"Wisconsin Handweavers: A New Journey in Weaving"
2001-11-04 until 2001-11-25
Charles Allis Art Museum
Milwaukee, , USA United States of America

Charles Allis Art Museum presents the 51st annual juried exhibition A New Journey in Weaving by Wisconsin Handweavers, Inc. Handwovens explode with colorful and Out of This World Fibers, embellishments, and hand-dyed materials. Award-winning weavings, fashions and decorative items fill the galleries

It's a perfect time to prepare for cold winter days and Holiday shopping at the Original Handwovens Sale beginning Thursday, November 1 from 1 to 7 p.m. with a myriad of handwovens offered in The Margaret Rahill Great Hall. Featured are traditional and innovative patterns including: scarves, hats and other wearables; tapestries, wall hangings, baskets, Christmas ornaments, table and kitchen linens, rugs, and children's items. The sale continues through Friday, Saturday and Sunday, November 2-4 from 1 to 5 p.m. Sale admission is free; visitors may view the mansion and exhibition with museum admission.

The Annual Juried Exhibition includes works judged in thirteen categories: Interiors (pillows, window treatments, upholstery, lampshades), Household (linens, blankets), Rugs, Wall Tapestry (flat hangings and transparencies), Beginning Weaver (new weavers in the past year), Complex (five or more harness technique), Garments (coats, jackets, dresses that are hand woven, loom shaped or tailored), Accessories (scarves, mittens, shawls, purses, hats), Beaded Accessories (necklaces, bracelets, wearables), Dimensional (baskets), Yardage (fabric and patterns with garment description), Et Cetera, and The Guild Show Challenge: Out of This World Fibers. Featured Weaver of the Year, Fabric Exchange Garments, and a Children‚s Exhibit will also be featured. Wisconsin Handweavers, Inc. has honored Elisabeth Beinert as featured Weaver of the Year. Bienert, a 77 year-old Madison resident weaving since the 1970s, was first instructed by Nancy Guay. Her work includes table linens, Navajo rugs, traditional coverlets, and fabric for home furnishings and clothing. Her devotion is exhibited in the meticulous and loving placement of each thread, both the source of superb craftsmanship and a treasure to the weaving community. Elisabeth emits radiance as she speaks of her weaving, saying, I love weaving and a day without it is a wasted day for me. During a 9-year stay in Milwaukee, she joined Wisconsin Handweavers, Inc. and found active weavers who inspired her to weave more seriously.

In May 2000, nine members of Wisconsin Handweavers, Inc. (WHI) began weaving over 60 yards of fabric for the first WHI Fabric Exchange where the group selected the Crackle weave structure. Each weaver used two selected colors of rayon fiber to weave 5 square yards of fabric, enough to exchange one-half yard of finished fabric with each participant. Swatches of the nine fabrics were displayed on a storyboard at the November 2000 WHI Exhibit at Charles Allis Art Museum. Now completed for the 2001 exhibit, each unique Fabric Exchange Garment incorporates the same nine fabrics and are truly individual works of art. Over 400 statewide members in the Wisconsin Handweavers Guild reflect centuries of worldwide techniques, from loom to tapestry to bead weaving. Members are active in area guilds, and many teach at the Sievers School of Art on Washington Island in Door County. While hand weaving is a prehistoric art, technology has woven itself into the ancient craft through computerized looms that allow artists to weave on the computer, change color or design, and print computerized patterns.

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