Handwoven Poncho from the '70's

Note from the Artist Handweaver:

Back in the late ‘60’s and early ‘70’s, at the height of the Vietnam War, the gasoline crisis, and the Beatles, I attended high school in Roseville, Minnesota. It was a time of free-spirits, free-thinking, and free-love. My most favorite place to be was the art department, full of free-spirited kids who were free-thinking.  . . and fortunately, any sort of showing of affection was against school policy, so no free-love!  (Whew!)  Not only was art my favorite subject, but I managed to become a teaching assistant for my favorite art teacher, Mr. McChesney. I just loved being surrounded by all the creative thinking and work that was done there. It was there that I had my first experience with a floor loom. I saw those big contraptions in one of the classrooms and I was compelled to learn more about them. I decided that it would be very ‘groovy’ to try weaving something. One of the art teachers helped me set up a loom, instructing me how to plan a project and measure out the warp. I planned for two ponchos, very ‘in’ garments for the times, in bright orange, bright yellow and bright green. ‘PSYCHEDELIC’! I still have one of the ponchos; I think my brother might even still have the other.

Upon entering college, I decided that a career in art would be so competitive that it would not sustain me, so I eventually changed course and graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Interior Design. I practiced Interior Design, working from obscurity up the ladder to the position of “Director of Marketing” in a well-known Midwest architectural firm. After a few years I struck out on my own, managing to romance a large project from the jaws of a huge international design firm. I had arrived! My firm was very successful. For over 25 years I remained in the interior design business, enjoying the creativity that it allowed me.   But then the day came when I had to make a difficult decision. I needed to shut my firm’s doors to be able to care for my adopted autistic son who needed guidance in school, and to be more present in my adopted daughters life, having had her brother take most of my free time to that point. It was a no-brainer, of course, and I anticipated that I would be able to do all those creative artistic things that I had only dreamed of doing when I had been designing corporate interiors. So, as I acquired new skills as a stay at home mom, I combined artistic and autistic endeavors until my son was able to be more independent.

Now in 2011, my daughter is a senior in high school and my son is a very capable, independent and hard working young man serving his country in the National Guard. I recently sold one of my looms and have acquired a new loom that is computer aided, but with more bells and whistles than my previous loom. During these early summer months of 2011, as I waited for word of my new loom, I moved my other loom to my cabin on the lake and did my weaving to the music of nature in 100% linen! My shelves are crammed full of linen yarns and my mind is overflowing with ideas to weave!   So as this new millennium starts to gather speed, and while President Obama brings the troops home from Afghanistan, while the global warming facts take on a planetary consciousness, and the iPhone reaches even my hands, I have struck out on my own again. And with one full year under my belt, I have already been invited to show at premier shows such as the American Craft Council Shows, the Craft New York Shows, and the One of a Kind Shows in Chicago and in New York.

This time, having come full circle, I look forward to following my own footsteps as I continue down this ‘weaving’ path, and I hope that I can accomplish the vision I had when I began this journey, decades ago.

Thank you for your patronage!

Marian

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