Joanne Hall's Studio Classes

The Elkhorn Mountains Weaving Studio is my weaving studio. After teaching as a professor of Design and Weaving at the University of Montana and Cal Poly in California, I decided to open my studio to weave tapestries and teach classes. I have woven tapestries for public buildings, sold tapestries in galleries and exhibited my work in numerous exhibits. My studio classes are described below. I have been teaching weaving throughout the US and Canada since l972. For a list of currently scheduled classes.

My classes are arranged on an individual basis. Hours are flexible. You can come for full days or for half days. Most of the time you will get individual instruction. I have examples of my work on the walls, along with examples of what you can weave on my looms. I have Glimakra Swedish counterbalance and countermarch looms and equipment and Leclerc, Dundas. It is a treat to take a class and work on large, new floor looms. The looms are already warped for a variety of projects, but you can warp one if you want to weave something specific. The Swedish drawlooms are always ready for weaving. I have large and medium sized warping reels, multiple cones of thread for winding, and a wide selection of shuttles, bobbins and temples for you to use. I also have electric ball winders, swifts for skeins, manual and electric bobbin winders, fabric cutters and most any kind of equipment you would need to make a warp or weave the projects I have set up on the looms. I have a large selection of yarns and fabrics for hangings and rugs. Swedish Berga, Bockens, Klippan wools, linen and cotton, and American Wilde and mill end yarns are in good supply.

For a break or at the end of the day, many weavers head to the garden to graze in the raspberries, or pick some lettuce or tomatoes for a salad. Meals usually are made with vegetables and fruit from the garden or purchased at the health food store in Helena. I serve healthy food and can prepare vegetarian, vegan, low fat, high protein, or special diets. Sometimes I have time to bake a treat to have with tea or coffee. In the evening, you can relax in the sauna before going to bed.

We live at the end of the road in the mountains on 200 acres. Our home is somewhat isolated from other homes in the area. You can take walks in the meadows, talk to the horse, or walk to the pond at our sawmill. It is a short walk down to the creek, which also gives us trout for supper. Or you might just want to walk around and enjoy the mountain scenery, pick some wildflowers and look for those new fawns who graze in the alfalfa with their mothers. We even saw a set of triplets this year. In the winter you can cross country ski when we have enough snow.

Classes are $60 per day which includes weaving materials and lunch. Ask about the opportunity for room and board and local places to stay.

FOUR SHAFT WEAVING (and sometimes more than four)

There are looms set up with four shaft weaves for beginners and those who want to refine craftsmanship skills. Sometimes a six or eight shaft weave is available. You will weave on a floor loom, choosing from a several projects or you can plan your own project and warp a loom. I sometimes have table looms set up to specific weaves and you can weave a sample. Some warps are prepared for you before the class but learning to warp the loom can be included.

TAPESTRY FOR BEGINNERS.

I have always found tapestry a great pleasure and where my greatest success has been. In this class you will learn the techniques of this expressive way to weave. A small sampler of techniques will be woven, including working from a cartoon. If you have already learned some basic tapestry techniques, you can weave a small tapestry. I wrote the book Mexican Tapestry Weaving. It is currently out of print, but you may find a copy at a library.

OPEN STUDIO.

This is your chance to study weaving techniques of your choice in a studio environment. This is the time for working more in depth on a subject or to learn a new technique. Experiment with the wide assortment of materials available, at your own speed. Some possibilities would be:

• RAG RUG WEAVING
• RIPSMATTA
• OVERSHOT
• SUMMER AND WINTER
• CRACKLE
• BOUND WEAVE
• KROKBRAGD
• FINNWEAVE and DOUBLE WEAVE PICK UP
• LINEN TRANSPARENCIES
• SWEDISH DRÄLL WEAVES (linen weaves or block weaves)
• SWEDISH ART WEAVES (dukagang, krabba, rosengang, etc)
• DRAFTING AND DESIGNING
• DRAWLOOM WEAVING

Here are some from weavers who have taken weaving classes from me.

"When I saw her fabulous weaving studio/classroom and all the beautiful work she has done, I wanted to take a mini-class with her....I chose Navajo tapestry....I told Joanne that I had a book with me on the subject....You can imagine my surprise when...I found the book "Mexican Tapestry Weaving", and the author is Joanne herself!!... loved my two half-day classes, and walked away with a sampler that I treasure and lots of information that will be put to good use." Bonnie

I can't resist sending out a report about my Dream Vacation: several days at Joanne Hall's Elkhorn Mountains Weaving Studio, near Helena, Montana. The environment is inspiring, the studio wonderfully furnished with all kinds of looms and yarn, and the teaching knowledgeable and patient. My daughter, a fourth-grade teacher, hoped to learn some weaving skills to share with her students. Joanne taught her the warping and weaving on an inkle loom, progressing to pick up techniques for creating complex designs and figures. And they moved on to tapestry techniques, so my daughter wove a lovely sampler to bring home. Meanwhile, I learned Joanne's method of warping and dressing a 4-harness floor loom, and adapted an overshot design in Davison's book for a table runner--which I finished in the last hour before we needed to leave.

We're both so proud of our weaving samples! But, even more, our minds are filled with images and ideas for projects that we now have the confidence to start....I'm sure we'll be back! Jan

"Those of you who wish to tap into the wisdom of a master weaver who has the gentle ability to transmit her knowledge would be well served by spending some time with Joanne Hall at her Elkhorn Mountains Weaving Studio in Clancy, just outside of Helena, Montana, USA.... We just spent a wonderful week with her and her family, and have many great memories because of her (and Ed's) hospitality. The mountain scenery is inspiring, her cooking is healthy and plentiful, their dog is good natured, and there were more looms in one location than we have ever seen in our lives! There wasn't a room in the house that hadn't been touched by her weaving. You could learn just by standing still and soaking it in! Really!

Standing among all this splendor is Joanne, The Teacher, willing and patient. It was a tremendous opportunity to share the time we did with her. She is a flesh-and-blood example of what all artists should aspire to be - a hard worker finding joy in expressing herself through her art. If you want to weave and weave and weave, Joanne's studio is a wonderful place to do it.

To Joanne and Ed hall (and Freya the Border Collie/Tour Guide - Darran only fell in the creek once!) thank you so very, very much. I learned enough in one week to propel my weaving through the next few years and beyond, and had a lovely vacation thrown in as a bonus!" Paula

Glimakra USA... 866-890-7314 or 406-442-0354

update 1/08