Interactive Exhibit at MWMO Stormwater Learning Center
ABOUT THE WEAVING WATER WORKSHOP
Weaving Water is an ongoing public art project exploring the intersections of water, weaving and shared experience both visible and invisible. Participants are invited to become part of an informal indigo dye and weaving workshop. They transform plain yarn or cloth through a series of steps: folding and binding the cloth or fiber, wetting it out in water from site-specific locations, dipping in indigo dye vats, unfolding to reveal the pattern made. These dyed materials are transformed again as participants weave them into new cloth on the SAORI loom, obscuring the patterns made as these fibers become part of a new whole. Participants are transformed from a group of strangers to an operating fiber studio team.
SAORI weaving embodies a philosophy of “weaving one’s true self.” A simple but complex ideal! I want to connect the ideas of how we can make new patterns from old and how cloth records information about ourselves and our environment. Each individual creates their own patterns using the same steps but producing unique results. The dyed fiber bears the maker’s personal imprint, and it absorbs the unique qualities of the water used in the dye process. However, this information becomes unknowable/invisible as the fibers are woven into a new whole. It’s not necessary to understand these precursors in detail to appreciate and value the finished cloth.
How does weaving tap into our shared human history? Can dyed cloth capture subtle differences in the waters from different sources? What use or beauty is created by transforming fibers to cloth? What questions should we ask about weaving or water?
PROJECT HISTORY
Started in 2018 with funding from the Minnesota State Arts Board Artist Initiative Grant, Weaving Water originated as social practice art project to engage the public in conversations about water and how it connects us to where we live, to each other, and to our shared humanity. The Weaving Water Workshop is a pop-up fiber art studio that has made numerous appearances at events— from a riverside fun-run to a lakeside watershed festival, from farmer’s markets to board meetings—and engaged thousands of participants.
Starting in fall 2021, the Weaving Water Workshop became part of the ongoing arts-engaged outreach for the MWMO when Sarah initiated a Community Artist in Residence program following the pandemic upheaval. Dozens of free fiber art and indigo workshops are promoted through and hosted at Mississippi Watershed Management Organization (MWMO) and with community partners.
The Weaving Water Workshop can be commissioned by anyone. Please inquire about your project needs by contacting Sarah.
Learn more about the project on the project page for Weaving Water.
Project participant weaving on the SAORI loom
FUNDING
Sarah Nassif is a fiscal year 2018 and 2020 recipient of an Artist Initiative grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board. This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board, thanks to a legislative appropriation by the Minnesota State Legislature; and by a grant from tlte National Endowment for the Arts. Additional funding is provided by Mississippi Watershed Management Organization to provide programming at the Stormwater Park and Learning Center.
