A weaver since 1998, Denise Kovnat has studied, practiced, and taught weaving both on-site and online on three continents. In addition to textured weaves, her favorite techniques are parallel threadings and painted warps, using her 16-shaft Toika Eeva and 32-shaft Louet Megado. She is most proud of serving on the founding team of the Weaving and Fiber Arts Center in Rochester, NY.
Carol James has been exploring sprang for more than 25 years, examining items in collections across North America and Europe, and making replicas. She has worked for clients such as George Washington’s Mount Vernon, the German Archaeological Institute, and the Norwegian Army Museum. She has taught extensively across North America, Europe, and New Zealand. Students describe her as a patient and enthusiastic teacher. She has developed a pattern-writing system to accommodate the variety of designs encountered in her sprang explorations. She is the author of numerous articles, two DVDs, and six books: Fingerweaving Untangled, Sprang Unsprung and four new books of Sprang Lace Patterns.
A weaver since 1967, Bonnie enjoys creating new drafts, finding new challenges and weaving on computer-assisted looms. Flowing lines, unusual textures, intriguing color blends and woven images characterize her award-winning textiles. She prefers non-repeating designs that read well from a distance while including details for the intimate viewer. She has written many articles for weaving magazines and a book, Exploring Multishaft Design, with a second edition underway. Bonnie has taught for shops, guilds and conferences in nine countries and she has eagerly participated in all the Complex Weavers Seminars starting in 1988.
Peggy Hart is a production weaver and teacher who designs, produces, and markets hundreds of blankets each year including custom blankets for sheep and alpaca farmers using their own yarn. She attended the Rhode Island School of Design, worked as a weaver in one of the last mills in Rhode Island, and has woven for the last thirty years on Crompton and Knowles W-3 looms. She has a special affinity for wool, and her book Wool: Unraveling an American Story of Artists and Innovation was published November 2017.
Brenda Gibson is a largely self-taught weaver who has become deeply absorbed into weaving since retiring from her professional financial career. Early on in her weaving life when she was trying to push the boundaries of an eight-shaft table loom, she discovered the magic of double two-tie threadings and continued to exploit these once she had 32 shafts at her disposal. She is a keen member of two CW Study Groups: the Sixteens and Double Weave.
She regularly teaches weaving classes to a wide range of levels and has given workshops on double cloth, Fiberworks-PCW weaving software, ply-split braiding and spinning.
Patrice George recently retired from the Fashion Institute of Technology, NYC, where she taught woven textile design and production for 18 years. After studying history of art at the University of Michigan, she spent a year in India, and studied traditional handweaving in Sweden. Moving to NYC in 1974, she found work as a handweaver/designer in the textile industry, where she learned dobby and jacquard design and production skills. In her NYC studio, Patrice was an early adapter of computer-interfaced looms and software. She developed courses in computer-aided woven design for the School of Visual Arts, Parsons and FIT. A long time member of Complex Weavers, she is currently a member of the New York Guild of Handweavers and was a guest on HGA’s Textiles and Tea in November 2024.
Education: BA, University of Michigan, History of Art, 1970
MA, Fashion and Textile History: Museum Studies, FIT, 2020
Born and raised in Bradford, Yorkshire, what was then the center of the UK wool, worsted, and weaving industry, is integral to Margaret’s passion. Teaching weaving, dyeing, and design at guilds and conferences led her to focus on computer design. Her interest in color prompted her to return to college in the Digital Arts department culminating in an independent study of digital weave design. She is the author of 4 books, 7 monographs, and co-author with Paul O’Connor of 2 books, all on weave design. She has received national awards in knit and weave design.
Philis Alvic is an artist, weaver, and writer. She has exhibited her complex woven wall textiles in over 300 juried and invitational exhibitions. She has written Weavers of the Southern Highlands (University Press of Kentucky, 2003), Crafts of Armenia (USAID/IESC Armenia, 2003) and over 100 magazine articles. As a short-term consultant for crafts development and marketing, she has worked on projects in thirteen different countries. She is a founding member of Complex Weavers, the Kentucky Craft History and Education Association and is on the Board of Weave A Real Peace.