(Ask questions and I’ll add them here! If this list gets unwieldy, I’ll organize it too)
How do I apply to be a resident?
The goal is to make applications easy on both the applicant and the administrative end, details tbd. I hope to launch this in April. If you are interested in applying, please send me an email or get in touch through the contact page.
How much does the residency cost?
I am committed to making this opportunity affordable; currently I am exploring pay-what-you-can models, with an eye towards long-term sustainability and transparency.
To be self-sustaining, I need to generate about $2K per month (very simply, this is $1000 for rent/utilities, and $1000 for minimal administrative tasks and loom/warp maintenance). Ultimately, this is a risk that I am bearing, and unlike in the big bad world, I don’t want to trickle this risk/expense down to artists using the loom. I will also actively work to avoid my own burnout in the process!
In the long-term: I want to find a way to pay artists to come here, because I believe that the risks that artists take, regardless of their outcome, deserve financial support.
I am fundraising now, and I plan to subsidize this project with my own savings and income. I am starting to look for grant and institutional sponsorships as well, both locally and nationally. And I am very open to collaborate with artists on offering workshops, products that can subsidize your/future artists.
How do I schedule my residency?
A part of the application will include date ranges that will work for you. I’ll do my best to tetris a schedule together from there. Any suggestions for equitable ways of doing this, or applications that make this process easier – send them my way!
What kind of experience can I expect?
What kind of experience are you looking for? Residencies come in all different flavors, and this one is as quirky as they come. You get access to a fancy loom, but you can go hang out in the garden with the chickens when you get tired of weaving. I would love to arrange a studio visit for you, or organize an opportunity for you to share your work and ideas with local artists either formally or informally. Being in the city, we are a short distance from lots of great art, and I will happily orient you to what events and shows are on while you are here.
You can expect quiet hours, adult communication, tidy domestic spaces. We don’t expect you to hang out with the creative folx on the 3 floors of the house, but we invite your curiosity and we will be around! I throw regular dinner parties (in non-COVID times), and I’d love to include you. Our house may also host the occasional variety show, or acoustic music jam session.
What are the living arrangements like?
You’ll have a private 10×10 bedroom on the first floor of a spacious 2-bedroom apartment, and share a kitchen and bathroom with one other person (still working out if that will be me, but I will let you know!) in our collective house. In the spacious common area also shared with 1 person (dining, family, and living rooms all one big open rectangle, with a TC2 at one end), you’ll have access to a computer, textile library, and cozy home furnishings.
How do I get there?
Minneapolis/St. Paul airport is a direct flight from many places, and the light rail carries you to within about a mile of the house, or a $25 Lyft ride. I likely can also come and get you at the airport. If you drive here (about 7 hours from Chicago), there is free street parking.
What transportation is available?
So much public transit! Also amazing bike infrastructure (and they more or less clear the bike lanes through winter). You’ll likely be able to borrow a car if needed, and if you drive here there is plenty of street parking available.
Am I responsible for my own meals?
If you want to be. There is a well-equipped kitchen at your disposal. If you’d like to pay for it (~$30/day for hearty, balanced, mostly vegetarian fare), I will make sure you are well fed (and isn’t this one of the delights of residencies, that you don’t have to worry about all of your material comforts, that someone is taking care of them for you?).
What does the residency provide?
The residency provides standard furnishings for domestic comfort, and tools you’ll need for weaving on the TC2, including: bed linens and towels, basic pantry and bathroom items, and kitchen and weaving implements. If there are specific things you need for your stay, just ask. I plan to keep the loom warped for residents (all 2640 warp ends), although I am open to residents bringing their own warp to use as well. Details will be updated as they are worked out!
What are things you need to do your work? What am I forgetting?
What should I bring with me?
Materials! And as many weaving files already made as you can, so you are ready to hop onto the loom.
Is the residency accessible?
The short answer is not at this time, but this is on my mind, because I think the TC2 is easily adapted for artists who need accommodations. I hope to perform an accessibility audit sometime this year to understand what might make this space accessible. Right now, the residency is inside of a first floor apartment that is 3 steps up from sidewalk level. Minneapolis as a city is seasonally accessible – I write this from the treacherous winter, where we are navigating black ice and compressed, slippery snow banks.
Can I ship things to/from the residency?
Absolutely, yes! Please coordinate with me so that I can expect your package arrival. If you need to ship things home we can help coordinate drop-off.
Who is the technician and what do they do?
I am the technician. My primary tasks will be keeping the loom warped, and troubleshooting any issues with the loom or with the weaving files that arise. At the beginning of your stay, I will go through loom use and basic loom care that is expected of you. I will check in with you regularly to make you have what you need, and that the loom is behaving. I will also offer digital and in-person workshops on designing for and building files to weave on the loom.
What’s so cool about the TC-2 loom anyway?
Ok, so: on the TC2 you can manipulate every thread of the warp individually. That is what is so cool. But also: I build all of my files in Photoshop or Photoshop Elements, which are not textile software. These software have forced me to think through weaving and drafting in very different ways, especially when it comes to multi-layered structures. I have been able to embed woven image into sculptural work, things that unfold off of the loom. These are possibilities that I can’t access on a standard floor loom or through software like Poincarré, Weavemaker, or PixeLoom.
I don’t know how to weave, and this loom seems intimidating.
Give me 3 hours with you, and you will be ready to weave something. I’m not promising it will be a masterpiece, and you will experience some frustration and hiccups in the process – that is such an essential and beautiful part of learning! – but I think you will be surprised by how quickly you will grasp the basics.
If you feel intimidated by computers and Photoshop, I am happy to work with you to bring you up to speed in this realm as well.
Are there ways I can volunteer/help out?
Yes! Please get in touch. A few immediate needs include: fundraising, spreading the word, seeking out sponsorship and partnership opportunities. Product development will be down the road as well. Surely there are things that I am not thinking of that might be your expertise already!
Is there work-trade available?
Again, yes! I prefer something like this, until there is a way to compensate people properly for their labors. See above, and get in touch so that we can talk about what this might look like.
I’m a designer – can I work with you to create custom fabric?
I would love to work with you on this. I will be focusing some of my initial time with the loom to build a sample library, testing out a variety of colors, patterns, and materials and getting a solid idea of the time it takes to weave yardage. The quality of the cloth will be heavier – easily adapted to upholstery, outwear, bags, shoes…..
I don’t want to weave myself, but I want to order a custom weaving/fabric. How do I do this, and how much will it cost?
I will be working to estimate these costs in the summer and fall of 2021. In the meantime, I would love to hear what you have in mind. Send me an email with the details you know, and I will ask you questions from there.
Any other questions? Please get in touch!
