For centuries, weaving was an essential skill of the women who settled in this area. This skill clothed their families and sometimes provided supplementary income. Today weaving is more of an art form and for speaker Marjorie Warren, her particular niche is weaving tartans.

This talk will explore the history of the tartan and current efforts in providing artifacts of the lesser known tartans and designing new tartans for various golf clubs, colleges and organizations – including the creation of the Grandfather Mountain Highland Games’ tartan.

About the Speaker

Marjorie L. Warren, a native of Cambuslang, Scotland, she studied art at Hamilton Academy and worked as a carpet designer before coming to the United States. Upon arriving in North Carolina she studied weaving with Catherine Ellis at Haywood Community College specializing in tartan design and weaving.

Marjorie has designed and woven tartans for colleges, golf club, pipe bands, and individuals. She also designed the Grandfather Mountain Highland Games tartan in Linville North Carolina. She is a member of the Southern Highland Craft Guild, the Western North Carolina Fiber Guild, and Southeastern Fiber Forum.

She has been honored for her work by the Scottish Heritage Center at St. Andrews College in North Carolina and by the Scottish Society of Antiquaries. In 2015, Marjorie was presented with the National Tartan Day Award at Washington DC. Marjorie is a frequent teacher and demonstrator on Scottish culture, weaving, and cooking at Scottish Highland Games, public schools and colleges and at John C. Campbell Folk School. She lives at Lake Junaluska North Carolina where she designs and weaves for her company, Thistle Studio.

The Southern Highland Craft Guild presents, The Maker’s Table, a monthly program where we invite you to spend an evening with a master crafter while they share the ins and outs of their trade.

Free for museum members, $5 for non-members.

Paula will focus on the process of weaving and its link to the ancient history of weaving which has remained largely unchanged over thousands of years. She will touch upon modern techniques such as painted warp and woven shibori drawing from many world cultures. She will also discuss the development of pattern and its interchange with color, the foundation of her work. She will have examples of these techniques and finished garments and scarves to help elucidate her love of the entire process and of the craft of weaving itself.

This event is presented to the community by Wells Fargo. Southern Strands: North Carolina Fiber Art is made possible by a grant from the Blue Ridge National Heritage Area Partnership.

About the speaker

Recently graduated from Wellesley College with a major in Art History, Paula Bowers fell head-over-heels in love with weaving from the first moment she walked into the Fashion Institute of Technology in NYC. A vibrantly colored “wall of yarn” with begging to be touched textures, a group of complex looking looms, and a sewing room next door which offered the potential to turn hand woven fabric into wearable art, were fascinating. Joining the continuum of the ancient craft of hand weaving felt natural to Paula, and many years later she still deeply enjoys her time behind the loom and the maintaining of a full time professional art weaving studio. Paula is originally from Cape Cod, Massachusetts and is proudly a member of the Southern Highland Craft Guild where she is a member of the Education Committee and serves as Chair of the Mentoring Sub-Committee.

The Southern Highland Craft Guild presents, The Maker’s Table, a monthly program where we invite you to spend an evening with a master crafter while they share the ins and outs of their trade.

Free for museum members, $5 for non-members.