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About the Artist
Donna Cooper,
Weaver
I weave to
create style and beauty in a textile that you can enjoy and use
for many years. Ripsmatta is the weave structure that gives this
textile the durability and density while allowing colors to POP
from the surface. I learned floor loom weaving in 1978 at the
Oregon School of Arts and Crafts. Study has continued through
classes, workshops, conferences and conventions. I weave on a
16 harness AVL Compudobby, an 8 harness Toika countermarche and
a 4 harness Norwood jack loom. My home is also my workshop/studio-a
historic home in the McLoughlin Neighborhood of Oregon City, Oregon.
Creating and weaving these textiles would not be possible without
the never-ending tolerance and unselfish
support of my husband, children, and pets. And to them I owe yards
and yards of hugs and kisses and thank yous.
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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!
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