DIGITAL WEAVING NORWAY IN DENMARK

I took a 5 day trip to Denmark to visit 2 schools that own TC1 and TC2 looms. The first part of my trip was to participate in a workshop offered by Lise Frolund and Grethe Sorensen at the School of Design in Kolding Denmark. The second part was to visit the Textile studio at the Danish School of Design in Copenhagen. They have the first TC2 sold in Denmark.

KOLDING

The Design School in Kolding has 1 TC1 loom and another 4 modules that are installed in the frame of a traditional wooden loom. The TC1 was purchased jointly and shared with an artists group. The terms of the arrangement are that the loom is available to students in the school for some part of the year and can be rented out via the artists’ group for the other part. The fee is nominal and the minimal amount of time is 3 weeks.

The workshop was offered for free. There were 12 participants. The reason Lise and Grethe offered this workshop was to promote the use of the TC1.

It is difficult to get access to a tool such as this and it can be very expensive. The rental terms for this loom is arranged to protect and support the creative and investigative process.

As Lise said, “You have time to explore and to make mistakes and learn from them and then to fix them.”

The loom is situated in the school’s weaving studio - and it was noted that it was also a benefit for students to see artists working on it.

Because I had already visited both Lise and Grethe’s studios, I was prepared to see modules from the TC1 installed in a wooden framed loom. I nearly clapped in delight when Lise showed a modification for using a variety of different reeds. 

The important message from Lise and Grethe is that the TC1 is a tool that pushes the boundaries away from the weaver. They haven’t allowed the configuration of the modules or the width of their looms to restrict their curiosity or vision. Where they have required it, they have taken advantage of the flexibility of this tool- to a degree that is a lesson to us all not to be ruled by our tools, but to use them fearlessly! They have borrowed and swapped modules for years, placing them in a variety of loom frames to suit their needs.

Just think about that for a moment....

Grethe Sorensen

Lise Frolund

All of the participants had weaving backgrounds, some had Photoshop experience, and less still had woven on a TC1.

There was very little “teaching” of how to design a woven sample or how to use software.

The focus was getting something ready so that the participant could walk up to the loom, turn it on, interpret the behavior of the loom/computer interface, weave and see results. The point is that one could self-teach the software; Photoshop for example, by taking advantage of the many excellent resources available. There was also a table of books and catalogs of work available to browse. During file preparation Lise, Grethe myself and the participants provided support and advice.

When the fabric was cut off, it was very satisfying to see the range and trajectories of everyone’s experiments. Each student had woven 2 samples, a couple had woven more. A couple of the samples did not even use weave structures....I am still thinking about this.

It was fairly clear to me that more than one participants’ perspective had been permanently altered. It was also clear that each participant had moved in her own direction feeling out her own new pathway...one of the most precious gifts a teacher or mentor can provide.....exhilarating.

I am excited to see what comes next!

THE DANISH DESIGN SCHOOL

Berthe Forchhammer and Marie Lund of Danish Design School

The Textile Studio in Copenhagen has the first TC2 sold in Denmark. It is the wide model and is fitted with 12 modules. The studio itself is a light filled space with an amazing view of the harbor and Royal Castle across. Courses and the studio are managed by 3 incredible instructors. They also have access to a wide range of yarns, and tools. My visit was far too short, but I was fortunate enough to interact with a small group of students who had worked on the TC2.

We talked about their projects and their interests and also a bit about their academic experiences. One of the recurring themes of our discussion is the merging of ideas and practices of different disciplines to create new work.

I had come to “check in” with the new loom -to see if all was well and possibly to answer questions. I was maybe a little disappointed as it turned out, the loom was operating excellently and there were very few questions! 

This must be a testament to the excellence of Marie and Berthe and to the loom itself. Based upon my interactions with their students.....I am also eager to see what comes next!

-- Cathryn Amidei, Associate Professor

Apparel, Textiles and Merchandising
Eastern Michigan University

Artist-in-Residence at Tronrud Engineering 2013 - 2014