Donna Cooper, Weaver

I saw my first loom in northern Illinois in the early 70s and was immediately fascinated, even though I did not know what it was. It was years (1978) before I learned floor loom weaving at the Oregon College of Arts and Crafts. While largely self-taught, I have continued to nuture my weaving curiosity in workshops, conferences and other classes.

I have a 16 shaft AVL Compudobby loom, the Clydesdale workhorse of looms, and an 8 shaft Toika countermarche loom, a Finnish loom with more finesse than the AVL yet as strong a presence.

Twenty years ago, I discovered Ripsmatta, a Scandinavian weave structure that unites successful functionality with infinite and colorful design possibilities. And what more could a person ask from their placemat?

The Weaving Process

DESIGN A weaving design starts with curiosity kindled in any number of ways-- shapes formed by rolling wheat fields, a favorite quilt pattern, the colors of the sunset, wave patterns in a pond, colorful Mexican pottery, the starkness of Horse Heaven Hills. The idea will germinate, percolate, be slept upon, pondered and worried over, sometimes using a computer, sometimes not. Finally, a commitment is made and the new design is TRANSLATED INTO WARP AND WEFT: Calculations are made, design details finalized, supplies gathered. You are now ready to begin DRESSING THE LOOM: The warp, or lengthwise threads, is made up of hundreds of threads of yarn. The warp is MEASURED, SLEYED through the reed, THREADED through the heddles, TIED to the back beam, ROLLED onto the loom, LASHED to the breast beam and finally, TENSIONED. It all adds up to WARPING THE LOOM, a technically-demanding, time consuming process during which the warp threads are handled individually a minimum of six times. Next, the new design is set up on the loom and the LOOM TIE UP is adjusted. If a computer-assisted loom is being used the pattern will be ENTERED into the computer. Finally, you are ready to WEAVE. The act of weaving--sitting down at the loom, throwing the shuttle again and again, adding weft to the warp, watching the fabric grow-can be very meditative, much like kneading bread, or it can be a very focused activity, where one is literally composing a one-of-a-kind textile that evolves on the loom. When the entire warp is woven, it is CUT OFF the loom. FINISHING includes HEMMING, WASHING, DRYING AND IRONING. At long last, it is a finished, handwoven textile, made to be used, made to last a long time. Please enjoy it!