Rag Rug Weaving Explorations: Weeklong Intensive with Lena Kolb

Date: Monday, August 10 – Friday, August 14

Time: 10am – 5pm (daily!)

Description: Join Visiting Artist Lena Kolb for a weeklong exploration of rag rug weaving possibilities: learn to weave a rug by using upcycled fabrics and a floor loom. Fun note: Lena learned to weave by apprenticing a rag rug weaver in New Orleans for six years!

In this five-day workshop, participants will learn how to transform discarded textiles into unique, durable rugs full of color and texture. Throughout the week, this workshop will cover:

• selecting and preparing materials
• designing patterns and planning colors
• warping the loom for rug weaving
• finishing and hemming methods.

Lena will lead participants through explorations of stripe patterns, zig zags, and mixing colors. More experienced weavers will also have the opportunity to learn how to make checks using a double binding technique.

Whether you are a beginner or an experienced weaver looking to try something new, this class will offer hands-on guidance and plenty of studio time for in depth exploration of rag rug weaving. You will leave this workshop, with a unique small handwoven rug and the knowledge to continue creating sustainable textiles at home.

Warp yarn will be provided with registration. Participants will supply their own material for weft. Registrants will receive guidance via email about what materials will work for rag rug explorations (though think old sheets, t-shirts, or other larger pieces of fabric).

Tuition: $425 + $20 materials fee

Note: We really want you to join us in the studio! Full and partial tuition scholarships are often available—with some limitations—to offset some of the financial burden of attending a class.

Please fill out the application here! You can expect to hear from someone on the CC staff within 2 weeks.

If you have any questions, email Jamie Boyle, Fibers Program Manager, at jboyle@contemporarycraft.org, or leave a voice message for them at 412-465-1628.

Materials: Warp provided by studio. Participants will provide their own materials for weft. Guidance prior to the start of the workshop will be provided on what to bring.

Location: Contemporary Craft, Timmons Studios (5688 Butler St., Pittsburgh, PA 15201). Note, this workshop will take place in the Fleischner Family Fibers Loft, which is on the second floor of the building.

There are 2 entrances to the Timmons Studios.

• One entrance is facing Butler Street. To access the Fibers Loft from the Butler Street facing entrance, there are a total of 32 stairs to ascend.

• One entrance is facing 57th Street. This entrance is accessible by ramp, with no stairs to ascend. There is a lift inside the building to access the second floor.

If there are accessibility accommodations we can provide, or if there is anything you would like us to know before you arrive, please feel free to call Jamie Boyle at 412-465-1628 or email jboyle@contemporarycraft.org.

Cancellations and Refunds: Workshop cancellations are decided two weeks before the start date. If workshops must be cancelled due to insufficient enrollment, the entire class fee will be refunded by check, to your credit card, or Contemporary Craft account for future workshops.

Refund Policy: Student refund requests must be made at least two weeks before a class begins. There will be a $35 cancellation fee. No refunds will be given without two weeks notice. Processing of refunds takes approximately three weeks.

About the Artist Lena Kolb is a visual artist and educator based in Philadelphia. She has been weaving for over a decade, learning to weave by apprenticing a rag rug weaver in New Orleans for six years.  Lena received a BS in Elementary and Special Education and MFA in Fibers and Material Studies. Lena teaches weaving at Tyler School of Art, Temple University and local community focused spaces. Among other things Lena has worked at an ice cream shop, as an usher at a movie theater, a data entry goblin, an elementary school teacher, a rug weaver, a sales person at a western store, a medical record clerk, a professor and a packer for a moving company.