During this two-hour workshop, participants will explore the art of hand-weaving on a cardboard loom, led by artist Bryana Bibbs. Participants are encouraged to bring non-traditional materials such as old tees, ties, jeans, plastic bags, fabric, etc. Never woven before? No problem! This class is for all skill levels.
Above: Above: From Bryana's “Natural Series,” this weaving was woven on a cardboard loom with old denim jeans and raw cotton, similar to what participants in this workshop will be doing. The Natural Series is a series that is based on The Weaving Mill’s (Chicago, Illinois) remote residency for the W.A.R.P 2020 application. The purpose of this series is to create a dialogue between the recycled cotton that was provided by The Weaving Mill, cotton that is used in everyday materials, and other cellulose fibers. Each weaving was woven on a 13” x 13” wide-notch cardboard loom.
About the artist
Bryana Bibbs (b. 1991) is a Chicago-based textile artist, painter, and art educator who earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts with an emphasis in Fiber and Material Studies at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Her work comes from her personal life, struggles with daily occurrences, the ultimate strive for comfort, and trying to figure out life one step at a time. She is the founder of “The We Were Never Alone Project - A Weaving Workshop for Victims and Survivors of Domestic Violence”, a 2021 - 2022 Chicago Artist Coalition HATCH Residency Artist, and serves on the Surface Design Association’s Education Committee. Bryana’s work has been on view at The Evanston Art Center (Evanston, Illinois), ARC Gallery (Chicago, Illinois), The Bridgeport Art Center (Chicago, Illinois), The Wayback (Chicago, Illinois), and Room482 (Brooklyn, New York).
This event is presented in conjunction with the Design Museum of Chicago's current exhibition, A Designed Life: Contemporary American Textiles, Wallpapers, and Containers & Packaging, 1951–1954, from University of Maryland, Baltimore County’s Center for Art, Design and Visual Culture (CADVC). A Designed Life is curated by Margaret Re and organized by the Center for Art, Design and Visual Culture, UMBC with support from the Coby Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts, and Knoll, Inc. A Designed Life is open until September 19 and can be viewed daily from 11am–4pm at our Expo 72 gallery at 72 E Randolph St.