Tapestry Workshops at Moon Rain Centre 2011

“During the process of designing and weaving each tapestry, I attune to ancient mysteries of the weaver’s path. The repetition of over and under, followed by under and over, meditatively connects me to Navajo, Mayan and Buddhist beliefs where weaving, or the union of warp, or tantra, with weft, or sutra, creates harmony.” Thoma Ewen, artistic director

Photography by Ken Ewen

Inspired by the natural environment, workshop participants explore and develop their own creativity, immersed in techniques and practices developed at Moon Rain Centre that demystify tapestry weaving, making it accessible to everyone.

Level One: workshops for beginners

July 23 & 24

August 6 & 7

This weekend workshop is an introduction to the art and craft of tapestry weaving. Basic techniques are explored and practiced on small frame looms. While learning to blend colours and build woven shapes and lines, participants create a small tapestry to take home.

$225 includes materials

Level Two: weaving tapestry

July 25 to 29

August 8 to 12

During this week workshop, the patterns of nature inspire woven tapestries, as each participant explores in depth the tapestry weaving process, developing and weaving a visual idea into a finished tapestry.

$475 includes materials prerequisite: Level One

Level Three: mentoring

Mentoring responds to the unique questions and concerns of individual advanced students. Emerging tapestry weavers are shown how to recognize and develop their own unique creative gifts, while learning to become active creative members of their own communities.

prerequisite: Level Two and portfolio

Level Four: weaving and culture

A workshop for teachers, arts educators and cultural facilitators

Weaving transmits the energy of Peace. It has a calming, harmonizing effect on people, especially on children, so is an excellent tool for today’s classrooms and community centers. This workshop teaches simple creative weaving skills and projects that are suitable for all ages, abilities, and cultural programming budgets. In this workshop participants learn how to turn the family ragbin into woven fabric art projects, how to make simple frame looms and weave on them, how to make cloth looms and more.

prerequisite: Level Two

workshop fees include all materials

camping and accommodation available on-site

For more information please contact Moon Rain Centre at

info@moonrain.ca

http://www.moonrain.ca/

819 457 9711



Vision Circle

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Moon Rain was invited to direct the The Vision Circle community weaving project done at the Ayer's Cliff Elementary School in the Eastern Townships in Quebec.




Louise Boyce on the right, the head teacher and assisant principal of the school, organized the project.

Alfred Sutton School

The Big Weave was at a local school, Alfred Sutton. The classes had the opportunity to watch the tapestry weavers and had the chance to weave too.

Photographs by
Joanne de Nobriga

Weaving A Vision For The Earth

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Weaving a Vision for the Earth

Join special guest Thoma Ewen to create a tapestry inspired by Earth Day. Write your visions, messages and wishes for Earth and weave them into a communal work of art. Families can also create a personal mini-tapestry to take home.

April 18, 2009 11:00 AM to 4:00 PM

April 19, 2009 11:00AM to 4:00 PM

Canadian Museum of Civilization

100, rue Laurier Street, Gatineau QC

Free with Museum admission

Winter Weaving Workshop: a weaving retreat and Canadian winter experience

In the autumn of 2008, Moira Diane Wood, fibre artist from Reading, England ( http://www.linenworks.co.uk/) contacted Moon Rain Centre to arrange a winter weaving workshop for herself and her artist sister, Elaine Callen from Ireland. Moira Diane is collaborating with Maiden Erlegh Community Arts School in Reading to develop a Family Weaving Programme that facilitates community tapestry projects as creative community outreach. The two artists wished to further explore tapestry techniques in the quiet retreat of the studio at Moon Rain Centre. Here are Moira Diane Wood's and Elaine Callen's summaries of their winter weaving week.

Elaine Callen in the studio

A few weeks before Christmas my sister and I left the UK for Toronto, boarded a train for Ottawa and on to Quebec. Our first glimpse of Moon Rain came just as the sun was setting - a golden glow in the sky, dark silhouetted trees and blue shadows across snow - more snow than we had ever seen before. Thoma led the way to the studio, showed us our cosy rooms, lit the woodburning stove, advised us of the whereabouts of the washhouse and left us to settle in with a very welcome invitation to dinner later.

Soon the wood-burning stove was roaring and the thought of going outside to the toilet was not appealing. However our night time expeditions to the wash house and the contortions of putting on all the layers required were rewarded with a stunning carpet of stars on clear nights and hushed fields covered in glistening snow.

Mornings we worked hard on our weaving guided and inspired by Thoma quietly and assuredly at work on a new Aurora tapestry. By lunchtime we could no longer resist the lure of the snow outside. Snowshoeing expeditions were called for - a short one to try out our snowfeet with Little One leading the way, and then a more adventurous expedition to the far corner of Moon Rain to visit the frozen waterfall.

Little One shows us the way

Moira Diane on snowshoes

Our last evening was memorable - the euphoria of finishing our tapestries, Thoma's special egg nog (sweetened with Moon Rain's smoky maple syrup) all rounded off with venison stew which had bubbled on the wood burning stove all day.
We enjoyed every minute of our stay at Moon Rain, and cherish all the new experiences it brought. We brought home a beautiful and much admired tapestry each and hope to return one day to see the finished Aurora tapestry and the Moon Rain garden that was hidden under the cloak of snow.

Thank you Thoma and Moon Rain for an unforgettable experience.
Moira Diane Wood

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My week at Moon Rain was a wonderful experience of sunshine and snow, bright blue skies and deep blue shadows. Baskets of multicoloured wools on a warm wooden floor. Ideas and inspirations, weaving and concentration. Snow shoe walks over pristine fields. Icy cold and warming spiced teas.

Elaine Callen. December 2008

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Below are the wonderful finished pieces that Moira Diane and Elaine designed and wove during the winter tapestry workshop

Elaine Callen's winter landscape tapestry

Moira Diane Wood's "Flax Field" tapestry

Moira Diane Wood is a flax spinner and linen weaver living in the UK (http://www.linenworks.co.uk/)

Elaine Callen is a landscape artist working in paint and pastel, she lives in Ireland.

CBC Radio Interview

CBC Radio public service announcement for the teen weaving workshop at the National Gallery Of Canada, Saturday October 25, 2008