Today's post we have a lovely profile on the weaver Laura Fry!
Laura Fry has been a professional weaver since 1975 and in 1997 received certification as one of Canada's Master Weavers. She has written Magic in the Water which is a wonderful book about wet finishing your handwoven cloth. As she likes to say "it isn't finished until it is wet finished!" Her book is a must have for book shelves and her woven work I just admire.
What originally drew you to hand weaving?
I was looking for work that held a component of creativity and found a job as sales consultant with a custom drapery house, surrounded with hundreds of textiles, just at the time I enrolled in a spinning/natural dyeing class. A classmate was also taking the weaving class and gave me a weaving tutorial weekly until I finally realized a person could weave cloth, sell it and make a little money. :)
What weaving/textile techniques are you most drawn to and why?
When I began weaving I was mostly interested in weave structure but over the years I have become more proficient in working with colour and texture. Now I freely roam the spectrum that Madelyn van der Hoogt talkes about - weave structure at one end, colour/texture at the other. It delights me to work with both structure and colour in the same piece.
What other crafts or hobbies do you have and how do they work in to your weavings?
I learned how to knit at age 6, embroider at 8 or so, sew at twelve. As an adult I added spinning, weaving, dyeing and bobbin lace. The other crafts don't really affect my weaving much although I'm planning on sewing a series of summer tops from fabric that just went onto the loom.
What are a couple of your craft/art/design books that are in your collection?
I have a large collecton of books gathered over the years. Some are technical in nature, some are inspirational. One of them is Material Wealth by Jack Lenor Larsen.
What is one tool that you could not work without?
Oy - that's a hard question! My looms, I suppose.
Is there anything that you have been dying to try but you haven't been able to yet?
I love the idea of Jacquard weaving but can't see being able to approach that aspect of the craft any time soon.
If you would like to learn more about Laura and her work, I highly recommend you go visit her blog. She speaks on the challenges of weaving, what she is currently working on and her own life and how it connects to (or interferes) with her weaving.
Enjoy your weekend and treadle on my friends!