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| Runic Symbols Inge Dam. Handwoven, tablet woven embellishments, hand dyed, sewn. - original design. Photo credit: Inge Dam |
Earliest samples of tablet or card weaving were discovered in the fifth century BC, or early Iron Age Europe, and historically they have usually been used as trim at the edges of garments, woven as narrow strips, and usually with elaborate motifs. Tablets are individual cards – most square, with holes at each corner. Each hole is threaded with a warp thread. The more cards are threaded, the more elaborate your motif can be. The fundamental operating principle is to turn the tablets in a certain sequence and direction, which lifts selected sets of threads in the warp, giving you your pattern. Today, Inge Dam has become a world renknowned expert in tablet weaving.
Her quiet and unobtrusive demeanor is such a contrast to the extravagant and spectacular garments and fabrics she creates. The word extravagant in late Middle English is derived from two latin words. In Medieval Latin, extravagari is a latin verb meaning to ‘diverge greatly’. Extra in latin means ‘outside’ and vagari means ‘wander’. Inge’s refined results from her loom make it evident that she has spent many hours wandering creatively with great skill. Beneath what looks like riotous colour and spectacular garments, are rigourous self control and discipline. Though it is true few people would have the time to dedicate as much time to their weaving practice as Inge has done, she has nonetheless always taken her weaving very seriously.
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| Purple Waves, Inge Dam. Handwoven, tablet woven embellishments, hand dyed. Photo credit: Inge Dam. |
Though Inge seems shy, quiet spoken, reserved, modest, humble, and introverted, these qualities are her greatest assets, and the springboard of her successes, for without them, she would not have honed her self-discipline nor developed the reservoir of knowledge and experience she has acquired over the years. To add to these qualities, she has incredible focus, determination and tenacity, required not only for the precision required of her weaving practice, but a consistent and dedicated practice. Above all, she doesn’t let these characteristics stop her from having an incredible amount of initiative, which takes even more courage than for someone who is outgoing. She takes full responsibility and action in promoting her weaving and herself as a teacher. She seeks out opportunities to exhibit her weaving, enters call for entries, and writes articles. Though she finds teaching requires that she go outside her comfort level, she puts all that aside and teaches workshops all over North America and is now in great demand. People appreciate not only her expertise in her tablet weaving, dyeing, fabric weaving, and garment construction, but enjoy her gentle, thoughtful and polite manner. She finds teaching rewarding because workshop participants appreciate and value her labour intensive techniques in a world where garments are often made to be discarded, rather than prized gems that one could be proud of and cherish.
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| Ocean Voyageur, Inge Dam. Handwoven, tablet woven embellishments, hand dyed. Photo credit: Inge Dam |
Inge first attempted weaving in1982 with Edna Blackburn in Caledon East, an icon of weaving in Ontario. It took Inge a while to make weaving a habitual practice while she was raising her children, but in 1986 she decided to commit herself to obtaining her OHS Master Weaver Certification, which at the time was offered at Georgian College. Three semesters in an academic year made for a very rigourous and demanding weaving schedule. From 1990-92 she worked on her in-depth study to obtain her Master Weavers designation. She researched iron age textiles from Denmark 500 BC to 800 AD, inspired from the book Ancient Danish Textiles from Boggs and Burials: A Comparative Study of Costume and Iron Age Textile by Margaret Hald, which she had picked up in a Danish museum shop. Many of the textiles she saw were large pieces of fabric with tablet borders which is how she started creating her tablet borders and inserts. The key technical innovation Inge brought to this technique, was to simultaneously do the card weaving strips while weaving the fabric, where traditionally they were done separately.
In the 1990s, Inge did some production weaving for a designer called Marilyn Blumer which lasted a year or two, weaving up to 45 yards of fur strips. Since then, she has become more of ‘one of’ weaver and what I like to call, a weaver’s weaver. Inspiration is derived from several sources. She often looks through magazines and books, and takes many workshops from other people to keep her own creative juices flowing. The motifs for her card weaving are often inspired by Peruvian iconography as well as words and letters. Inge dyes the warp herself using Procion MX dyes, often using silk, tencel and/or mercerized cotton. She selects a weave structure which she modifies. The weaving of the pattern is computerized which frees her up to concentrate on manipulating the tablets. With the inclusion of card weaving, the weaving process is slowed down considerably. She thinks it makes the weaving process more interesting and keeps her engaged in a mindful way. The number of cards used varies for each yardage and she has used up to 66 cards per band in a fabric. Some fabrics have as many as 4 and up to 6 bands. Each yardage, usually about 5 yards, takes about ¾ of a year to complete. Once a yardage is completed, she submits it for a call for entry at Convergence, where they have often been exhibited and have received numerous awards. When they return from exhibition, she’ll move on to the next step of the process, creating a garment. The design for the garment comes after she has created the yardage and she has no idea what she’ll create with it when she starts out. The garment construction and design process is intuitive. She uses pre-existing patterns making adjustments and modifications and does all the sewing.
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| Inge at her loom. Photo credit: Inge Dam. |
When she is not teaching workshops, Inge spends her days in her studio weaving, dyeing, and and/or creating a garment. Her time at the loom and in the studio is a sanctuary. Her work space is also modest, reserved, and humble. No wonder it’s such a surprise when you see her exuberant use of colour and the lavish and extravagant garments she creates. She talks quietly but her work speaks volumes. She often and easily sits at the loom from 8am to dinner time, preceded by a walk outdoors and stopping for lunch. She likes long uninterrupted periods of time at the loom and the ‘flow’ that happens as a result of such focused activity. Though she is sparse and frugal with her words, she is effusive, dedicated and passionate in her weaving practice. She enjoys the solitude that her practice requires and the sense of autonomy that it imparts. Her weaving is deliberate, slow, meticulous, precise and requires that she pay attention to each weft and be exacting in every detail.
It was an honour and privilege to see Inge Dam’s woven yardage and garments when I interviewed her. Had Inge had other circumstances, she may have been a painter and artist - for she is certainly a great colourist . Each yardage is a canvas. Each garment, a work of art. All the joy that weaving gives her, is transmitted in the fruits of her labours. Each yardage and garment is a celebration conveying her happiness through her vibrant use of colour, which in turn, leaves one feeling completely in awe!
Inge Dam will be giving a 4 day workshop organized by the Toronto Weaving School at Burr House in Richmond Hill, August 10-13 2015. Please contact Line Dufour at linedufour.tapestry@gmail.com.
© Line Dufour. All rights reserved.
This
article is part of ongoing series entitled The Woven Path. It features a person
that uses weaving in their practice. Line teaches weaving at the Toronto
Weaving School and is a practicing textile artist, currently exploring marrying
new and unrelated technologies with weaving.
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