January 2018
Diablo Weavers Guild meets in Walnut Creek, usually on the third or fourth Friday of the month from September through June, 10:00 am until noon or a little later. We do not meet in July and August.
New members and guests are welcome.
In September, December and June we meet at a member's home. Other meetings are usually held at the Thurman Casey Library in Walnut Creek (Ygnacio Valley Library).
Thurman G. Casey Library
2661 Oak Grove Rd.
Walnut Creek CA 94598
See the side bar on the left or the link below for meeting dates and topics. Active planning is underway, but additional suggestions are welcome.
Library location details and a map:
Membership:
Dues for the 2017-18 year, September - June, are $30 per person; $40 per family. If joining half way through the year, dues are $15.
January 2018
Our next meeting will be January 26, the fourth Friday of the month, at the library at 10:00 am. Our guest speaker will be Robin Lynde, speaking about the Fibershed project.
Fibershed
What is it, how does it work, why participate in it? What is sustainability when it comes to producing fiber for spinners and weavers and consumers?
Presented by Robin Lynde who owns Meridian Jacobs in Vacaville. Robin is a participant in Fibershed and sells her things on the Fibershed site. She will bring samples of her items to our meeting. She teaches weaving in her studio and shows her sheep at a number of shows. She is committed to raising her sheep in a sustainable and conscious way. You can read more about her at meridianjacobs.com.
See more information about Fibershed at http://www.fibershed.com/
Snack for the meeting: Pam M.
Travel Opportunity
Aiko will be in Japan for another show this spring, so is not leading a spring tour to Guatemala. However, she is helping her daughter, Mari, with the tour below. Mari is the founder of Kakaw Designs.
online:
Our first textile tour in Guatemala, August 2018. A new way to support our artisan partners through creative idea exchange. Let's have some fun together!
Who are the leaders?
Well, that's a fun team! It will be me and my mother, two generations; like mother, like daughter. My mom, Aiko Kobayashi, is a career textile artist and the reason why I have grown to love Guatemala so much (oh yeah, and also the reason why I was born in Guatemala to begin with!). Her passion for all things textiles, her knowledge of rural Guatemala and Maya traditions, plus her personal friendships all over the country makes her an excellent leader of textile tours, which she's been doing for over 20 years now. But she's been wanting to change things up, and I had this idea of creating an idea-exchange opportunity.... so we've teamed up to offer you this unique experience!
I'll be arranging all of the workshops, coordinating everything with our Kakaw Designs partner artisans. My mother will be bringing her experience leading international groups in Guatemala, her passion for rural travel, and most of all, her friendly relationship connections all over - people are sincerely happy to see her, every time. After so many years, she's built strong relationships with people in rural communities, and it's a treat to be invited into people's homes, to share family updates, and bring back pictures for locals from the previous trip. It's a nice personal touch that only she can provide.
I hope this answers a bit about the leaders of the trip. Please let me know if you have any questions! We're taking reservations for August trips, starting at only $1800. Let me know to save a spot for you.
See the itineraries
XOXO,
Mari
Mari Gray
Founder, Kakaw Designs
502-5328-3576 | mari@kakawdesigns.com | kakawdesigns.com | Skype: mari-gray | Antigua, Guatemala
For Sale
Former Diablo Weaver Janet Johnson has a loom for sale:
I want to sell my 8 shaft, 46 inch Gilmore floor loom. I paid $2,000 for it, but that was 2nd hand and years ago. It’s still a beautiful loom and everything works. Plus I have a bunch of stuff to go with it, including the bench. If anyone is interested please let me know... thanks.
Janet
925-890-4583
Local Events
International Terminal of the San Francisco Airport Museum
An update from Charlene Woodcock, who spoke to our guild about this Mayan weaving cooperative:
If you haven’t yet had the opportunity to see the Jolom Mayaetik exhibition at the International Terminal of San Francisco airport, we will have a reception there on March 10, with one or possibly two weavers here from Chiapas, an informal talk, a weaving demonstration, and a book signing. Weaving Chiapas: Maya Women’s Lives in a Changing World will be out at the end of January.
The display fills two long glass cases facing the tapestry shown here and it will be up until April 8. The adjacent SFMOMA bookstore will have copies of the book of oral histories of the weavers in February.
As we plan for this event, it will be very helpful to know how many of you can come. It’s very easy to come via BART—just take the SFO line to the airport; it comes directly to the International Terminal. I’d be grateful if you would reply to this to say if you can come, are not yet sure, or cannot come.
Thanks very much.