Sharing Our Stories Through Weaving with Celia Shaheen

This workshop has concluded. Check back soon for results.

Description

In this workshop, basic weaving techniques will be taught along with storytelling for personal growth and healing. Using weaving materials from their own environment, including found objects, participants will create unique tapestries that speak to their experiences during the coronavirus pandemic.

Instructor Bio

Celia Shaheen (she/her) is a craftsperson, teaching artist, and lifelong student from Texas. Currently based in Turner, ME, she works as a fiber studio manager and educator at Nezinscot Farm. Celia graduated in 2020 with a BFA in Studio Art, a BA in Honors Art History, and a Museum Studies certificate from the University of Texas at Austin. She studied fiber art and papermaking at the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design, Oxbow School of Art, and Penland School of Craft. Celia has a deep love of arts education, and has taught at museums, K-12 schools, universities, and with community organizations.

Artist’s Statement

The COVID-19 pandemic has presented uncertainties, upheavals, losses, and grief for folks all across Maine. This workshop is not a solution or a promise for total healing; it is a humble offering of community, for expression, for sharing and documenting our stories. The weavings participants create will not have a single purpose. Some may serve as an anchor, an exercise, a diary entry, a reminder of a safe place, or the feelings found in a most difficult place. Weaving our stories will not only result in visually striking objects, but will serve as a vital addition to how we process and remember this time, our places, and our experiences in the midst of the ongoing pandemic.

Materials Needed

This class is built around low cost or no cost materials. ‘Looms’ can be made with cardboard and scissors, forked tree branches, a book, or an old picture frame. For the tapestry, participants can use materials from around their home that they find interesting or exciting. Here is a list of items participants will need:

Warp materials: cotton, linen, or acrylic yarn (strong and relatively thin)
Weft materials: ribbon, old fabric, leaves, branches, necklaces, plastic bags, beads, pipe cleaners, etc.
Darning needle, scissors, beater combs (can use hair combs)
Cardboard or found object loom (instructions will be given in the first class

Registration Form

This workshop is now closed to new registrations.