My Frida Hansen wool open-warp transparent tapestry workshop in Siljansnäs, Sweden, wrapped up yesterday. The Nordic countries were fully represented, with students from Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland. Helen Barass came from London. Maude Waters told a funny story about signing up. She saw the notice for the workshop and assumed the Frida Hansen class was in Norway. Later she read it more carefully and was surprised to find it was only a half-hour away from her house in Mora, Sweden. Maude wove a Swedish floral design, based on the Dalarna kurbits style. The kurbits flowers show up in painting and textiles all over Dalarna, including this printed version on my host Kirsi Manni’s wall.
In all the workshops some students come with their own ideas for a cartoon, and others look to Frida Hansen to modify a section of one of her transparencies. Charlotte Sand chose a section from Hansen’s Høisommer, a transparent tapestry at the Stavanger Art Museum.
Small birds fly in branches of roses at the top of the tapestry.
By the end of the third day, Charlotte’s bird was ready to appear.
Many of the students who travel to the workshops have portable frame-type looms without a lot of vertical space. Rather than leaving a long unwoven area at the bottom for the fringes, some students add fringe with rya knots. You can add more color that way, too.
It was an amazing group with so much creativity and enthusiasm. The setting was ideal. Kirsi Manni is a consummate host, and her studio and home in a converted parsonage near Siljansnäs contain as many textile treasures as some museums do.. Enjoying lunch and fika together each day created a tight-knit group. Even the weather was ideal, with an abundance of red and yellow leaves.
