Instructors
Chuck Benson has a BS in elementary education and an MA in art education. His interest in weaving came from his mother and grandmother, both of whom were rug weavers. He taught art in the Edina public schools before semi-retirement allowed time for teaching at the Guild. His woven rugs include samples of all of the rugs in the Rag Rug Handbook and prize winners at the State Fair.
Traudi Bestler's first weaving and spinning classes were at the Weavers Guild, followed by sessions at Sievers School of Fiber Arts, and Madelyn Van Der Hoogt's Weaver School. She has been teaching in the fiber department of the Minnetonka Center for the Arts since 1992, travels and teaches workshops in the midwest, and lately has been indulging her love for tapestry by dyeing the yarn she uses for weaving images.
Steve Bye is an Adobe Certified Instructor of Photoshop and taught classes at the Minnesota Center of Photography until it closed recently. He now teaches Photoshop, Lightroom, and Digital Fine Art Printing at the Minneapolis Photo Center. Bye's strength as a teacher is in explaining difficult concepts in easily understandable terms, a skill learned while he was an engineer, trainer, and manager at Hewlett-Packard Company.
Pamela J. Davis has turned her love of tapestry into a profession. She is dedicated to sharing her knowledge of the different historical techniques of tapestry from around the world and well-known American tapestry artists. She has taught business and science at the University of Minnesota, and teaches various levels of tapestry and weaving for the Weavers Guild of Minnesota and Color Crossing.
Kala Exworthy is passionate about working with all aspects of woven and sometimes knitted cloth. Color relationships are the primary attraction with woven structure a close second. Her weaving journey began at a Folk school in Norway a long time ago, eventually resulting in a BFA and a charming studio of her own. She strives to help others realize the impact that color has on their lives and how to translate those 'colorful' feelings into creating personal pieces that suit them.
Sue Farley started developing the pixeLoom software shortly after she learned to weave five years ago. With an interest from a young age in the fiber arts, she is delighted to have found her way to weaving and the seemingly endless possibilities it holds in store.
Louise French has had an interest in fibers and fabric since childhood and took her first weaving class more than 25 years ago. She enjoys weaving a variety of articles: from scarves to table linens to yardage for clothing. She has written many articles for Handwoven magazine and teaches at several locations in the Midwest, including Sievers School of Fiber Arts in Door County, Wisconsin.
Neal Goman
When Neal was a teenager his Aunt and Uncle would pick up fiber tools from around the world on their travels. They’d give him these gifts along with a dictionary to translate the instructions into English. But it wasn’t until 1994 that he started spinning in earnest. His yarns are destined for his weaving projects, in Charlotte’s knittings, but most in his wooden bowls and baskets around the house.
Betty Glynn Carlson has been weaving since 1972 and began weaving Navajo rugs in 1995. She studied Navajo weaving with Fran Potter, Marilou Schultz, and several Navajo weavers at the Taos Institute of Art. Betty feels a special kinship with the loom and experiences Navajo weaving as a meditative process that invites stillness and reflection. Betty also has several floor looms and enjoys creating scarves from alpaca fiber. Currently, she has a colorful herd of 18 award-winning alpaca at her farm in Lindstrom.
Nedra Granquist has been weaving rag rugs since 1982. Since then, she has taken several classes and workshops, and has taught a few, including double faced rugs, rosepath rugs, and rug finishing. Nedra shares a studio in downtown Minneapolis with co-weaver Barbara Heath. Their big rugs have won several blue ribbons and sweepstakes at the Minnesota State Fair. She wove piles of placemats before realizing it was no way to make a living, and now only weaves them for fun.
Donna Hanson was introduced to weaving on a rigid heddle and floor loom by her mother, a professional weaver, in the early 1970's. Her weaving activity was put on hold for several years to teach special education and raise a family. Donna came back to weaving at the Weavers Guild of Minnesota in 2004, taking many workshops and technique classes. She has a particular interest in experimenting with color in her weaving, no matter the structure. Her work has been displayed at the State Fair, earning several ribbons, including the Sweepstakes in weaving.
Elisabeth Horst taught herself to knit at the age of seven. She has been weaving since 2000 and has taught rigid heddle frame loom weaving since 2003. Known for her gentle, supportive teaching style, she enjoys creating a classroom where students’ individual creativity can shine.
Jan Johnson has been weaving since 1997, when she saw rigid heddle weaving classes offered at her favorite yarn shop and knew she needed to be a weaver. She weaves mostly items for the home, such as runners, towels, wall hangings, and rugs. Jan is also an accomplished knitter; her favorite part of both knitting and weaving is exploring color.
Malcolm "Mac" MacFarlane has been tinkering with loom design for more than 25 years. He has built looms for his wife and continues to rework their function and design to meet the needs of his in-house weaver, Rosemary MacFarlane. He has woven things, but he is more interested in the mechanics of looms, their structure and maintenance.
Rosemary MacFarlane, a weaver for thirty-five years, has always loved textiles and “had to” learn to weave, concocting a loom from a pencil (pick-up) and an Ivory comb (beater) years ago. Her husband built her current loom with modifications for easier warping. She loves fine threads and intricate patterns and collects ribbons from the State Fair every year.
Linda Madden has a BS in art education and a MA in Art History. As a production weaver of table linens and garments she has learned about time saving loom technology. She contributes to two Complex Weavers Study groups and is active in the Guild’s Multi Shaft Study Group. Her special interests are multi shaft weave structures, especially tied weaves, double weaves and lace.
Ann Masemore’s primary focus is color in combination with recycled fabrics like t-shirts, denim, and cotton clothing. She has taken numerous classes from the Guild, including double binding, rep weave, and krokbragd and enjoys the play of color with pattern. She is inspired by the creativity at the guild and the many people she’s met through classes and volunteering.
Wynne Mattila wove her first rug at the Weavers Guild of Minnesota in 1990 and before it was finished, she knew she was a rug weaver. The way colors blend and the way she sees them creates a feeling in her - this feeling is the basis of her design. Wynne's goal for each rug is to create a piece exhibiting technical perfection, delightful aesthetics, and everyday functionality. Her one-of-a-kind designs reflect her Finnish heritage. Two of her rag rugs (one as a how-to-weave project) were included in the book Weaving Contemporary Rag Rugs by Heather Allen.
Jan Mostrom's love of weaving began in a January-term weaving class taught by Lila Nelson at Luther College. Since that time, Scandinavian techniques and designs have been her favorites. Jan has taken and taught classes at Vesterheim Norwegian American Museum in Decorah, Iowa. She has also taken weaving classes in Norway. Jan has earned a gold medal in Vesterheim's national juried weaving exhibitions.
Julie Nester has been weaving since childhood and teaching at the Weavers Guild since 1999. She exhibits her rag rugs at juried shows, including the American Craft Council Fine Crafts show, Minnesota Craft Council Festival, Art on the Lake, and in local galleries. Her work has also appeared in Handwoven magazine. Julie was Guild president in 2001-2002 and enjoys introducing beginning students to her love of weaving.
Virginia Parent learned to spin on an antique spinning wheel before the spinning revival occurred in the 70s, and has been spinning ever since. She has studied with numerous teachers in New Mexico and in the Midwest, and organizes the Whorling Spinsters monthly study group at the Guild.
Judy Payne learned spinning and weaving in order to understand the construction of historical garments. She has taken several spinning and weaving classes as well as studied with Walter Nottingham at the University of Wisconsin, River Falls. She demonstrates weaving, spinning, and other historic crafts for groups and historic sites.
Nancy Preckshot has been teaching spinning for five years. Her grand plan was to be a multi-shaft complex weaver. Then she acquired a spinning wheel from her mother who wanted an excuse to buy a new one. From then on, spinning became Nancy’s obsession. Sandwiched in between were forays into weaving and other fiber-related techniques like needle felting.
Aimee Radman received her first loom at the age of eight and became so intrigued with it that later she went on to get a bachelors degree in art emphasizing in fiber. As a professional artist, she enjoys designing with color and pattern in her weaving and dyeing. Aimee's work can be seen in juried art exhibits, art fairs, and local galleries. When she's not busy weaving, she spends time spinning, felting, knitting, and tending to her small flock of sheep.
Karen Searle is an artist, writer and fiber arts instructor. She received her MFA from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design and teaches fiber arts at the College of St. Catherine. Karen exhibits her artwork nationally via solo, invitational and juried exhibitions. She has also received residencies through the Jerome Foundation and MN State Arts Board taking her to New York Mills Cultural Center, MN, Canberra School of Art Fibers, Australia, and Mendocino Art Center, CA.
Mary Skoy is an avid knitter and weaver. She recently taught a class in which 25 weavers combined woven yardage and knit trim to create remarkable garments. She has completed the Canadian Master Knitter program. Her work has appeared in Weavers Journal, Handwoven, Handwoven Design Collections, and Spin-Off. Classes and workshops at the Weavers Guild of Minnesota has been her source of weaving knowledge and inspiration.
Dianne Stiff has been weaving for just over 5 years. She had always been interested in trying weaving but got started because her husband wanted to buy her a frame loom as a present. Dianne also enjoys ply split braiding. She started doing this 2 years ago after taking a workshop at the Guild. As with weaving, Dianne feels there are too many new ideas to try and too little time. She has demonstrated ply split braiding at the State Fair for the past two years.
Helen Stoerzinger is the daughter of a weaver/weaving instructor. Receiving her mom's loom and library in 1995 spurred her interest in trying many different weave structures. She enjoys drafting and weaving lace blankets, twill rag rugs, woven greeting cards, and more. Helen likes involving children and adults in weaving and finds fellowship in her involvement in WGM.
Sharon Tessman Hoiland has been near looms most of her life. She learned to weave as a child from her mother who was a weaver for more than 50 years. Sharon joined the Weavers Guild in 1996 and has since participated in various classes, workshops, and fiber fair. She’s also taken classes at Siever’s School of Fiber Art and has studied Art in the U.S. and Europe. Her work has appeared in international shows, private collections, publications, and shops. She was the recipient of the HGA Award in 2006.
Betty Wilson has been weaving on the rigid heddle frame loom since the early 1980s and joined the Guild in 1991 to take classes on floor loom, basketry and spinning. She has been active in numerous positions at the Guild and has taught at the Guild for the last few years. Betty is happy knowing that she needs a lifetime to learn everything in fiber-related arts and crafts, and two or three lifetimes to complete all the projects she would love to try.
2010 Workshop Instructors
Christi Ehler has taught inkle weaving at Sievers School of Fiber Arts, Midwest Weavers Conferences is the past President of WI Handweavers and WI Spin-In. Her work has won awards in exhibits and juried art fairs and has been featured in Handwoven magazine. She never tires of dreaming up new ideas for inkle bands. Christi is a Past President of the WI Handweavers.
Annemor Sundbø is a textile designer, weaving teacher and fiber arts author. She owns and operates a knitting workshop ”Ose Ullvare” in Setesdal, Norway. She lectures internationally and teaches spinning, folk art embroidery, and knitting design as well as publishes articles on topics related to Norwegian knitting. Annemor’s book titles include, Invisible Threads in Knitting, Setedal Sweaters: The History of the Norwegian Lice Pattern, and Everyday Knitting: Treasures from a Rag Pile.
Alice Schlein weaves in her South Carolina studio on a 40-shaft AVL dobby loom and a TC - 1 (jacquard). She has taught at numberous schools and conferences, including the Penland School and at Convergence and Complex Weavers Seminars. Her work has been exhibited widely. Alice is a former contributing editor of Weavers magazine, the author of Network Drafting and co-author with Bhakti Ziek of The Woven Pixel - Designing for Jacquard and Dobby Looms Using Photoshop®.
Jennifer Moore has an MFA in fibers from the University of Oregon and is a recipient of the Handweavers Guilf of America scholarship. Her handwovens are exhibited widely and she has published articles in Handwoven, Spindle Shuttle and Dyepot and Weavers Magazine, as well as several books. Jennifer's focus has been on the techniques of doubleweave pick-up, and even after more than twenty years exploring its challenges, still remains inspired and engaged.
Cameron Taylor Brown has immersed herself in the world of fibers, education and commerce since the 1970's. She studied fiber art at the University of California - Berkley and textile design at the Philadelphia College of Textiles and Science. Cameron maintains a studio in Los Angeles and is active in several arts organizations; founding board member of the Textile Group; President of California Fibers and board member of Designing Weavers. Her artwork is widely exhibited and has been published in American Craft, Fiberarts, Shuttle, Spindle and Dyepot and the Fiberarts Design Books Four, Five, Six and Seven.
Robyn Spady learned to weave over 35 years ago. She completed HGA's Certificate of Excellence (COE) in 2004 with the specialized study "Loom-controlled Stitched Double Cloth." Robyn is inspired by the many ways to weave double-faced fabrics as a way to create versatile fabrics. In addition to double-faced fabrics, she also explores uncommon weave structures and narrow warp weaves.