Let's weave! In this workshop you will learn the basics of frame loom weaving from warping the loom to drafting a design, as well as the foundation of tapestry techniques. Jessie will work alongside you, demonstrating how to incorporate alternative materials, build imagery and help you develop your piece through every step of the textile-making process. A brief presentation of tapestry weaving history and our Jessie's sources of inspiration will be shared along the way. You will leave this class with a small wall-hanging or “woven drawing”.

Weaving is a tactile and sensory experience, and you’ll be encouraged to use class time to play and experiment on your looms—to explore material, texture, color and pattern in an effort to develop your own visual language. Alternative materials such as dried botanicals, beads, rope, shells, branches and rocks will be available for you to use. You will take home your frame loom from Hello Looms so you can continue with your weaving practice. You’ll also leave class with an electronic PDF full of resources for further learning.

Light snacks & beverages will be provided as well as a 10% discount off everything in our shop :)

Instructor: Jessie Mordine Young is a Brooklyn-based artist who researches, writes about, curates, makes and teaches textile art. She believes that textiles can be carriers of empathy, memory, and lived experience and that they are evidence of humanity. This sentiment is at the root of her art practice. In one of her more recent bodies of work, she embarked on a project of creating daily artworks, which she calls “woven drawings” or “thread sketches.” These pieces directly connect to her experiences in nature, where color and texture become tangible references to sites, sounds, and forms she finds when immersed in the landscape. Jessie is also enamored by the alchemy of the dye vat; she often paints her yarn and woven fabrics through a natural dye process, where she creates her own visual language with color by thoughtfully sourcing plant matter.

She earned her BFA in Fiber and Material Studies and Art History from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) and an MA in Material Culture, Design History and Object Study from the Bard Graduate Center in NYC. She is a part-time faculty member in the Fashion, Interior Design, and Textiles department at Parsons School of Design. Through extensively researching various craft histories in her academic and former curatorial practice, she has developed an appreciation for slow, thoughtful acts of making as an act of autonomy.