| Valhalla Textile Centre by Joe Lewis | | Print | |
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The Valhalla Textile Centre in New Denver, British Columbia is the result of Katharine Dickerson's 40 years of weaving experience. The centre, which is also her home and studio, is situated on the shores of Slocan Lake nestled into the side of the mountain. Having camped out on the property in a yurt for 6 years, she was able to settle the building into the landscape. The house and the studios were designed to engender an immediate relationship with the beautiful wilderness surroundings. As students are encouraged to design their own course of study under Katherine's tutelage, the natural atmosphere is there to enrich the learning experience.
Katherine's specific purpose was to design the building to house a variety of looms such as: 1800’s Levard 16 harness, 43” weaving width countermarch loom with additional draw string attachment, 12’ upright tapestry loom, 2 “inkle” or warp faced band looms, 2 Salish type twining looms 24 “width with weaving length 36”. And then there is an assortment of support equipment for processing the raw wool and dying. She teaches the traditional weaving methods specific to each loom along with weaving basics. Katherine Dickerson has created an incubator for weaving education that brings together her depth of knowledge and experience with the craft. Her Norwegian heritage on her mother's side was an important factor in forming her core aesthetic values. In addition to this, sharing time with and learning textile practices from the Salish (West Coast), Maori and Aborigines of New Zealand and Australia, has firmly established her belief in the critical necessity of oral traditions of teaching Textiles. In Katherine's own words "It is the stories that count and give context to the unique technical processes".
She believes that when both technical skill and creative inspiration are in balance, the resulting Textile knowledge contributes to the building of the future of the Textile tradition. In this light, she views the Centre as a place to foster the tradition by bringing people together for this purpose. Much of weaving aesthetics comes through all the senses. She believes that experiencing the environment of Valhalla Textile Center brings about a far more meaningful learning experience than just gaining information through books or lectures. The Centre provides a truly organic experience.  Katherine Dickerson retired from the Alberta College of Art + Design in 2007 after 30 years of teaching. Since then she has finished the Centre and opened to welcome participants. In 2009 she was named "Lecturer Emeritus" by the Board of Governors of the Alberta College of Art + Design Valhalla Textile Centre operates from May through September. All courses are individually tailored to the wishes of each participant. Similarly, if you have specific projects in mind that you wish to work on, you will be welcomed. It is up to you to choose the dates you wish to attend and your duration of stay will determine the depth and scale of any chosen study topic. |
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