Art presentation for sixth grade By Mrs. Hutchins Weaving Art presentation for sixth grade By Mrs. Hutchins

Who Weaves? Native Americans Native tribes in Central and South America Others who find weaving interesting

What is weaving? Weaving is a method of forming fabric or fabric-like items by interlacing long threads that all go in one direction with other threads that are at a ninety degree angle to the initial threads.

Mexican Weavers Zapotec Indians The Zapotec weave with vibrant colors of Merino wool. They have been weaving since between 200 and 800 A.D. When the Spanish took over Mexico, they introduced the Zapotec to the two foot pedaled loom.

Steps the Zapotec use The Zapotec use locally grown wool. The first step for preparing the wool is to card it. Carding means cleaning the wool of all of the sticks, seeds, leaves, and any other debris that might be there. The second step is to spin the wool into yarn. This is done on a spinning wheel. To spin enough wool for a small weaving would take 2 to 3 days. After spinning, the wool is dyed using dye made from natural plants. It is then allowed to dry. If you want to learn more about the dye and how it is made, go to http://www.latinartmall.com/zapotecweaving.htm

Zapotec weaving, continued Once the wool is ready to use, the weaver warps the loom – that is, they put the wool that will run vertically onto the loom. After the loom is warped, the weaver is ready to begin weaving. They choose their pattern and the color of wool to use and begin the weaving process. Many of the patterns are ancient patterns that have been handed down through time, much like our quilt patterns. The threads that run horizontally and woven through the warp are called the weft.

A Few Samples of Zapotec Weaving All pictures from http://mendezrug.com/rugs.html

South American Weavers Maximo Laura A fifth-generation weaver from Peru Maximo weaves tapestry, or woven paintings to hang on walls. He incorporates the weft into the artwork. For him, the weft is much more important than to just hold the weft in place. The following slides show a few pieces of his collection. They are copied from http://artifex-almanach.blogspot.com/2011/12/maximo-laura.html

Weaving Looms There are multiple kinds of weaving looms. Floor loom Rigid Heddle loom Frame loom Table loom Tapestry loom Backstrap loom

Picture Frame loom You will be using a picture frame loom for your weaving. Picture frame looms come in a variety of sizes, but all are shaped as a rectangle. You will place weft on your picture frame loom – about 15 to 20 (depending on the size of your loom) for you to weave through. You will want to choose your weft color carefully because you will most likely be able to see it as part of your weaving. You will then choose your warp color or colors. Your weaving can be as simple or as elaborate as you choose it to be. All loom pictures from http://www.woolery.com/Store/pc/Looms-By-Types-c434.htm

A Quick video to give you the idea http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mjxudP6BYXM

Have fun! We hope you enjoy your weaving experience. Your finished product will be due on April 17 at the end of art period. You may make more than one weaving if you would like to. It is your choice as to how many you want to make. Who knows, this might be the start of a great career!