Education

The Philadelphia Guild of Hand Weavers offers a variety of classes relating to the fiber arts throughout the year.

Guild Class Registration and Payment Process: Please phone or e-mail the class instructor, (unless otherwise noted) who will accept your registration and payment, and advise you where to send it. Registration forms can be downloaded here. Full payment for a class is due as soon as possible to reserve your space.  Checks should still be made payable to the Philadelphia Guild of Handweavers.

Cancellation and Refund policy: Students will receive a full refund if the class is cancelled due to low registration and will be notified no less than one week prior to the first class. Refunds minus a $25 cancellation fee will be given only if another person is found to take the student's place prior to the first class. There will be no refund after the first class.

All classes will be held at 3705 Main St. in Manayunk, unless mentioned otherwise. There is easy access from I76 and the Septa R6 rail line.

We offer classes in Weaving, Spinning, Dyeing, Feltmaking, Basketry and other fiber arts. Most of our adult classes run during the period from September through June.

HOMESCHOOL WEAVING

We offer weaving classes for homeschooled kids throughout the school year. The next session begins in Sept. 2010. Contact Nancy Shiffrin 610-649-6209 for more information.

2010 SUMMER CLASS SCHEDULE

Project Class
Tuesday, July 27, Aug. 3, 10, 17, 24, 31
6-9 p.m.
Course fee: $195 members, $210 non-members
Level:  Intermediate
Instructor: Nancy Shiffrin, 610-649-6209

This is a great class for students who have completed a beginning weaving class and would like to make a project from start to finish under the guidance of an experienced instructor. Possible projects are a scarf, table runner or placemats.  This class is also a refresher for anyone who would like to brush up on old weaving skills.  Limit six students.

Kids’ Weave Camp
1 week session M-F, August 23-27
1-4pm
Fee: $135
Instructor: Nancy Shiffrin 610-649-6209

This is a class for kids ages 9 and up, from beginner to experienced weaver. During the week, each participant will complete a handwoven project from start to finish. Projects can include scarves, table runners, bags, belts and bookmarks. All materials are included in the class fee. 4-6 students per class.

The following classes are the basis of our program and are offered regularly throughout the year:

Introduction to Four Harness Weaving-Weave I
Weaving II-Intermediate, Focuses on one structure or technique in depth
Handspinning
Felt-making
Tapestry
Dyeing

Other fiber-related classes and workshops that emphasize specific techniques or specialized subjects–e.g., children's programs, planning a project, papermaking, silk painting, tailoring, yarn, warping–are interspersed within the regular program.

Adele Bassett was introduced to tapestry weaving in 1994, studying with Robert Lowe in Divide, Colorado, and Rebecca Bluestone at the Taos Institute of Art, in New Mexico. She went on to publish profiles of Bluestone and Rachel Brown in Handwoven Magazine. Since becoming a corporate refuge in 2003, she's taught Walk In and Weave classes for PGHW, volunteers at the Camphill Kimberton weavery for developmentally disabled adults, and continues to experiment with rug-weaving, rep weave and tapestry techniques.

Elisabeth Jonsson Brown was born and educated in Sweden. She came to the United States in 1966 and in 1976, began making handwoven ladies' fashions that are sold in exclusive stores and at high quality craft shows. She has been recognized for her work by the Pennsylvania Council of the Art, the Hand Weavers Guild of America and the Philadelphia Guild of Handweavers. Her work has also been featured in a solo show at the Balch Institute of Ethnic Studies, in Philadelphia. She works at her studio in Lenni, near Media, Pennsylvania.

Beverly Godfrey trained at the Scheuer Tapestry Studio in New York City, in the first group of apprentices there in 1981. She remained with the studio for nine years and wove more than 40 large tapestries for commission, including tapestries for IBM, RJR Nabisco, 1-800-Flowers, and Touche Ross. She served on the Board of Directors for the Center For Tapestry Arts, and wove for conservation in the textile lab at the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine, in New York. After leaving New York, she studied with Jacques Fabert in his painting studio in Buckingham, Pennsylvania, for three years. She has returned to the Philadelphia area and is currently weaving small and large commissions at her home in East Falls.

Maris Krasnegor has spent many years exploring textiles, woven, printed, stitched, embroidered - and currently, handfelted!  Her work has been widely shown in area galleries, with recent felt wearables exhibited at Woven, Crafts for Living, Show of Hands, Wayne Art Center, DaVinci Art Alliance, Cosmopolitan Club.  Her educational background includes a BA in Art History from Wellesley College, graduate study in textile design at Philadelphia College of Art (now U-Arts) and additional study in techniques of feltmaking with Beth Beede, Jorie Johnson, Chad Hagen, and others.

Bette R. McCarron has been involved with weaving, basketry and other fiber arts for more than thirty years as a member of the PGHW and has attended local and regional workshops and won several PGHW awards. She enjoys sharing her enthusiasm for basketry through classes for childen and/or adults. A former Peace Corps worker in Grenada and certified Veterinary Technician, Bette's work combines influences from travel, animals and fiber arts.

Pam Pawl has been teaching weaving and dyeing since 1980 and has been a member of the Phila Guild of HandWeavers for over 30 years. She received her BS in Textile Design in 1995. Her teaching experience includes assistant professor in Weave Design at Phila. College of Textiles, senior lecturer in weaving at University of the Arts, instructor for Fibers Concentration at Penland School of Crafts, instructor at Cannonhill Studio/ Woven Fiber Art House and has taught workshops for guilds and fiber conferences nationally. When not teaching, she works in her studio in Manayunk where she produces limited edition hand woven and dyed scarves shawls and throws. Her work has been exhibited at Convergence, Gershwin Y, Woven Fiber Art House, Paley Design Center, Penland Gallery and she has sold work at local and national craft shows. She is fascinated with color and structure possibilities and still is excited by every new warp.

Nancy Shiffrin has a BA in studio art, with a concentration in Pottery. In the mid 1980's she discovered weaving, and she has been exploring the many dimensions of fiber ever since. In 1992 she received the Certificate of Excellence in Handweaving from the Handweaver's Guild of America. She enjoys many types of weaving, but has been concentrating on hand dyeing silk warps, and weaving complex weaves with a computer assisted loom. She loves teaching new weavers, and through them is constantly exposed to the delight of discovery. Lately she has also been embroidering small art pieces, playing with a new way of creating beauty with fiber.