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Workshops offered by Deborah Silver

Deborah Silver teaches 1, 2 & 3-day workshops. All workshops include a PowerPoint lecture about the split-shed weaving process, making a cartoon on cloth, Deborah Silver’s artwork, and the creative process. Deborah will also have dozens of split-shed samples for attendees to peruse. This lecture is open to anyone the group wishes to invite. If the lecture is given on a separate day, the fee is $100. The workshop is not to exceed 8 hours per day.

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All travel and baggage fees will be paid by the sponsoring group. A deposit to cover travel expenses is required. Room and board will be provided by the group. A private room in a home is acceptable. The number of students is not to exceed 20.

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2023 Workshop/Lecture Schedule 

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  • ​Jan. 13-16         Atlanta, GA                  Chattahoochee Handweavers Guild

  • Jan. 25              Zoom lecture               Weavers of Western Massachusetts

  • Mar. 8-11           Boston, MA                 Weavers' Guild of Boston

  • Mar. 15-18         S. Glastonbury, CT     Handweavers' Guild of Connecticut

  • May 13-15         Washington, DC area Potomac Fiber Arts Guild        

  • Jun. 12-17         Des Moines, IA           Midwest Weavers Conference

  • Jun. 22-25         Millersville, PA             MAFA Conference

  • Jul. 20-23          Worcester, MA             New England Weavers Seminar

  • Jul. 27-30          Logan, UT                   Intermountain Weavers Conference

  • Sep. 6-9            Chicago, IL                  Weavers Guild of the North Shore

  • Sep. 11-13         Chicago, IL                 Illinois Prairie Weavers Guild

  • Sep. 28-Oct. 1   Durham, NC               Triangle Weavers     

 

2024 Workshop/Lecture Schedule 

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  • Feb. 20-22         Fort Meyers, FL          Weavers of CharLee

  • May 10-13         Boulder, CO                Handweavers Guild of Boulder

Straight Twill student work

Lectures/Zoom Presentations

All workshops include a PowerPoint presentation during the workshop hours. This lecture is open to anyone the group wishes to include. Lectures at a different time than the workshop are an additional $100.

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In-person lectures include a presentation of dozens of split-shed items and samples for participants to peruse.

A lecture alone costs $150 plus the cost of travel and lodging, if necessary.

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The Zoom lecture cost is $150.

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One-day Workshop
Split-shed Tied Beiderwand

This workshop will teach the basics of split-shed weaving using a variation of the tied Beiderwand  (extended summer and winter) pattern. This structure uses four shafts, five treadles (on jack looms), and three weft yarns that travel from selvedge to selvedge. Students will learn how to produce shading with yarn in order to create dimensional-looking imagery. This is the same technique Deborah uses to weave pictorial imagery in her art. Students will also learn how to make and use a cartoon on cloth that will advance with the warp and will not wrinkle when beating. Although this workshop can definitely be done on a table loom, a floor loom (jack or direct tie-up) is preferable as it speeds up the weaving process.
 

Looms will need to be pre-warped. Students will provide their own weft yarns (instructor will suggest acceptable yarn types). Students will also need two 10"-14” flat shuttles and one other shuttle of their choosing that will be comfortable to use with an 8 to 9-inch wide warp.
 

If time allows, students will have a chance to experiment with split-shed Bronson lace and an unbalanced tied weave structure, (using the same warp), with slight changes to tie-ups.
 

Instructor’s fee: $625, $800 for 1.5 days.
Materials fee:  $5 for cartoon and hand-outs.

Two-day Workshop
Split-shed Lampas & Piqué

You can weave imagery in lampas and piqué on only 4 shafts with split-shed weaving. These two distinctive structures can be woven using the same warp threading. Break out of blocks and weave complex, curvilinear images with no special equipment. Learn to create shading and blend colors in lampas using only three continuous wefts. Experience the magic of quilted piqué as the fabric puffs up after weaving. Students will also learn to make and use a cartoon on cloth that will advance with the warp and won’t wrinkle when beating.

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Students will need floor looms, (jack or direct tie-up) with two back beams or other tensioning mechanism for weighting two warps separately. (A heavy wood dowel and milk jugs are acceptable.) Looms must be pre-warped. Students will provide warp and weft yarns.

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After completing this workshop, students will have the ability to weave any of the myriad, 4-shaft, split-shed weaving structures.

 

Instructors fee: $1,125
Materials fee: $10 for cartoon and hand-outs.

Three-day Workshop: Multiple structures using a straight threading

Break out of blocks with split-shed weaving. Weave curves and blend colors using continuous wefts on a 4-shaft loom with no special equipment. In this workshop, students will create multiple combinations of weave structures using only four shafts and a straight threading. Only tie-ups and treadling are changed between samples. Most of these combinations would normally require a minimum of eight shafts. Students will experiment with combinations of twills, summer and winter, double weave, Han damask, taqueté and more! Woven samples include continuous, complementary, and supplementary wefts, as well as wefts which combine to produce shading for pictorial weaving. (This is the same color-blending process Deborah Silver uses to create her art.) Students will also learn to make a cartoon on cloth that will advance with the warp and will not wrinkle when beating.

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Although students will not be able to complete all of the samples in class, they will leave with the ability to complete them at home with all of the drafts and instructions. Floor looms are preferable, with jack looms allowing the easiest treadling. Direct tie-up and table looms may also be used. Looms will need to be pre-warped. Students will provide their own weft yarns (instructor will email samples of acceptable yarn types). Students will also need three 10” – 14” flat shuttles and one other shuttle of their choosing that will be comfortable to use with an 8 to 9-inch wide warp.

 

Instructor’s fee: $1,600
Materials fee: $15 for cartoons and handouts.

You can weave all of these structures on four shafts using a straight threading.

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