Riverwest Art Walk

Come out and join us on October 3rd and 4th, 12 noon to 5pm.  Riverwest is holding it's annual art walk around the neighborhood and Susan Buss is hosting the ABK Weaving Center at her house on Clarke.  We will have examples,  sale items, looms to weave on, as well as free hot coffee and chocolate chip cookies.  Come and find out what weaving is all about. 

Susan will also be displaying a rug at the Jazz Gallery 926 E. Center St.  during that time so make sure to check it out.

Susan's lovely home on Clarke.  As long as the weather is good we'll be in the back yard.  Follow the scent of coffee and chocolate.

Along Came a Spider........

 A rare textile made from the silk of more than a million wild spiders goes on display today at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City.  Shut up!  check out the whole story here.

ABK in the Art Cart Race

So Susan Buss (instructor at the ABK Weaving Center) had this idea of entering a cart in the Riverwest Art Cart Race with the goal of promoting the weaving center and weaving in general.  I'm pretty much game for anything so I said "let's do it".  Susan's dad was kind enough to make us a cart (thank you Dad) even attaching some roll bars for our safety. Susan had a table loom that she thought we could attach to the cart in some way and then we were lost as to what to do next.  We knew it needed to be colorful if we wanted to attract attention. I woke up in the middle of the night on the Wednesday before with an idea.  Duplicate the design on our new t-shirts!  Which I just realized I have no picture of on this blog.  I'll work on that later.  Anywho, we worked on the cart Friday day.  We formed chicken wire into a wave attaching it to the  back of the loom and then wove brightly colored rags and yarn in and out of the wire.  We left some hanging at the bottom so that it flowed more.  Friday evening Susan made a sign and I searched through our Christmas decorations to find a bird.  Saturday morning the cart was put together by Susan, her husband Bob,  father Dad and Susan's friend Kristin.  I showed up in time to attach the bird.  Yeah, I was a big help. 

This is how the loom looked on Friday.  Here we are almost done.

Here is friend Kristin attaching the fringe that Susan sewed.

Susan was brave enough to ride the cart while the three of us pushed.  I kept mentioning a helmet but nobody seemed interested.  They made us race the ice cream cart guy which I thought was totally unfair.  We had to run a block down center street, around a cone and back again.  Also, right before the race started one of the guys at the side said "you better win.  I wove with you guys at the museum" or something like that.  How cool is that?  We lost but not for lack of trying.  That cart was BIG and HEAVY.  Dan, who was suckered into pushing, says that it pulled to the left.  I was in the middle so I didn't notice.

After the race the carts all walked around in a parade.  Our little girls rode on it and my daughter GL is shooting a video in this picture.  I hope to post some of that video soon.  Notice the bird perched on the cart?  It looked really cute.  We got a lot of nice comments about how pretty our cart was.  I think there should have been a "prettiest cart" category.  We would have won hands down.  We were asked about the studio by a lot of people so I think it was some more good publicity.  

Here are some of the other carts that raced. 

This one was cute.  They had a toilet in front, were wrapped in toilet paper, and threw beans.  The man who was pulling was dressed as a whoopie cushion.   The sign on the side said that it ran on alternative "Gas".

 

Stonefly won.  Damn their eyes!

 

2009 Fall Classes at ABK

Fall classes start this week but it's not too late to sign up.  Just bring yourself and a check down to the studio on the first day of class and get weaving.  Students taking classes during the day should enter through the front door.  Those attending evening classes can enter through door #4 located on the north side of Gaenslen school.  Call ABK Weaving Center with any questions 414-267-5771.

WEAVING
Continuing Weaving Experienced weavers welcome. Should be able to warp a loom and plan a project. Individual instruction provided when necessary.
Mondays 10-05 thru 11-23,  10am to 12pm
$54.00, 55+ $43.00

Open Studio for Experienced Weavers - Int./Adv. No instructor. Enjoy the camaraderie of studio weaving. For those who wish to weave away from home. Fees are for use of our studio space and equipment. Someone will be on hand the first week to help familiarize you with the Weaving Center.
Thursdays 09-24 thru 11-12,  9am to 12pm
$49.00

Weaving Basics and Beyond Beginners will learn to warp the loom and weave a sampler. Weavers beyond beginning level continue the learning process with a project of choice.  Fee does not include materials. Materials and sampler fee are payable to the instructor at the first class (cash only). There are three class times available.
Tuesdays 09-22 thru 11-10, 6pm to 8:30pm
Wednesdays 10-14 thru 12-09, 9am to 12:30pm
Thursdays 09-24 thru 11-12, 6pm to 8:30pm
$54.00, 55+ $43.00



WORKSHOPS
Silk Dyeing Workshop Create beautiful silk scarves and choose your patterns. A small materials fee payable to instructor at workshop (cash only). Bring rubber gloves and a small hand towel.
Thursday 11-12, 5:30pm to 8:30pm
$20.00

Fancier Silk Dyeing Workshop This time try a burnout silk scarf or a tote bag. A small materials fee payable to the instructor (cash only). Bring rubber gloves and a small hand towel.
Thursday 12-03, 5:30pm to 8:30pm
$20.00

Color Workshop We will take a look at different color theories and find out what works and why.
Tuesday 9-15, 6pm to 8:30pm
$20.00

BOOK MAKING
Book Arts I Learn the basics of bookbinding. In this class you will create samples of many kinds of books and bindings, including a small soft-spine, hard bound sketchbook. A materials fee of $15 is payable to the instructor at the first class (cash only).
Tuesdays 10-13 and 10-20, 6:30pm to 8:30pm
$20.00

Book Arts II Learn to create your own hardbound books from sewing the pages to casing in the text block in a fabric and decorative paper hardbound cover. Various decorative variations will be covered in class to make your book uniquely yours. A materials fee of $20.00 is payable to the instructor on the first day of class (cash only).
Tuesdays 10-27 and 11-03, 6:30pm to 8:30pm
$20.00

Book Arts III One of the oldest forms of binding (Coptic Books) features wooden covers and exposed decorative stitching. Variations in stitching patterns and ways to embellish the covers will be presented to make each book a singular work of art. A materials fee of $20 is payable to the instructor on the first day of class (cash only).
Tuesdays 11-10 and 11-17, 6:30pm to 8:30pm
$20.00

Book Arts IV Create several small boxes suitable for gift giving using basic box building techniques. The smaller boxes are great jewelry boxes. The larger box can be used to present a hand made book or collection of photographs. A materials fee of $20 is payable to the instructor on the first day of class (cash only).
Tuesdays 12-01 and 12-08, 6:30pm to 8:30pm
$20.00

KNITTING
Not Your Grandma's Knitting Learn to knit and make cool contemporary accessories with your first project!
Tuesdays 09-17 thru 11-05, 3pm to 5pm
$34.00, 55+ $28.00

OTHER

Ornaments & Adornments Make specialty items for the Holidays! 4 different projects. Cards, ornaments, decorative items, silk scarves. A small materials fee payable to instructor at first class (cash only). Bring rubber gloves and a small hand towel.
Tuesdays 10-27 thru 11-17, 6pm to 8pm
$30.50, 55+ $24.50 

Intro to Jewelry Making Create your own unique jewelry. Learn the basic techniques of working with sheet metal, beads, stones, and wire. Use simple tools and tricks to create spectacular wearables. Supplies and tools to be provided by student. A supply list will be posted on our web site before the class begins.
Tuesdays  09-15 thru 10-06, 6pm to 8:30pm
$30.50,  55+ $24.50

Can I Please Weave Here Everyday?

        In spite of an unpromising start to the day (a rush to the dr.'s office with my 18 month old) the Milwaukee Art Museum event turned out wonderfully.  We dropped off the children at my in-laws by 11 o'clock and made it back to the city by 12:30.  In and out of the studio within an hour, we had the van packed front to back with looms and weaving equipment. I have to stop here and give a quick shout out to my wonderful husband who provided the muscle for moving the looms.  He was amazing.
         It took about 2 hours to get everything unloaded and set up.  Volunteers started arriving at 4 and we were completely set up and ready for anything by 5.  All went smoothly and according to plan.  Except for my sons blasted ear infection which continued to haunt me all evening.  sigh.
         At first it was a slow trickle of people but by 7 o'clock the joint was hopping.  I can't even began to speculate how many people we talked to throughout the evening.  We had people who just wanted to watch, people who sat and wove for 45 minutes, and people who just wanted to talk for a while.  It was all about connecting to the Milwaukee Community and I definitely feel that we achieved that.  I'm not going to lie, I hope that we get some new students out of this, but more important to me was sharing the art form and  informing people of the great resource that they have within their city.
         As far as the volunteers go, I couldn't have asked for a better group of people.  Outgoing, knowledgeable and enthusiastic.  If somebody wasn't interested in weaving before talking to one of our volunteers, they couldn't help but be afterwards.  The ABK ladies were jumping from one loom to the other all evening helping folks weave, answering questions, and just having a great time.  Their flexibility and openness were a sample of what ABK is all about. 

 

It was especially delightful that Faythe Levine, who's movie Handmade Nation was being screened at the Museum, decided to come over and throw a few shots.   With her is our volunteer Allison.

  

Here is Carolyn demonstrating the finer points of an inkle loom and behind her you can see Cathy walking someone through a houndstooth pattern. 

  

C'mon!  How cool was it to see all these younger guys so interested in weaving.  I can't believe how many men made projects.  Milwaukee men can be warped too!!!!

  

 Here is our  lovely volunteer JoAnn in her element.  The kids came out to play and were very enthusiastic. Some of them made more then one project.  I think the studio will be revisiting starting a kid's class this winter.  In the mean time, kids are welcome to sign up for the evening adult classes.  So says our instructor Susan Buss. 

 

These ladies are trying out a block pattern and it looks like they are doing well.  Susan is behind them talking to someone about taking classes. 

Catherine is explaining some finer points of weaving. These ladies went on to weave a piece of their own before the evening ended. 

Judy demonstrated how to weave towels.  The colors were beautiful and received many compliments.

MAM After Dark

ABK is busy getting ready for the big event this Friday.  We will be taking looms of various sizes and degrees of difficulty to the Milwaukee Art Museum for a night of DIY.  Check it out  www.mam.org/afterdark/  and get your butt over there.   We are very excited about this opportunity and are hoping to attract some new faces to the loom and center.  Here are some photos of my over crowded house and some of the looms we'll be using.

 

loom on kitchen table

  

 loom in bedroom

 

                                                              two looms in living room

Taking it to the streets

Back in July ABK studio decided to "represent" at Milwaukee's Gallery Night.  I took one of the studio table looms (hereafter designated the marketing or traveling loom) to the Third Ward and set up by the fountain off  Broadway.  It was a lovely evening and I was able to weave from 6 to 8ish, when it started to become hard on the eyes.  Besides being nervous and not having any signs out, I thought it went very well.  I was able to hand out some bookmarks for the weaving center and talk to a wide range of people.  It is difficult for strangers to approach and I realize that they never quite new if they should throw some change in my basket.  Yes, I did have a basket but it was only to hold my necessary tools. Next time it will be easier  and who knows?  Maybe next time I won't be alone.
(note to self: remember to never wear your hair like that again.  did you even comb it?)