Jerry Bleem

This course is an introduction to floor loom hand weaving through the study of basic weave structures, woven image techniques and fiber types. Traditional and experimental use of material and technique will be used to explore double weaves, painted warps and a variety of hand-manipulated techniques including tapestry, brocade and inlay.

Students will study the global histories of woven cloth through a variety of readings, presentations, and class discussions. Works by artists such as Diedrick Brackens, Lenore Tawney, and Gunta Stolzl will be discussed as well as writings by thinkers such as Anni Albers, T'ai Smith, Dieter Hoffman-Axthelm as primary points of departure. Students will study basic weaving draft patterns and will complete independent research into artists and techniques of interest. The conceptual and material considerations of contemporary craft-based art will be a major component of this course.

Students will produce 2-6 finished weavings over the course of the semester through their exploration and research of a variety of techniques on 4-harness floor looms.

This class investigates the properties of the elemental act of twisting raw materials into pliable linear elements. Students learn to spin and ply--using drop spindles and wheels--and to extend elements through rope making and various splicing techniques. Building on this foundation, students manipulate these fibrous elements into 2- and 3-dimensional forms as well as exploring expressive possibilities, and the limits of materials and structures.

Topics for reading and discussion include the development of spinning and textile production, the social and economic histories of labor, historic and contemporary art examples of spun and structured fiber, and current cultural interests in reclaiming the handmade.

Course work includes reading responses, participation in discussions, assembling a set of samples, reporting on research and 3 studio projects.

This course will explore strategies for collecting things (not necessarily of any particular monetary value) to be used as conceptual impetus, subject matter, and/or physical materials in the studio. The class will include discussions of the nature of classification and organization; the nature of attraction based on memory, physicality, and visual language; the relationship of time and distance to collection; and how quantity and mass change our perspectives and attractions. The class will also examine how artists have employed the act of collecting as a significant aspect of their work.

Field trips will be an integral part of this class; our goal is to experience a rich mix of collections that illustrate the possibilities of this way of thinking. Readings will be drawn from important exhibition catalogs [Deep Storage and The Keeper], writings about artists, hoarding, the evolution of museums, and our fluid sense of value.

Students will be expected to respond to assigned readings, present research, participate in a collaborative project exercise, and produce a mid-term and final project that synthesizes the experience and the material.

This research studio will use the collection of the SAIC Textile Resource Center (TRC) as material for research and studio work. Textiles are rooted in complex and fascinating global histories and contexts, and the class invites students to investigate them through research, personal and familial experiences, and sharing knowledge. Relying on the TRC's collection of over 600 textile objects and 2,000 books, students will begin by examining an object or group of objects to learn more about their contexts, cultures, materials, processes, uses, stories, and ancestries. Filters that might be used to consider these textiles include agriculture, industry, cultural identity and expression, commerce, capitalism, colonialism, anthropology, inventions and tourism.
Guided personal inquiry via research and production will shape the course. Readings and discussions will acquaint students with various methodologies to help uncover their meanings and stories. Formal class meetings will be augmented with individual meetings with the instructor, and the director of the Textile Resource Center.
Students will create studio work in response to the objects under study, rooted in the students¿ studio interests and practices. Students will also share their research and investigations in assignments including discussions and presentations.