Visiting Artist Series Weaving Workshop with Kwasi Asare
Adult Course | Available
Visiting Artist Series Weaving Workshop with Kwasi Asare
Through this course you will learn how to make a small piece of fabric that can be used as a bookmark or a bracelet. In this course you will be taught:
- How to set up a small Kente handloom.
- How to weave basic stitches and patterns.
- How to weave complex double stitching patterns common to traditional Kente designs
- How to remove your Kente creation from your handloom.
Materials used in this course include the Kwasi Asare special handloom and a starter pack of embroidery thread. A series of supplementary videos will also be available upon request.
The very act of using Kwasi’s small loom has many benefits. In this era of smartphones and ubiquitous computer screens, Kwasi Asare’s handloom is a medium for a new hand/eye, mind/body connection that is rarely experienced because of constant online stimulation and digital chatter. Working with Kwasi handloom creates a Zen-like moment of meditation, stillness and artistry, wherein people find a feeling of inner peace and joy. Kwasi’s handloom is a wonderful way to calm one’s mind and emotions and enter into a meditative state.
Kwasi Asare
One of Africa’s most prominent and accomplished weavers; he is particularly known for Kente cloth, the highly prized Ghanaian cloth that has traditionally symbolized royalty, honor and leadership.
His understanding of Kente cloth and the weaving traditions of Africa is unparalleled, but more importantly, Kwasi truly loves his art and profession. With his smile and easy-going manner, he joyfully reaches out to adults, youth and children alike with a desire to share a vision of creativity, love and self-expression. Through his workshops and presentations, Kwasi is excited to see students of all ages develop a stronger mind-body connection by being absorbed in careful, detailed work with their hands. Working with his own special easy-to-use hand looms, Kwasi’s students can create their own wonderful pieces of the honored and venerable Kente cloth. This kind of artistic work is a much-needed counterbalance to a world where many of us spend countless hours every day hours typing on a keyboard or viewing device screens. In this way, working with Kwasi’s s looms becomes like a meditation process. This activity helps students get in touch with the patience, creativity, vision and attention to detail necessary for creating something beautiful and valuable with one’s hands. The workshop is universal – it is educational, informative and attractive to virtually anyone from any age or background.