This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon, Sept. 15, 2011 - Unlike many other crafts guilds in the nation, the Weavers' Guild of St. Louis has academic roots and was nurtured during its first decade by two weaving instructors who had considerable artistic talent as well as technical expertise. From the beginning, the focus was educational and artistic.
That fine art, academic focus blurred somewhat during the WPA and World War II years when many Guild members re-directed their efforts to the weaving of utilitarian items for schools and hospitals. An influx of new members and teachers in the 1950s gave the Guild new life, but with more emphasis on functional craftsmanship. Nevertheless, the original strict requirements for membership were retained; full members had to be weavers, and they were required have new work juried periodically.
I joined the Guild in the early 1970s, just as a wider variety of fiber techniques were becoming popular with artists. During the past four decades, the Guild has expanded to encompass many other types of fiber art while still retaining its focus on high quality, hand-woven art. Although I was then and still am primarily a weaver, I feel greatly enriched by the relaxation of the weavers-only requirement and the subsequent inclusion of fiber artists of many persuasions in the Guild circle. Members acquire a wealth of weaving and fiber arts knowledge and experience not only from fellow Guild members, but also from artists brought in from far and wide to conduct Guild-sponsored workshops and programs. Just recently, personal examination of several pieces that were woven by some early members more than 80 years ago provided an amazing educational and artistic experience.
For the Guild, it has been 85 years of evolution, and, in the long run, progress. That long history is being celebrated with a retrospective exhibit, Woven in Time at the Missouri History Museum. I'm not only privileged to have been a member of the Guild for the past 39 years, but I'm also honored to have my some of my work represented in the exhibit.
Support
The Weavers' Guild of St. Louis supports its member-artists through a wide variety of activities. Each year there are workshops and programs on a variety of topics, some conducted by our members and some conducted by visiting artists. Recent topics include traditional coverlets, modern tapestry, an artist's experiences while working in two countries, and advice for success in juried exhibits. Multi-day workshops led by visiting artists, Lisa Trujillo and Ruby Leslie, have explored Chimayo weaving and three-dimensional fabrics. Plans to have visiting artists conduct workshops on weaving with silk and creating Coptic books are going forward.
Inspiration
I was born with a penchant for fiber, textiles and for using fiber to embellish and/or create textiles. I was so young when I started decorating my dolls' dresses with embroidery that I do not remember a time when I did not know how to thread a needle or how to make stitches. In childhood, I spent countless hours with a crochet hook in my hand turning long, floppy strands of thread into the orderly structures of potholders, hats and toys. I even studied fashion design in my first three semesters in college.
I became fascinated with weaving after seeing photos of some early American coverlets in a book; their regular patterns appealed strongly to me. I had always been fascinated by systematic and orderly progressions and by repetitive patterns. My early childhood quirks later manifested themselves in my interest in logic of mathematics and the order of the physical world, so I became a scientist and I have studied how long, floppy protein chains fold into orderly structures that can help muscles do what they are supposed to do. By the way, the protein molecules that I studied in the lab are very similar to those that make up the silk and wool fibers that I use in my weavings. I've never been quite sure which activity is science and which is art. Although I have never woven a traditional coverlet, I have widely explored the possibilities offered by repetitive and not-quite-repetitive, symmetric and not-quite-symmetric pattern and design in many forms of weaving.
Creativity
The creativity comes from within, but stimulation comes from the world around me. I like to use traditional techniques in non-traditional ways, so I am always thinking about how to change things to make them my own. I always have several types of fiber projects in progress at any time, and several ideas for future projects revolving in my mind. What I learn while working on one project often changes my thinking about another, so my projects and ideas continually evolve until the last thread is in place.
Marilyn Emerson Holtzer is fiber artist.