Featuring the work of:

Caz Bently
wood block prints
Daniel Bernyk
metal scuplture
Pat Burns-Wendland
hand spun weaving
Scott Caple
illustrations
Larry Cluchey
wood turning
Catherine Crowe
enamels
Dark Ages Re-creation Company
living history
Sandra Dunn
& Steve White
metalsmithing
Dianne Edwards
marquetry
Kelly Green
wood carving
Allison Hamilton
painting
Lydia Ilarion
fine metalwork
David Ivens
metalwork
Lloyd Johnson
forged metals
Mary Lazier
ceramics
Elsa Mann
ceramics
Darrell Markewitz
forged metals
Rosemary Molesworth
ceramics
Kelly Probyn-Smith
metalwork
Mark Puigmarti
forged metals
David Robertson
forged metals
Brenda Roy
fine metalwork
Rob Schweitzer
tablet weaving
Graeme Sheffield
forged metals
A.G. Smith
illustration
Steve Strang
painting & drawing
Ruth Swanson
ceramics
Kathryn Thomson
blown glass
Mark Tichenor
ceramics
Laura Travis
stone carving
Catherine VamVakas Lay
blown glass
Sara Washbush
fine metalwork
Brigitte Wolf
stained glass

Robert Schweitzer
Toronto ON
tablet@interlog.com

Robert is a high school chemistry teacher who taught himself tablet weaving from Peter Collingwood’s book “Techniques of Tablet Weaving”. Since then he has gone on to perform classes and demonstrations in numerous schools and museums (Woodstock, Peterborough and the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto), and was a guest lecturer at WASOON 08 – a weaving and spinning conference.

“ Tablet weaving is an ancient technique that nearly died out after the 1500’s. As such, most of our knowledge of the craft comes from bands that were preserved by being sealed in graves. The pieces I’ve chosen are meant to represent a spectrum of those archaeological finds. For myself, “Grave Goods” fall into several categories – artifacts meant to show the status of the individual, goods meant to help the individual in their afterlife tools, food etc), and items meant to mark or contain the person’s remains. Again, I tried to have each of these areas reflected in the exhibition. “

Abba Yohanni reconstruction cotton thread tablet woven using a double faced technique $1600 In Ethiopia there are a number of giant 17th century tablet woven curtains that hang in cave churches. The piece shown here is based on the curtain still being used in Abba Yohanni. The curtain is used to isolate the sanctuary from the outside world. Very little is known of the weavers who created the original hangings, although there are some indications that they have come from the same cities in Yemen which are believed to have woven the funeral shroud for the prophet Mohammed.

Roger II of Sicily Mantle reconstruction red silk tablet woven warp twined band with gold (Kreinik Japan thread) brocade $1600 Throughout history, the items placed with the body in a tomb are used to identify the status and wealth held by the person in life. The gold and red silk band formed a portion of mantle worn by King Roger II of Sicily when he was entombed. Silk thread had to travel a great distance to reach Palermo where the original band was constructed in 1133, so with the addition of the gold brocade threads it demonstrates that King Roger was held in high value by those he left behind.