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Dear Friends,
Stuff*. We all have a unique relationship to stuff. For the school, stuff is an essential means for learning. Knowing that there are always discoveries to be made, our stuff contains clues that reveal the ways that cloth was made in the past. Whether it's a particular wear mark you notice while weaving on a loom, or seeing a date and initials carved into a temple, encountering these artifacts connects us with people we've never met. From the people who knew them when their wood was freshly planed, to the people who will still be learning from them in the 22nd century, stuff links our lives in small, but powerful ways.
Because of the role that stuff plays in the life of the school, we're going to talk a bit more about some of the equipment that has joined our collection in the last year. We're fortunate to be able to share these objects with our community and excited to see them come to life in your hands.
On behalf of our Board, may the stuff in your life spark a little joy and more than a little wonder.
Justin Squizzero
Director
*Stuff was also the name for a worsted textile in the past, but that's a subject for another day.
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The Program Season is Right Around the Corner! | |
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Before story time we have a couple announcements. It's hard to believe with the snow in Vermont, but our first program begins in less than eight weeks! This year's schedule is packed to the gills and spaces are filling up, don't miss your chance to work meaningfully with your hands while learning something new and making new friends. Coming up in May and June:
We would love to see you here for these activities and hope you can join us!
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A New Scholarship from the Newbury Woman's Club | |
While they're technically our landlords, the Newbury Woman's Club has become more like a partner in our work and one of the school's biggest supporters. The club has generously sponsored three scholarships specifically aimed at helping folks local to the school. Those who meet our regular eligibility criteria and live in the towns of Newbury, Bradford, Corinth, Topsham, Groton, or Ryegate, Vermont, or Bath, Haverhill, or Piermont, New Hampshire may apply specifically for one of these local scholarships. Applying for a NWC scholarship does not disqualify the applicant from receiving a regular scholarship should the NWC fund be exhausted. Learn more about our scholarship opportunities here. | |
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A Donation of Jacquard Equipment
and Tanglehaven Residency
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Complex weaving is something of a new frontier for the school that has been a point of interest hindered by a lack of suitable equipment. There are very few opportunities to weave on Jacquard looms in the US, and even fewer to weave on an old-fashioned, hard card, manual Jacquard loom. Thanks to a very special donation, we're one step closer to making that learning opportunity available in Newbury.
This donation gives us a chance not only to share weaving technology, but to honor the legacy of weaver and teacher Jessica Green. Jess brought a unique and purposeful focus to her life and the people she taught that defies simple description. You can get a small sense of how Jess approached the world through this PBS NC Arts segment from 2018. Hers was a revolutionary life of passion, conviction, truth, and beauty.
After her passing in 2023, her family and friends began to create a weaving residency to make her looms available in a way that continues Jess's work. Jess had acquired a 400-hook Jacquard head, piano punch, and card lacing machine, and as the residency took shape it became clear that this equipment was more than the studio space could accommodate. Her husband, Eric Meeker, saw Newbury as a good home for these tools and generously donated them and orchestrated their transport from North Carolina. We are tremendously grateful to Eric and to the team who loaded, drove, and unloaded these magnificent (and hefty) machines.
We are also excited to share that the residency established with Jess's looms, Tanglehaven, is up and running! The studio is located in Troy, New York, and applications for a 2025 residency are open until April 1. Please visit their website to learn more and take part in manifesting the world that Jess envisioned.
We are still working out the best loom to install the Jacquard on and invite you to stay tuned for future developments. We are thankful for the opportunity to be the next stewards of these objects and the privilege of sharing Jess's story with our community.
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Above: The machine with the green frame is the Jacquard, the gray painted machine is the lower portion of the piano punch, the tool used to make the punch cards read by the Jacquard.
Below: The Royle card lacing machine, ca. 1910. This machine is basically a giant sewing machine that stitches the Jacquard punch cards together into a continuous chain for running on the loom. Although intended to be run off of a drive shaft in a mill, this one was converted to hand power by its last user. We aren't 100% sure, but there's a chance that this equipment came from the Black's weaving studio on Cape Cod. If any of you know more, please let us know!
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Below: To describe this machine as heavy is as massive an understatement as the machine itself. Unloading it onto the chapel porch was relatively easy with a tractor, but getting it up to the interior floor level was another story. Village neighbor Art Morris (center) was the man with a plan, while the rest of the moving crew awaited further instruction. Happily no toes were squished and no backs were thrown out as we safely moved this piece indoors. | |
Reels, Not Just for Instagram | |
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Reels are measuring devices used to determine the length of yarn as it is removed from a spindle or spinning wheel. By comparing the length and weight of the yarn, the thickness of the yarn can be determined, providing essential information for the spinner of the yarn and the weaver if it's made into cloth. Clock and click reels usually utilize a worm gear to track the number of revolutions, and a face resembling a clock, and/or a mechanism that makes a clicking sound when the worm wheel makes a full rotation. These tools were an essential component of the spinning process, but we only had a couple and the mechanisms no longer work reliably. This winter we were on the hunt for functioning reels for our spinning programs, but adding equipment piecemeal can use up a lot of valuable time and effort.
Not long into our search we were made aware of a group of reels coming up for auction in Potsdam, New York. These reels were part of the collection of textile tools assembled by the late Carlton Stickney, and there weren't just a few reels in this auction lot. No, there were two dozen! The lot was so big that there was little competition and we won the auction at a very reasonable price per reel. The only catch was how to get all those reels to the school.
If you look at a map and draw a line between Newbury and Potsdam you'll notice two big obstacles, Lake Champlain and the Adirondacks. Fortunately, our Newbury neighbors lent us a truck and trailer and away we went, once the forecast gave us a day without snowfall. If you too find yourself trying to transport 24 reels, be aware that they're ungainly things with all those long arms and legs, but a horse trailer gets the job done nicely!
Carlton collected a wide variety of 18th and 19th-century reel styles that we're fortunate to find represented in the group we acquired. Some are quite unusual and help to expand the range of examples in our collection, and, importantly, they're also functional! Join us for one of our spinning programs to try them out for yourself.
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Above: Good curators don't play favorites, but this finely executed clock reel features what appears to be a part of an actual clock hand on its face, and, well, don't tell the others, but... | |
As always, we can only do what we do with your generous support. Gifts of all sizes make a tremendous impact. Thank you. | | | | |
