years ago PHG member Debbie Ellis let us know about the Violet Protest Project. Artist Ann Morton was asking folks to submit small blue and red squares out of any fiber arts medium. Her goal was to present each US Congressperson with several squares to make a statement that they should put the good of the country over party. Neither red, not blue, but violet, representing compromise and compassion. She collected them all first and was invited to mount an exhibit at the Phoenix Art Museum. Later she shipped 25 squares to each congressperson. Several of us created and submitted squares after Debbie let us know about the project. Now Ann has gotten support to produce a documentary about the project. She has sent it to PBS stations around the country, with hopes they will air it. You can request your local PBS station to play it. But in the meantime, you can view it at the following link. Thanks to Debbie for reminding us we can use our fiber arts to be community activists for issues we believe in.
Violet Protest – Arizona PBS (azpbs.org)
Call for Art at the Multnomah Arts Center Gallery
The Multnomah Arts Center (MAC) Gallery is excited to announce its 2024 Call for Art. Emerging and established visual artists living in Oregon and Southwest Washington are invited to apply. Musicians, writers, filmmakers, and other artists whose work would complement the visual artwork are also invited to apply. Additional information and the online application can be found at www.multnomahartscenter.org.
The gallery committee reviews the applications from the Call for Art and chooses the artists who will exhibit. Each year two regional artist-curators are invited to lead this selection process. This year MAC is honored to have Kanani Miyamoto and Pablo V. Cazares on the committee. Exhibitions from this Call will be scheduled in 2025 through early 2026.
The Multnomah Arts Center is in Portland, Oregon. It is a part of Portland Parks & Recreation. The gallery has been in operation since 1982. It provides a supportive environment for regional artists to share their work and grow their audience. Each year the exhibition calendar explores diverse subjects and unique perspectives through a variety of media.
The deadline to apply to this Call is July 31, 2024.
Weaving workshops in Europe
I’m a former university lecturer from Melbourne, Australia now living in Europe. Since 2018 I’ve been organising weaving workshops and textile trips in Italy and Sweden. I wanted to share the following upcoming workshops and trips with your guild members, I hope they may be of interest.
Capellagården Textile Workshop Öland & Kalmar, Sweden – June 2024
Rag Rug Weaving Workshops Glimåkra, Sweden – August 2024
Historical Weavings Pisa & Lucca, Italy – September 2024
Folk Weaving Tuscany & Umbria, Italy – September 2024
Textile Weaving Workshop Tuscany, Italy – October 2024
Handwoven Textiles Florence, Italy – October 2024
Scanian Embroidery Workshop, Sweden – May 2025
Flemish Weaving (Tapestry) Workshop, Sweden – August 2025
Textiles of Venice, Italy – October 2025
Details and bookings are available on our website www.thetourstudio.com
Sarah Light
The Tour Studio
Looking to Buy or Sell Weaving Equipment or Materials?
Check out the Items for Sale page.
Fiber News and Events
Fiber Fusion
June 1-2, 2024
Monroe, WA
More info: www.fiberfusion.net/
Black Sheep Gathering
June 28-30, 2024
Linn County Events Center in Albany, OR
More info: blacksheepgathering.org
Convergence
July 11-17, 2024
Wichita, Kansas
More info: https://weavespindye.org/convergence/
Betty Davenport’s interview with HGA on Textiles and Tea
July 23, 2024
This is what many have been waiting for, Textiles and Tea with Betty Davenport, sponsored by DFA on July 23, 2024. Betty is a PHG member! The link to register is listed below. It’s easy to register. While you’re at it, checkout some of the other months. These are usually very interesting and a good way to learn more about other fiber artists that you already know through their books and videos and maybe even someone new to you. https://weavespindye.org/textiles-and-tea/
Oregon Flock & Fiber Festival
September 21-22, 2024
Linn County Expo Center, Albany, OR
More info: https://www.oregonflockandfiberfestival.com/
ANWG 2025 Conference
June 16-21, 2025
Yakima, Washington
More info: https://anwgconference.org/
Handweavers Guild of America
Textiles & Tea
Tuesdays
The Handweavers Guild of America, Inc.’s (HGA) exciting new program, Textiles & Tea, takes place every Tuesday at 4 PM (ET). We’ve invited some of the most respected fiber artists in the field today to join us for an hour long conversation where we will discuss their artwork and their creative journey. Make a cup of your favorite tea and join us as we talk about fiber, creativity, inspiration, process and so much more.
Rental Equipment
PHG has equipment available for rent to current PHG Members. Click here for more info.
PHG Board and Chairs
Please click here for a list of PHG Board Members and Committee Chairs.
Your purchases can benefit PHG! Click on one of these links before buying and PHG will earn a commission from your purchase.
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