Art in ubiquity: THe handwoven Tea towel

exhibtion record and essays

Edited by Kim McCollum

Forward by Shannon Nelson

It's a tea towel, it has a function.  We see and use them every day.  Yet for 65 years Edmonton weavers have decidedly chosen to put time and effort into designing and creating handmade items that most would consider ubiquitous.  Initially weaving "useful goods" may have been for economic, cultural, or artistic reasons.  However, even with the onset of "fast fashion" this unheralded craft remains as resilient as ever. This book includes photographs of the tea towels included in the Alberta Craft Councils exhibition "Art in Ubiquity".  It also includes notes from each weaver and written works by:

Rachel Snack- Weaver, textiles artist and conservator.  Rachel is the founder of Weaver House, a textile studio dedicated to preserving craft tradition through hand-making and weaving education. 

Mackenzie Kelly-Frere- Artist, writer and educator who has taught at the Alberta University of the Arts (formerly ACAD) since 2006.

Nikita Sheth- Contemporary textile artist based in Sydney, Australia. Her woven work stems from an intuitive practice on a Saori loom.

Arlene Oak- Professor of material culture and design studies in the Department of Human Ecology at the University of Alberta.

Kim McCollum- Visual Artist and co-owner of Gather Textiles.

Interview with margaret Berg

Margaret Berg welcomed me into her home on March 22, 2019. It was clear as soon as I stepped in the door that Margaret has been a lifelong weaver. A hand woven lampshade illuminated a library of books in her weaving nook. Framed woven pieces hung on the walls and the tea towels in her kitchen were all hand woven. In a spot by the window her loom sat, dressed and awaiting the next project. Margaret has been a member of the Edmonton Weavers' Guild since 1969.  She is known at the guild for being a skilled and prolific weaver. I wanted to discover where Margaret has found her inspiration over the last 50 years. 

Margaret remembers meeting in people’s homes when she first joined the Edmonton Weavers’ Guild. Household items like tea towels were among the most popular to weave. She describes the early days with the guild as being filled with excitement. "We were moving into the 70's and fiber was very popular, weaving really evolved.  Books and magazines were available. It was an exciting time to be in weaving." Edmonton became a hub for weavers. This growing number of weavers allowed conferences to be held at which notable guest speakers were invited. Margaret remembered a well-known weaver from out of town commenting on the skill of the Edmonton weavers. “People know the Edmonton weavers know what they are doing. They don't take a back seat to anybody." With educational opportunities and a community of ambitious weavers, the guild was thriving.

Margaret talked about the guild as being a place where people's differences were overcome by a common interest. "If you were a weaver, you were accepted." Margaret explained how weaving is able to cross the boundaries of language. "You don’t need an English book, one of my favourites is a Swedish one." As new people joined and learned the language of weaving, relationships were built. The guild accepted more and more weavers, and evolved to include other kinds of fiber art as well.  

In any group of weavers you will find a number of different drivers and inspirations.  For Margaret, it was colour. “For me, colour is the thing. When I was about seven or eight I remember seeing at Woolworth’s a tiny box of little balls of wool. I said to my mama, ‘That’s what I want for Christmas.’ She got them for me. I don’t know if I ever used them I just wanted to look at them. I was really drawn to colour." This early inspiration developed and grew into a collection of hand woven articles that have also been hand dyed.

The tea towel pictured on the cover is one of Margaret’s. She showed me the first rendition of the towel, which was serving as a centerpiece on her sunroom table. The weave structure was the same as the pictured tea towel but the colours were shades of pink and red. As she talked about the woven piece she smoothed it out on the table, then held it in her hands and examined it carefully saying, "Sometimes you have to get really close to a weaving to really see it."  She described wanting to challenge herself to see if she could create a successful project using complementary colours. "If you have stripes in complementary it often doesn’t work but this pattern is busy enough.” Margaret describes considering how colours blend based on the weave structure as a fascinating challenge.  

Margaret describes weaving as being both mentally challenging and relaxing. The tea towel pictured here is  “a very slow weave, I had to concentrate on each row.” The pattern has a long repeat and one mistake can throw off the entire piece. When weaving something less complicated, "You’re not having to think all the time and I think you need that too. Sometimes you just want that rhythm. Weaving can fulfill a number of things." Margaret continues to find joy in her weaving projects and is using a “stash” of yarns collected over her lifetime. Her weaving expertise and collection of hand woven treasures is inspirational to any weaver. 

-Kim McCollum