SAORI WITH JACQUELINE

SAORI WEAVING

ADVANCED 3-D ART

Saori loom, weaving fibers & tools, sewing notions

Today we take a look at what senior Jacqueline Yu has created with her woven Saori cloth.

A super cool summer top.

She poured thru several Japanese pattern books showing garments made with Saori woven fibers,

and picked out this pattern then made it her own with a few adjustments.

She plotted out the exact lengths she'd need to make it happen,

and choose her colors.

  She,

like Shreya,

 also decided on a mostly neutral palette but decided to throw in a burnt orange

which gave it so much vibrancy.

She used a leather tie for the straps

and a sewing machine to put it together with.

This is Jac's first time to make a piece of clothing for herself 

since we no longer offer Home Ec. anymore

(what a shame),

and I felt she both enjoyed it but was also challenged by it as well. 

The side view is terrific.

Her challenges came in the back.

The pattern called for a looser fitting style,

but she wanted a more form fitting silhouette. 

She put in a couple of darts across the shoulder blades

as well as two elongated darts thru the waist area.

What we didn't do before we put this up for Open House and photograph it 

was to wash it to soften it up thru back neck and dart areas.

I'm hoping you wore this beautiful piece thru the summer Jac.

I'm been so very proud to share all that you and Shreya have made this last year,

and miss you both so much.

Can't wait to hear how your first year in college has gone.

WEAVING & CONSTRUCTION WITH SHREYA

SAORI WEAVING

ADVANCED 3-D ART

Saori loom, weaving fibers, weaving tools, sewing notions

Seniors Shreya Sheth and Jacqueline Yu were both required to learn to weave

on a Japanese Saori Loom,

and then to construct a 3-D bag or piece of clothing.

Today I will feature Shreya's piece and tomorrow Jacquelines.

Here is Shreya in the midst of weaving her length of cloth.

She has chosen a light neutral color scheme.

Both girls will have used the black cotton warp that was on the loom.

Here is the piece of cloth as it came off the loom.

You can see Shreya's careful measurements for each portion of her bag.

She made up her own pattern before she even started to weave 

so she would know exactly how much length she'd need for each section.

And here is her amazing completed bag.

A brilliant design Shreya showing off your incredible problem solving skills.

Snaps with the flap open

And the leather bottom from a recycled leather jacket I found at a thrift store.

I am so proud of you.

This was probably one of your most difficult challenges this year!

SAORI ANYONE??

I can't remember if I shared this,

 and couldn't find it in the search engine on the blog.

So just in case I didn't,

 here we go.

Senior Kaili Hamada became fascinated with the Saori Loom I bought two years ago,

and senior Karisma Dev taught her how to use it in their spare time at lunch. 

Kaili loved it so much that she produced several beautiful pieces on it.

This is one of them.

I'm not positive anymore,

but I believe our Physics teacher,

 Mr. Z,

 bought it at Open House.

As you may have seen and read last week in another post,

Kaili will have access to this incredible weaving studio at UH.

These are 4 harness floor looms,

so Kaili will be able to learn all the different weave structures

that she couldn't do on the 2 harness Saori.

Heaven,

she's in heaven!!

LOL

FRESH OFF THE LOOM

LOOM WOVEN GARMENT CONSTRUCTION

ADVANCED 3-D ART

Saori loom, weaving yarns, sewing machine

Senior Laarnie Barcelon has been pushed to the max this year in her 3rd level 3-D class with me.

Her assignment:

to construct a garment to wear from a long length of loom woven fabric she wove.

She also had to design her own pattern which involved high level critical thinking.

She did not disappoint.

The jacket below is amazing in so many ways.

Asymmetrical design...

beautifully crafted...

color choices that flow together to please the eye.

And... it fit like a glove!

Note her first little woven project hanging around her neck that compliments the jacket?

Difficulty occurred when she ran out of the warp thread before she finished her panels for the sleeves.

So she had to re-warp the loom with not as much warp as she needed 

(end of year running out of money and supplies needed)

to a wider setting which caused the lower half of the sleeves to look a bit more airy

 and looser in structure.

It actually turned into a very pretty detail in the end.

You can see it here where she has extended out her elbow.

Laarnie, 

this is only the beginning for you.

You will go on from here to do great things,

be inspired by fabulously creative teachers,

and travel to places and see things that you will be able to incorporate into your work.

I'm so looking forward to your future.

Back to School Nite 2014

A special thanks to seniors Kaili Hamada and Bianca Tolentino for hanging out with me and demonstrating for the parents on the Saori Loom and Spinning Wheel at Back to School Nite as I introduced myself and my program to the parents.

Guest Post by Kaili Hamada!

          

 I began my adventure with art about a year ago. 

Because of this, I consider myself to still be a beginner. 

Despite those facts, I enjoy art much more than any of my other activities, 

which include ballet and sports.

 I feel relaxed, excited, and so happy, whenever I'm creating things using my hands, 

especially when working with all kinds of fibers. 

It's a feeling unlike any other! 

            During much of my free time both at school and at home, I spin yarn, or weave on the loom that my amazing teacher Mrs. Sposa generously lets me use whenever I'd like. 

           

The picture directly below shows the skeins that I dyed recently. 

I've been feeling very colorful lately, which explains the bright hues. 

These yarns made me laugh, and made so happy that I  almost cried,

 even though that sounds like a pretty silly thing to do.

(I'd say I'm quite addicted to my yarn!) 

The picture above is of me weaving yesterday during our 4th period class. 

I turned my first woven piece into a small purse, and this time I hope to create another piece of art that will have a different but just as useful purpose. 

Anyways, I hope you all have a lovely day!

- Kaili Hamada, Senior at Whitney High School 

Karisma's Latest Triumph

SAORI WEAVING

ADVANCED 3-D ART

wool, cotton, mohair

A couple of weeks ago I showcased junior Karisma Dev weaving on our new Saori loom from Japan.  

Well she's finished her piece and it's truly a remarkable feat.

Three 7 1/2 feet panels that she's woven then knit together to make an Indian style Sari.

I wish I had a better pix to show you...

but here are a few couple close-ups.

She wove all 3 panels with a black cotton warp then used various off-white fibers as the weft.

She only chose natural fibers.

Maybe one of these days I can get a pix of her modeling it for us!

Peek at Saori Weaving at Whitney

SAORI WEAVING

ADVANCED 3-D ART

cotton, wool, and misc. other yarns

Senior Karisma Dev has almost finished her major weaving project.  this is a close-up of one of 3 7 1/2 foot sections she has woven.  

Can't wait to show you the finished Sari sh'es turning this into.

Saori Weaving is Alive and Well at Whitney High School

SAORI WEAVING

ADVANCED 3-D ART

Junior Karisma Dev is on an adventure.  

She learned to weave in my Beginning 3-D course when she was an 8th grader.  

But now it's time for her to take it to a whole other level on a Saori floor loom from Japan that I just purchased for my students.

Because Karisma is in my most advanced class she is the first one to try it out. 

But first I put her on a standard table top loom to learn all the basics like warping on a warping board, stringing the warp thru the heddles, and tying on.  

I wanted her to make a smaller piece just to to get the hang of it before going onto the Soari loom.

The very cool piece above is her tester.

Now here she is on the Saori loom.  Her assignment is to make a garment for herself.  

Because she wears Sari's for dance and traditional Indian events she has decided to weave 3 long strips and sew them together to create a highly unique piece.

I'll be sure to post the finished piece, on her of course!  :)

Saori Studio L.A.

SAORI WEAVING

SAORI STUDIO L.A.

Professional Fiber Artist Laura Roveda

Loom Weaving is making a big time come back here in the U.S., thanks to Misao Jo and her sons Kenzo and Eiji from Japan.

They call it SAORI, weaving as a way to discover our true selves and to expressing our individual creativity;  and to be courageous enough to think outside the box.

In my early 30's I took formal weaving classes with master weaver Elizabeth Serbel of Whittier Ca.   She had at least 10 huge floor looms in her living room, and her dining room table was our classroom where she taught us the formal structure of weaving and all the traditional patterns.  She stood over us like a nun with her ruler and made sure we did every move just so as we wove on her large monster floor looms.  It was very time consuming and meticulous, and over time, I stopped weaving altogether, except to teach it to my beginning 3-D art students in a much more pleasurable way.

But recently, thru the internet and FB, I've been meeting weavers all over the world that are weaving in this Japanese Saori style that really appeals to me.  Enough so that I googled it to find a studio close to me that teaches it and carries the looms and equipment needed.  And all you artists out there know we can never have enough new equipment to create with, right?

So this last weekend off I went, accompanied by my husband to meet fiber artist Laura Roveda of Saori Studios L.A. in the beautiful L.A. suburb of Sherman Oaks, right off of Ventura Blvd., where many of the movie stars live and hang out.

Laura's studio is in her gorgeous home on a hillside with lush trees and gardens all around.  The next time I visit I want to take a pix, so lovely there.  She lives in a multi-level home, and her studio is on one of the upper levels facing west, so it's filled with sunlight.

She spent hours teaching us to weave on a Saori loom in the Saori style.  I have to tell you it was very liberating, nothing like the tedious weaving I learned to do with Elizabeth  years ago.  I was enchanted with her garment she had created in the Saori style, check out the cool belt that connects front to back as well as the use of the fringed end to accent the shoulder area; plus the diagonal styling, marvelous for the eye.

Her studio is filled with color and beauty everywhere you look.  

She goes to Japan at least once a year to bring back treasures that fill her space.

So, you must be wondering did I purchase a Saori loom?  You betcha!

I'ts a beautifully crafted floor loom that folds for easy storage and transportation.

And of course I had to buy a couple of books for added inspiration.

Junior Karisma Dev will be the first one of my students to try it out as she is doing an extensive weaving unit right now. 

 Pix to follow.

Oh boy, can't wait to get started!

Thank you again Laura for all you help and guidance.  

It was such a pleasure spending time with you.

Getting Back in the Groove

I never really stopped spinning once I learned how over 30 years ago, but I did give up weaving on my beautiful Gilmore four harness floor loom exactly 19 years ago, when I daughter was born. 

Being a working mom with two small children, I instead took to portable arts/crafts projects to fill that void.  

But now that my kids only need me occasionally, I've got lots of free time to start weaving again.

So last weekend I pulled my loom away from the wall and cleaned off all the dust bunnies, and am looking forward to warping it with my handspun art yarns, and that great new Saori philosophy

Woo Hoo!