The Education Committee continues to roll out teasers for next year’s conference workshop offerings — Linda Davis and Judith Rees

CHARLENE VIRTS is a pine needle basket maker extraordinaire! In her 35 years of fiber arts she made her home in a variety of locations in the West and has always been captivated by the feel and tradition of functional craft and artwork rooted in each region. From saddle blankets in Nevada’s cowboy country, to wearable art in California’s Sonoma Valley, most of her work has been focused on weaving. When she moved to Central Oregon, she began exploring the history of pine needle baskets and creating her own. Each of her coiled baskets are unique, made of Ponderosa Pine needles collected near her home. She has found a few special trees that have exceptionally long, beautiful needles. Many of her basket centers are of sagebrush and juniper branches collected in Central Oregon. Other accents (beads, wire, stones), she has collected over the years knowing they would come in handy some day. Her workshop on pine needle basketry is sure to be a delight.

JOHN MARSHALL hardly needs any introduction!  He has been immersed in Japanese textiles for 50 years and has taught at many ANWG conferences; his classes are almost always sell-outs. He has been featured in Japanese national magazines and NHK broadcasts, as well as featured in the Textile Museum in Washington, DC, and shows sponsored by the US State Department, Kodansha, and the Embassy of Japan, to name just a few. His passion is teaching and sharing all the wonders of Japanese textiles that he has encountered over the decades. In 1988, he published Make Your Own Japanese Clothes through Kodansha, and has since gone on to publish Salvation Through Soy (soymilk and dyeing), Singing the Blues (fresh-leaf indigo dyeing), limited edition TADEAI–Fresh-Leaf Indigo Dyeing, A Collectors Guide to Japanese Indigo, A Field Guide to Japanese Textiles, and many more books and textile collections. In spring of 2020, John launched a series of online courses focusing on Japanese textiles and culture. At the 2023 conference, he will teach a workshop on Tsujigahana – this may be the new dyeing technique that you have been longing for.

LAURA VIADA is a handweaver and fiber artist who creates works of art in natural fibers. She employs many different weaving techniques and structures, including diversified plain weave, double and triple weave, and mesmerizing transparencies. For the past 25 years, Laura has been an active member of Texas’s fiber art community. Her work has been exhibited nationally and has won numerous awards. She spent 9 months in 2008 as an Artist-in-Residence at the Houston Center for Contemporary Craft.  Laura believes in giving back to the fiber art community. She has served as president of Contemporary Handweavers of Texas, chaired the organization’s biennial conference in 2017, and held numerous board positions in Contemporary Handweavers of Houston, including president. Laura also served on the Houston Center for Contemporary Craft’s Artist-in Residence Selection Panel from 2013 to 2015. She is currently a member of Archway Gallery, Houston’s oldest artist-owned-and-operated gallery. Laura will teach a workshop on creating handwoven transparencies – so come be mesmerized.

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The Weaving Guilds of Oregon conference steering committee is very busy planning for the upcoming ANWG Conference. Please continue to visit our website for information and conference updates. If you would like to receive information delivered to your inbox, please subscribe to the conference blog .