AAFG 2009–2010 Meeting Programs

General Notes

Membership meetings are held the 2nd Monday, September – May (The only exceptions are December when we have our holiday party, and October when we meet the 3rd Monday of the month.)

Social Time & Library Browsing and Business: 6:30 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.
Meeting Begins: 7:00 p.m.

Zion Lutheran Church
1501 West Liberty (between Seventh and Stadium)
Ann Arbor, Michigan 48103
Directions to Zion Lutheran Church
Enter on the east side of the building using the door closest to Liberty. Piper Hall is in the lower level; stairway is visible from the entrance, and a small elevator is around the corner from the stairway.
Parking options: Free generous parking onsite.

Monthly Schedule

September 14, 2009

Kathy Zasuwa – Clearing a Path: Creative Commitment

A presentation designed to expand your understanding of the creative process and how to manage obstacles, maintain inspiration and increase your artistic productivity. Building an awareness of the choices you make in this process and gaining tools to assist you along the creative path will be achieved through lecture, slides and a design exercise.

Kathy Zasuwa is an artist who has worked with weaving, surface design, and felting for over 20 years. She earned her Textile degree from Michigan State University in 1979 and has done post–graduate work at Eastern Michigan University. The Moorman Inlay Technique is a weave structure she has explored in depth and shares this experience through lectures and workshops. The creative process is a subject she has passionately researched, lectured and conducted workshops on for the past decade. Her art work has been exhibited widely receiving many awards. She has a long list of commission work in corporate and private collections. Fiberarts, Surface Design and Shuttle, Spindle & Dyepot have all showcased her work. Select pieces are featured in Weaving That Sings.

October 19, 2009

Karen Koykka O’Neal – The Secret Life of Paper

This talk is about paper. It’s all around us. It is the essential carrier of ideas. It is a support for paintings and drawings. It is an art medium in itself. It can be created from plants. It can be created from waste paper. It can become a work of art. It can become trash. The fascinating origins, development and versatility of paper indicate that we will never become a truly paperless society – unless and until we are completely out of ideas. Karen Koykka O’Neal will give insight into the art of paper.

Karen is a local multi–media artist and has taught many workshops in papermaking. In addition, she is also accomplished at making papyrus. Her studio, Out of Hand Papermaking Studio, is located in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

November 9, 2009

AAFG Member Showcase A–M – We want to see what you’ve been working on! And we’re also interested in what inspired you, and the technique(s) you used. AAFG members with last names that begin with the letters A–M are invited to bring in their latest creations for a show and tell. Please sign up at the hospitality desk if you wish to talk about your work. AAFG members are always invited to display their creations for viewing on designated tables.

January 11, 2010

Sue Moran – Recent Work: The Pinocchio Memoirs and a Year of Walks

Textile artist Susan Moran will discuss the series of panels she created in homage and response to the world–renowned story of Pinocchio, using silkscreen, shibori and collage, and incorporating motifs inspired by historical Italian fabrics. Pinocchio, by Carlo Collodi, is a cautionary tale full of dark humor and striking images, and these textiles present abstracted visual impressions of selected characters and events in the story. In addition, the artist will talk about the 12 pieces she created as a result of daily walks in the woods, through all the seasons, in every kind of weather. These wall hangings celebrate the seasonal cycles, using such textile techniques as shibori, silkscreen, and stitching.

Susan has an M.F.A. in Textiles from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor and a B.A. in Studio Art from Mount Holyoke College, South Hadley, MA. She currently teaches Fiber Design at the College for Creative Studies and Surface Design at Wayne State University.

February 8, 2010

Dianne Little – Textile Conservation

Dianne Little will cover a basic understanding of textiles and what causes them to degrade and deteriorate. The information is important for fiber artists to consider when choosing materials, techniques and display for the benefit of the longevity of their art. She will also be covering some easy preventative conservation techniques, some simple techniques for the care of textile objects and some straightforward storage options for the textile objects that may be in their collections. Within the lecture, Dianne will be showing both antique and contemporary textiles to illustrate her presentation.

Dianne Little has been working on textiles for over 50 years. She is a spinner, quilter, knitter, embroiderer and weaver. Her avocation became her vocation as she worked as a textile conservation specialist at The Henry Ford in Dearborn, Michigan. In her endeavor to become a textile conservator, she studied at the Campbell School for Historic Preservation and the University of Rhode Island in Kingston, Rhode Island. For a year she was the textile conservator for the Titanic. She has a love for antique textiles and the tools used to make them. Several years ago she won Best of Show at the Ontario Handspinners Seminar in London, Ontario for her hand–spun, hand–knit cape. She has long collected spinning wheels, spinning and weaving equipment, and textiles from quilts to coverlets. For decades Dianne has taught classes on spinning, quilting, and many other fiber related topics.

March 8, 2010

AAFG Member Showcase N–Z – We want to see what you’ve been working on! And we’re also interested in what inspired you, and the technique(s) you used. AAFG members with last names that begin with the letters N–Z are invited to bring in their latest creations for a show and tell. Please sign up at the hospitality desk if you wish to talk about your work. AAFG members are always invited to display their creations for viewing on designated tables.

April 12, 2010

Richard Jeryan – Restoration of the Jacquard Loom at the Henry Ford Museum

A presentation describing the history, operation and restoration of the Jacquard hand loom at the Henry Ford Greenfield Village Textile Division. The loom, acquired by Henry Ford in 1934, had been unused for the past 25 years. Richard’s lecture presents the research conducted on the loom and the steps taken to restore it to operation. Samples woven on the restored loom will be shown.

Richard Jeryan is a retired Ford engineer whose career has been in researching fiber–reinforced composites – plastics and resins strengthened with fabrics woven with such things as glass, Kevlar or carbon. He learned to weave in 1980 and, along with a fellow Henry Ford Museum volunteer, began to restore the Jacquard loom in 2006. The loom was put into action in 2008.

May 10, 2010

Marion Marzolf – The Modern Rya Rug Comes to America

The rya knot is an old technique for rug making in Scandinavia, with origins back to the Persian rug. Bed, boat, and sleigh blankets were made in rya using the long pile from native sheep to create warmth against the cold on sea and land. In post World War II America the contemporary rya in bold geometric and vibrant abstract designs hit the growing furnishing market for modern homes. American weavers picked up on the technique and pushed it in wall hangings and sculptural forms. This power point talk traces a bit of the background and explores the developments in America, based on research in the magazines and interviews with weavers. If you were one of the many who created a rya in the 1950s or 1960s or made one (or started one) from a kit, please bring your examples for display with the speaker’s work.

Marion Marzolf is past–president of AAFG and MLH, and a retired professor of journalism and American Studies (and Scandinavian) at the University of Michigan. Her retirement has been devoted to weaving and writing about weaving. She is co–author with Marie A. Gile of Fascination with Fiber: Michigan’s Handweaving Heritage. She has her latest rya rug in the Hydrology show at the Chelsea Center for the Arts, Nov. 15–Dec. 18, 2009.