This month Hellen Ascoli is sharing her experience at the annual meeting in Decorah. She gave a wonderful presentation about her work as the Director of Education at Ixchel Museum of Indigenous Dress in Guatemala. She now lives in Madison, Wisconsin. Here is Hellen with new WARP friends and this is her story… (judy newland)

A couple months ago a friend, a fellow Madison Weaver’s Guild member, Char Thompson, sent me an email to apply for the Alice Brown Memorial Scholarship to attend this year’s WARP meeting in Decorah, Iowa. Having recently moved to Madison, WI from Guatemala this email and the following scholarship couldn’t have been better timed!

Let me tell you a little about myself:

From 2010 – 2012 I received my M.F.A. from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

I had applied with the precise purpose of returning to Guatemala, my home country, and putting into action what I had learned. My art practice centered around weaving on the back strap loom as a way to bring together my interests in identity and materiality. I balanced my work as Director of Education at Ixchel Museum of Indigenous Dress while also teaching art through diverse disciplines at Francisco Marroquín University and at Fundación Paiz (a private cultural foundation in Guatemala that offers classes in visual and performing arts and hosts the Paiz Biennial).

During those five years I was slowly building the life I had set out to make, one where I could weave together my interests between Art, Craft and Education. However, as many WARP members might know, Guatemala offers a lot of opportunities, but it can also be a hard place. Sadly in 2017, after the loss of my brother to violence, my husband and I made the difficult decision to move back to the United States. Regarding my practice I felt that leaving the country where so much of my work is embedded would just feel like another loss.

For several months I had been searching for a community in the United States that also wanted to have an integrated life. The community I wanted was made up of those that understood the richness that exists when different aspects of life are woven together and rooted in a place, a community or a tradition.

As I walked into the WARP conference, I immediately felt in the right place. The first person I bumped into was Deborah Chandler who I had briefly met through Museo Ixchel in Guatemala. It was exciting not only to see someone from home, but also to learn about the specific ways other’s work here in the United States is connecting to places like Guatemala. There were so many examples to draw from that creatively brought together aspects of craft and connected it to communities locally and globally.

Not even two days later after the conference I met Susan Weltman, Marilyn Anderson and Lynn Persson for lunch in Madison and they generously offered me ideas on how to keep growing professionally. As I sit down to type an email buzzes through from WARP member Nicole Giacomantonio, and I am excited to share my artwork with her and follow up on her travels. Another email dings in from Marilyn Anderson and I am exited at the prospect of interviewing her for a potential article. This past month I have looked at the notes from the WARP conference multiple times, connected with members and regained enthusiasm to start on a new “weave”.

Reach out to our new member and scholarship winner, Hellen Ascoli, through email, FB or Google Groups. WELCOME HELLEN

Museums have helped support cultural diversity in the US by collecting and preserving artifacts and documents from immigrants around the world. During the annual meeting June 7-10, we will visit the Vesterheim Museum in Decorah, which houses a collection of fine arts and folks arts made by Norwegian immigrants and their descendants.

Preserved History

The museum collection started in 1877 to assist Luther College students in their studies. Within a few years the faculty and alums of the college decided the focus of the collection would be the material culture of Norwegian immigrants. In 1964 the museum became an independent institution, The Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum. History comes alive when you enter the main building and see an immigrant log house from 1853, fabulous woven tapestries and a 25-foot wooden sailboat.

Culture Change

Norwegian immigrants used the word “vesterheim” to refer to their western home in America when writing to those still living in Norway. Imagine how different their new life was in a little corner of Iowa. The museum has emphasized the diverse backgrounds and experiences of Norwegian emigrants, using the material culture from the old country and the new to tell a story of identity, faith and beauty. The objects, such as costumes, paintings, silver wedding crowns and carved butter molds, speak the colorful stories of the ancestors and those who journeyed into a new world.

Textile Treasures

Norwegian museums gifted important textile collections to the Vesterheim in 1925. The textile collection now numbers 5,500 and includes clothing, household textiles and decorative items. They came from rural and city areas and the collections reflect these differences. Examples include embroidered samplers made by young women attending needlework schools in cities, as well as bedding, weaving and spinning tools…and those wonderful mittens!!

Other collections and experiences at the Vesterheim Museum

In addition to textiles, one can view a diverse collection of decorative woodcarving, fine arts, Norwegian metalworking, rosemaling and decorative paintings. Many of these objects can be viewed online in the museum’s virtual galleries. Books, photos and archives relating to the art and artifacts round out the collection. The museum offers more than exhibitions of objects. Visitors can take fiber arts classes, attend textile symposia and even textile study tours to Norway.

What does it mean to celebrate culture in Iowa?

I am an Iowa native and museum anthropologist, but no road has yet taken me to the Vesterheim Museum. Sometimes the best things are right in our own backyard and we miss them for all of the tall corn in the way! I left my Iowa farmstead years ago for the rolling hills of Eastern Washington. I have lived in five different states, Colorado twice. And yet, returning to the land where I grew up offers another new perspective on creating a connected textile community. We will learn about sustaining our environment, our multifaceted culture in the US and each other. Let’s get this show on the road! The Tradewind awaits our arrival…

This month I would like to share a blog I recently wrote for ClothRoads about the documentary film project our WARP member, Cathy Stevulak, produced in Bangladesh. Cathy has an article in the current newsletter.

The film THREADS is a story of kantha cloth and women. Kantha is an ancient form of hand-stitch embroidery originating in the Indian sub-continent (Bangladesh, West Bengal and Bihar regions). Kantha refers to the indigenous quilt form and to the running stitch itself, which gives the cloth the wrinkly appearance that is characteristic of kantha. We thought it might be fun to take you behind the scenes to see how this documentary film evolved.

The Making of a Documentary Film

Did you ever wonder how documentary films are made? The vision just seems to appear on the screen as if by magic. The film, THREADS, tells a story of inspiration, determination and liberation about how one woman, Surayia Rahman, transformed the lives of artisan women in Bangladesh. But the production of the film THREADS is also an inspired story put together by a group of dedicated people who succeed through hard work and a little serendipity. This documentary film, by Canadian filmmaker Cathy Stevulak, has an intriguing behind-the-scenes production story.

Finding the story

Good stories do not just fall in one’s lap. Cathy first heard about “ a woman with gray hair who does remarkable embroidery work” from a museum volunteer in a gift shop. She eventually found Surayia during her stay in Bangladesh, but it was years later, after a suggestion by a professor that Cathy began to think about creating a documentary film to help raise awareness of the importance and impact of global artisanship.

Filming in Bangladesh

Challenges were daunting despite having collected a talented and experienced film crew from Bangladesh. One of the biggest was the fact that Surayia was quite elderly and not in the best of health. She rarely left her house or her favorite chair, so action shots were not in the cards. Gathering the artisans she worked with meant juggling schedules and navigating politically motivated strikes. Surayia’s modest home was surrounded by constant city activity and the noise in Dhaka was ever present. Some sound recording had to be done at night after much of the day’s activity was over.

Searching the world for art

Most of the art Surayia and the artisans had made over the decades had been sold to foreign visitors or gifted by the Government of Bangladesh to dignitaries of other countries. Tracking the art down took four years of detective work. But enough artwork was eventually found on five continents to provide the high quality art images needed for the film. As with so many projects, serendipity came into play time and again. Letters arrived in the mail at just the right time and patrons were found who filled out the storyline.

Why does it matter?

Screenings across the world have inspired others through the story of Surayia and her dedicated group of women artisans. At a screening in Dhaka, a young girl from a poor area wondered if she could learn how to do this “famous kantha”, envisioning a future where she might control her own fate.

Thanks to Cathy and her talented team for this inspiring story.
Read the ClothRoads November 2016 blog to learn more about kantha cloth. And many thanks to ClothRoads for letting me share this wonderful story with WARP members.

Dakota Mace is a graduate student in the School of Human Ecology at the University of Wisconsin, Madison and a 2017 recipient of the Alice Brown Memorial Scholarship. She shares her work and philosophy.

Dakota’s work “speaks about the dialogue between traditional vs. fine art and the way that the western world continues to perceive Diné weaving as utilitarian objects and not works of art. I have approached this conversation by subtly introducing western forms of weaving in combination with Diné beliefs. By doing so, I am creating an entirely new concept that translates the language of Diné weaving through the understanding of the fine art world. This serves not only as a different approach of cultural reclamation and preservation but also the importance of the meanings of the motifs used in my weaving.”

She says, “as an artist I feel that in order to understand a cultural history you must do so through design. I’ve focused on researching other artistic mediums that have a unique cultural narrative in relation to my own Diné culture. This includes paper-making, beadwork, digital weaving, quill-work and many other techniques. I continue to look to other cultures as forms of inspiration and teaching others about the importance of cultural appropriation in relation to Native American design.

Q. Do you think creating connected textile communities is important and why?

A. I think that one of the most important parts of connected textile communities is the relationships that it creates. Growing up in a craft based family, it was understood that to pass on the knowledge of my families craft we needed the interest of a younger generation. With that in mind, it is also very important to distinguish the idea of teaching others and passing on traditional knowledge. I have been fortunate to learn from various communities as well as cultures and I’ve come to realize that Indigenous communities are well aware of these practices. There is a need to create connected textiles communities for the sake of keeping the arts alive but there also needs to be an understanding that not everything about the medium will be fully discussed. I fully support connected textile communities and the amount of effort that goes into them and the understanding that there are still groups of people that have a very vibrant history to share others.

Q. What has drawn you to WARP?

A. What drew me to WARP was the fact that it wanted to connect communities with other textile enthusiasts. I support that idea of wanting to create bridges for future communities as well as continuing textiles traditions. I was fortunate to meet many amazing individuals through WARP and happy to continue my support!

Special thanks to Dakota for taking time and sharing with us. More Dakota at http://www.dakotamace.com/

St. Louis ArtWorks is a job-training program combining art and life-skills education to create opportunities for high school students through a vigorous program using the arts as a vehicle for gaining multiple skills. Teens are hired as apprentices, working closely with a teaching artist to become immersed in a specialized artistic discipline.

I teach textiles, and apprentices begin by learning dyeing techniques such as batik and itajime shibori. In the first few weeks, they produce a large collection of fabrics exploring a variety of patterns and color schemes.

After creating their collections, apprentices learn machine sewing for construction and hand embroidery for embellishment. Finally, the fabrics are combined to develop a line of home goods, accessories, and decorative wall hangings. Through the processes of designing, dyeing, cutting, sewing, and finishing, each item created contains the work of multiple apprentices.

The creative work done at STL ArtWorks is a vehicle to in-depth real-world job training. For many apprentices, this is the first experience with applying to and interviewing for a formal job, receiving a paycheck, and being accountable to a work environment. The program is structured to incorporate extensive professional development – everything from introducing themselves and shaking hands when visitors come the studio, to presenting design concepts and receiving critical feedback at a client meeting. Additionally, the program includes life-skills training sessions on topics such as fiscal literacy, health and nutrition, and resume writing.

As stated by the organization, “The mission of St. Louis ArtWorks is to broaden educational and career opportunities for youth in the St. Louis Region through apprenticeships in the arts and through community collaborations. The organization’s goal is to create positive educational opportunities through art for youth through paid apprenticeships.” It has been incredible to witness the empowerment and confidence developed within the framework of this program. As a teaching artist, I have seen how the experience of working in this apprenticeship directly impacts the apprentices, manifesting in pride for the quality of their work and pride in themselves.

More about STL ArtWorks can be found online here.

This article was written by Kelsey Viola Wiskirchen, and shared by Judy Newland.

Kelsey Viola Wiskirchen is a textile artist & educator living in St. Louis, Missouri. She has been a member of WARP since 2010, when she was a graduate student at Arizona State University and received the Alice Brown Memorial Scholarship to attend the annual conference.  Kelsey currently teaches textiles at St. Louis ArtWorks & community workshops from her studio in St. Louis.