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mhm. This is a spinning wheel. It is used to create the weavers, yarns and threads. Here are the materials different in weight and texture. Some are wool. Others are cotton, metallic, synthetic or come from reeds and grasses such as the cactus fiber. All of them are

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used by our contemporary weavers to create the new and exciting fabrics of today. Mhm. Okay, Yeah. Mhm discovery. Yeah. Yeah. Presented by the San Francisco Museum of Art and Station KPFA Mm. And now your host for today, Dr Lloyd Luckman. Weaving is such an important part

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of our daily lives that we sell them. Stop to consider just how important fabrics, really. Our, for example, our clothing, the upholstery upon which we sit. None of these things are ever carefully Example examined. Now, just what are the important principles of weaving and Mike Phelan

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J. How are you today? How do you do, Doctor Luckman? Good. You've often been called upon to act on a jury of selection to judge competitions such as this one. And tell me, what are the principles that you usually follow in making your selections are final

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judgment primarily. Doctor Luckman were concerned with the function of the fabric. Why was it woven into what use is that fabric put next? We are concerned with the design of the fabric, the types of the orange chosen, the pattern and the texture. Although we in judging

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may not judge in that order primarily, that's what we're concerned with. Function design, construction pattern. Now I noticed that this has a particular use in mind, it says, For clothing material. How is that so suitable for clothing? More than anything else? Well, with clothing, the first

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thing you ask yourself or what you are concerned with is the drape ability of a material. This one is a handsome fabric. It's made out of wool yarns. Beautiful coloring. It's purple, and it has a metallic to accent it. I wondered what that sheen was. That's

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a synthetic metallic, which is plastic. It's washable, and it's impervious to most items. You take that and you hold it up. It has a natural draping. Hand hand is what we use in the textile business to determine drape ability. For instance, this, I believe, was intended

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for possibly a cocktail jacket. We have a dummy here. You throw that over it, drape it down. Although I'm not a dressmaker, you have a natural material. So that draping hand is just what would really control in so far as the use of the material is

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concerned, but not so far as design or the other elements that you've met. That's right, Doctor. Speaking of design, my eye falls in a very bold pattern There on the table. Uh, a place man, I think. Yes, that is a placemat, doctor. It, uh, is a

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very functional item. Its use was to put on a table, perhaps to carry hot plates or to implement the decor of a table setting. Yeah, you say hot plates. Is there something about it that makes it suitable for that function to? I think so. They've used

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a very heavy jute on a cotton. The cotton is the warp yarn and the Judas the wolf. It's a black and orange, which, with the striated effect or striped effect, makes it had some declaration as well as a functional piece of material or textile. It would

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be washable. Also, I think so. It's died, and primarily you have to be concerned with the possibility of something that could be used as much as this is I've been observing as I came down through the gallery some of these upholstery materials like this one and

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this, but I like this by seminar very much. Now it's rather heavy. What are some of the characteristics, though, that you'd look for in upholstery material Hand woven? Well, A upholstery usually is a very rigid material because it takes friction and where this is a handsome

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upholstery because it has texture as many tones in it. It's sort of a Tweety. It relies on its interest by the use and a very adroit use of the weft yarns. She's used several weights, and particularly in these stripes, which run horizontal so it would wear

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well indeed. And besides, it's the most interesting pattern. In contrast, we have this material by the same artist seminar. Well, you have the same thing. This is a weft pattern, and it's an illusionary texture. It has a corduroy effect brought about by the weights of the

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yarn striped in. You have a very heavy Chanel little metallic for accent and interest and several muted tones of cottons, and there was a very practical fabric because it would not show soil and because of its construction, it would wear it would have service. That's right.

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You're standing in front of a casement cloth. It says, Uh, why casement casement is a term which comes from the old battlement windows. The primary function of a casement was when they had to hang a sheepskin across. It was to allow light in or to diffuse

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the light so that the interior will be light. So case man curtain, interchangeable terms. This is the contemporary, uh, design for the old lace curtain. Perhaps it's very contemporary, it's simple, and it primary function is to cover vast expanses of window to diffuse the light. I

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suppose this is made of cotton. No, this is a an angora, uh, mohair wolf Wolf Top Kid. Uh, mohair they caught. It's crossed with the weft pattern or design, and the obvious yarn is a custom spun vegetable rail. Well, against it, we have another casement. This

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is another case minutes. A decorated casement. It's used to, uh, perhaps pick up a vast amount of wall space or to use as a room divider if it's wide enough or if there's enough of it. But it's a very specialized piece of casement. You would not

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use a lot of it, but in particular interior decoration situation it might call for. This would be definitely hand woven with this is a hand woven piece and this supposed to a machine woven. And which type of work is it that you do? I'm a machine

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or power weaver Power weaver right down. And what is the influence of hand weaving on power weaving, for example? Well, in the business, we always term the hand weaver as the artist or the originator. The machine Weaver is concerned with production and reproduction. I think that

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there is no difference in the fabrics except one is the original, and the other is a reproduction counterpart. Now, when you have your designs for your work and your machines down in Menlo Park, tell me, do you make those designs on a handloom or just what?

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Uh, it's the process. Sometimes we make them on a handloom. Sometimes we weave them from a sketch, and basically we always use an ID and, uh, pretty much as a hand Weaver does we interpret or revise or change as we go along, even though in the

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machine. That's right. But we maintain the original I d to the completion of the fabric considering function pattern and design. From the very beginning, you were talking to me about warp and weft. Is that it? Right, doctor? And how do you distinguish those two? Like, for

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instance, the warp is the vertical line. And the wolf is a horizontal line. And perhaps a hand Weaver could illustrate that. Very definitely. I think maybe she could. And Semenov, an interesting, very interesting artists at the Loom is with us today. And I'm going to thank

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you very very much for taking me through these various samples of the Weavers work and go over and visit with her and see her at work in her loom. Thanks again, Mike. Thank you, Doctor. That's the Semenov. Or may I just call you Simone offers. I've

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been returned. Almost everyone does, Dr Luckman. So that's the trade name, right? And what are you doing here? Waiting for a table Mouths done with Reed Rayon cotton, Handsome Duke. And which is the war and which is the weapon? The war is applied to the loom.

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This long long president on the loom, the Web is applied onto the work, I should say into the war. The shed opens the harnesses. Harnesses. These are the harness. Yes, and the feeder is brought forward. Blocked the thread. These are controlled by one speed. And this

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is what's that boat we're putting through there? This is the shuttle. Oh, now you're going to introduce the Reed Reed. There are many types of breeds that's on the left. This is into the west. How will that be fastened in and it's locked my feet, but

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in a rare on thread kind of locked the way this last operation locked it. What's happening down here? He's settling, traveling with my feet who opened and closed the harnesses with the crowd. Well, in setting up a loom like this sending off, there must be a

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great deal of preparation. So much preparation. First of all, I obtained the raw yards among these. Yes, the cotton. I see. Um, spun cotton from Haiti. This is, um, sponge. It's just very loosely together. Machine deals. And after their died, take my skeins, put them on

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to send them out to be died. Do you know I do all my own dying in my own studio. Nice. And what's going to be the next step? Now I'm going to wind the arm to prepare the war. I'll take this yard and wind it into

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a ball. The winding process on this machine is fairly fast then, huh? No, because I do all of this by hand. Sometimes it takes me several days to have the yarn wound by hands before I start putting it on to Why do you go through that

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laborious process? Well, I find that by winding the yarn into balls, there's no pull or friction, especially on the rounds, which is very important because I use sometimes as many as 15 textures in the war. What's this machine we're gonna work? This is a warping reel

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warping real same word that you use on the loom. Um, yeah, we are preparing the work now. Uh huh. And each thread. Sometimes I'll cut as many as four or six at one time. Today I'm only cutting the one and I can cut as many as

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4 2000 threads My loom, the largest lumens, 56 inches wide. That would take that many threads, approximately depending on how many I put to the edge if it's supposed to get closer. If it's a sheer casement or clothing material, it isn't set his clothes, just the

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number of times you spin. This determines the exact length that you want on the left. That's right. This happens to be 3.5 yards around. I can't warp up to 40 yards or have worked 40 yards on this reel, and this again is a long process, then,

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just as the hand a machine for making the ball of your and your back. From then, after this is cut to length and the number of desired threads, this will be tied off. And then, after it's tied off the next step, you come over to the

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loom where we have a completed work change. Do you braid it always like that? Yes, this holds the orange in place after you've taken it off the machine we've just been at. That's right. It's cut into a Circle eight and then change this way. Then I

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apply it to the front seat and always watching that I keep my cross so that each thread goes in perfect order onto this basic war. Now it isn't always that we use a basic war. Very often will thread from the very beginning through the read through

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the head ALS and then tied on and back. So you don't always need a basic war. No, very often, especially in the studio where time is an element. I keep a basic work of the right with a number of threads on certain rooms so that I

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can spare myself several hours and threatening. This is the first time labor saving device, at least time saving device. You've shown me well, sometimes the long way around in hand waving is really the shortest. I've tried to take shortcuts, and then I have found that my

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textures haven't held up well. This means, then, that the importance of your results depends entirely on care and care consumes time. And that's where we have to rest in this matter of efficiency. That's right now in terms. How many were you tie, for example, ordinarily, on

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this for a placemat, this particular loom happens to be set up for 308 threat. It's 14 inches wide. I usually make my mats 14 by 20 finished or 15 by 20 depending on the size of the table and then the introduction of those bamboo strips, of

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course, control that is controlled west twice, twice, twice. That's right, I'm trying on work. The reeds and the bamboos are very difficult. I have worked with reads the soft, horrible read that comes from the Philippines in the work, but it needs a lot of control, and

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it's very, very difficult to handle. One step you haven't told me about, for example, the design that you're working on for these mats. How did you proceed there? Did you have a drawing and then translate the drawing to your looms? No, Dr Lightman. I never make

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a sample or I should say, hardly ever, occasionally for a decorator. If there's a set problem, however, I know pretty much what I am coping with, whether it's upholstery, Cordray free or casement material. Uh, pretty much control of color in my mind so that I can

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match and of segregate and eliminate what I don't want. And I just go ahead and die my arms, cut them and apply them to the loom. Marvelous. Now I'd like to go back with you and watch the other process where we're getting, I think somewhere as

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far as a rank amateur amateur at the point of being my first time to observe a weaver at work, an artist for you. We'll hear it. Tell me I'm controlling my Worf. I'm raising my honesty and that's locking. Let's see if I've learned my lesson with

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find it with my little boat shovel in your little that it is called a boat shot. I thought I was being very original. There are several types of shuttles that double shuttle the flat shuttle. This happens to be my favorite. It's an airport shuttle. It has

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very good weight difficulties. Well, just a little lot of shit does happen. Does happen. The reeds have to be soaked, cut to size, tied to dry so that they are nice and firm and even so, you have to even work on that material right now we're

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going to pass this bad. It would you say That's right about an inch and a half so that we can stitch this. We're going to cut them shortly. We have to be stitched, and then this is used for the turn back in him. That will be

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off the machine warming a little bit off, Mr. Collins. He asked me if I had a preference to the string head ALS over the steel. There are many times that I use the steelhead ALS. These are our head. They're inside the harnesses for everyone. I use

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as many textures as I have in this. It's much easier on the things that gives what is the material that you're using here. This happens to be around the and the war. Work has jute, cotton, Chanel and Ray on it. And I see Well, I think

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we're coming very close to the end here, aren't we? Now we're gonna cut. I'm just operation with the scissor. Oh, this is always a joy to a weaver. Is that right? The end, at least of this weaver. But it seems like the end is never inside.

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Most exciting. Thank you very, very much. Someone off for your demonstration of the weaver at work. And now we have a very special message coming to us from the San Francisco Museum of Art By BARBARA Gifford Today we have seen another way for an artist to

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express himself. Francis Semenov creates portraits and yarn on her loom. This means that an artist does not always have to paint in oils and water colors. Yeah, or create a statue with hammer and chisel. Yeah, yeah, The easel beside me is empty today because we are

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interested in the decorative art. The decorative arts have much in common with the fine arts. Like all artists, the decorative artists attempts to create a thing of beauty from his materials. However, the work of the decorative artist is considered to be primarily functional. For instance, in

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this room to the wallpaper is an example of the decorative arts, as is this chair notice. This had some ceramic vase and this wrought iron candelabra. In the dining room. You will find many other examples of the decorative arts such as this dinnerware and this silver

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so you can see that the work of the decorative artist is buried and related to many objects that you use around the house daily. Since the San Francisco Museum of Art reports what is going on in art today, you can often find exhibitions devoted to the

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decorative arts at the museum. We now have an exhibition of this sort at the museum It contains a selection of well designed objects for sale in local stores, and this catalog tells the prices and sources throughout the rest of the year. You can find exhibitions devoted

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to pottery, weaving, furniture and many of the other decorative arts, so that you won't miss any of these exhibitions, which may help you with some home decorating ideas. Why don't you send us a card asking for our monthly calendar of events? We will send it to

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free for the next six months, so don't forget to send us a card. The address is the Museum of Art Civic Center, San Francisco, California We've seen the artist at work at her loom the Weaver, and we've also discussed with Mike challenge the function and design

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of fabrics as they're done, either on the handloom or the power loom. This academic discussion isn't going to help us very much to really understand the application or use of woven fabric. And then we have and interior designer with US Maurice Sands and as an interior

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designer, Maurice, will you show us some of the applications of these fine creations by the artists doctor? You probably would like me to show you how I would use them professionally. Is that what you're getting? True? True. I'm putting you right on the spot. Before I

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do that. May I show you a couple of examples as to just exactly how a great many people who were sort of carried away with a technique and the thrill of weaving might take a great many good things and use them incorrectly? I think it's better

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to show that leave you with a little positive idea in mind. This is from the standpoint of enthusiasm for weaving. It certainly is, and perhaps a secret or two as to how to overcome that loving hands look, which is so apparent with hand woven things and

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hand made things. Today. This is a very beautiful hand loomed rug. You notice in itself. It's rather lively. Interesting for my money. It's a little bit of bumpy, probably would give you calluses if you used it too much. Nevertheless, the pets would love that. Yes, I

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think all knowing rodents dogs that some Children probably would have a great time with it because he can't pull out very nicely anyway. They are great. Many people who didn't know any better, might spend a great deal of time, and money and materials used that sort

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of thing. Then they'd go a step further. Believe it or not, this is a fabric which might be woven very lovingly. Remember as a chair cuff. Now, I personally would never use this. It has too many gold teeth. It needs a haircut. It's so busy you

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can't see the chair, and there's no room to sit down on it without getting it for the buttons. Starting the whole thing to robbing. However, in itself, remember, it's a beautiful fabric. Magnificent technique, lovely materials, nice color, beautiful color. Then, on top of that, I have

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brought you give you a hand with that one of these very lovely shades, which is woven by Semenov. It's bamboo, a blue green lurex. I guess it is. It has a sparkle, which is very lovely as a deck witty thing. It's not. It is utilitarian in

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that will cut out do. But in the average room you see, you can't see outside, and you can't see what's going on inside, either. When your whole window, then that's right. It's certainly not where you have a view as we are all very conscious of in

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here now. Some people also might go to a lot of trouble. Time and expanse, Mr Casement. Now, well, it's sort of a semi casement semi drapery fabric. I have actually seen rooms in which this lovely sort of a textile would be hung out the window over

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something of this sort. And the result is you have a rub that's so busy a chair that's so busy, a substitute for a casement and drapery that is so busy there's no room for people, any place in the room. Now, will you give me a little

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relief from the dazzle meant of all this metallic? It's very easy, and it can be done very quickly and very simply, about giving way too many trade secrets. I would you see how easy it is to throw them away quickly. I would take just another handloom,

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the same design, the same type of the floor covering, but it stays on the floor. It doesn't get up and slapped in the face. The minute you come in the room, I would use this very beautiful copper beige and actually metallic copper. A poll string which

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is one that seminar wolf for us. You've used it as a whole. String is tightly woven. You see, It stays on the chair. It has just a little highlight. A little dressy. It's beautiful itself, but it gives you a place to sit down. You feel that

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you're not sitting on someone's lap. Uhh! Quite serviceable to I'm sure, Maurice. Then on top of that, I would probably drape a window in a simple manner with one of Michael Blanches mohair casement curtains. Yeah, which would let me see through would give me a certain

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amount of privacy. Stay at the window. Diffuse The light has a feeling of texture. But in this room I can see the floor covering. I can see the chair. I can see out the window and they can't see him too Clearly, I can enjoy my beautiful

00:25:28.480 - 00:25:52.430

chest. I can enjoy Edith Heath's hand. Uhh made piece of pottery and one of Seminoles magnificent handwoven lampshades. Well, that certainly makes a very beautiful picture. Tell me, do you often coordinate with the artist weavers? You mentioned Semenov had done this very fabric you're sitting on?

00:25:52.650 - 00:26:07.210

Oh, yes. You mean from the standpoint of design. Yes, very often we will work with a weaver in designing a text or whether it's a floor covering or a piece of a posting or drapery and have it especially made for us. However, I think that you'll

00:26:07.210 - 00:26:20.190

find today a great many of the power loom. People are not having so many color ways of one particular type of the fabric there waving up more to order. So the custom idea has gotten over, actually into the power looms as well as in the hand

00:26:20.190 - 00:26:37.610

woven fields. I follow you. Well, now, tell me, would you welcome the amateur Coming into your office as an industrial designer just as we had seen some of this demonstration welcome is hardly the word. I am always very happy to see anybody come into my office

00:26:37.610 - 00:26:54.800

and wants help, especially they're gonna pay for it. But the amateur? The difference between the amateur and the professional weaver. I think it's very apparent in what I have shown you. The amateur, perhaps, is doing it as a what shall we say? A therapeutic outlet. Something

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to keep themselves from going crazy. To get their hands building is that we're in times like these, but I do. You mean as far as a person leaving their own things? I very often it's a constant problem we do have, because there are looms all over

00:27:07.520 - 00:27:22.380

the place. They're more looms, is popular. Oh, yes, and I it's very fortunate has taken the place of China painting a little more difficult to you. You can't go to wrong on a handloom because it's hard work. I think that the thing is not shutting off

00:27:22.380 - 00:27:33.340

the loom soon enough and in making too many things that have too much again that loving hands look that I keep talking about. I don't mind if people with their own things I think it's nice. I think it's they have a part in it. But the

00:27:33.350 - 00:27:45.120

thing is, it should be professionally woven something that's suitable. That's the main thing. Is it tightly enough woven things so that you won't do this and have all the inside to come out of the chair? Tell me that jacket you're wearing looks like it's a hand

00:27:45.120 - 00:27:56.220

woven material. Apparently it is. I didn't know it until today when we were here with all of these hand weavers around, I bought it because I liked it because they had kind of that slept in casual look. And that seems to be the way I wanted

00:27:56.220 - 00:28:09.520

it. But I didn't buy it because it was hand woven, but it apparently is its most effective. And I mentioned that mainly because I began with the very fact that we aren't generally conscious, even of the fabric that we wear. And I want to thank you

00:28:09.530 - 00:28:29.290

very much for joining us and with salmon off and with the three of you to give us this marvelous background discussion to understand the art of weaving. And we might just go over the fact that we have emphasized here the importance in weaving of design, uh,

00:28:29.300 - 00:28:54.840

the importance and manufacture. And most important, as Maurice Sense has shown us how is it going to be used? Thanks for being with us. Join us again next week, won't you, please? Discovery Discovery has been brought to you by Station KPI X and the San Francisco

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Museum of Art. Next week, Discovery will bring you Charles Eames, the famous designer who will tell the story behind the design of his famous chair. Yeah,