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Weeflab is a project by Monika Auch!

Weeflab invites artists, designers and scientists to reflect and cooperate about the concept of weaving.
Weeflab is situated in Amsterdam Noord.

LATEST NEWS:

Interview about Iceland_januari 2024In Dutch Weefnetwerk magazine Weven 1/2024 by Woutje de Zeeuw. In English Thank you - it was a great, nerdy Q&A!

Artist's book_I weave time_november_2023

Book Stitch Your Brain_october 2023

The book about hand-brain-creativity is published by JapSamBooks, designed by Studio JoostGrootensTo order 

Guest teacher_autumn 2023

WeefLab workshop for master students restoration-conservation-textiles at University of Amsterdam 

 Artist-in-Residence_2023
Research into color and light in weaving textilmidstod.is

3 online talks_march 2023 ETN conference Lodz, Poland, Dutch Weefnetwerk twice.

A.I.R._summer 2022wool dyed with birch at KH Messen Norway Artist in residence 2022 WeefLab returns to www.khmessen.no at Hardangerfjord into a welcoming local crafting community.

Time_spring 2022monika-auch-weeflab_time_2022_ Introducing new website www.monikaauch.com  Detail of Container series_each approx.55x45 cm_photo:W. Stelwagen

New work_winter 2022M_Auch_scuptureSeries Journey 

 

Interiors_new weavings_winter 2021 weeflab_m_auch_silk_linnen_redTo warm interior spaces.

A.I.R. in Denmark July/August 2021m_auch_containers_2021_studio-registration1A studio in Sjaelland, at short term notice, work in a remote place. Contain = to keep within limits; not to allow to spread. (Cambridge English dictionary)  Several series of works, made at different locations. Photo: studio detail of container pieces. Length: 4,5 m, Height: 0.5m

The intelligence of the hand m_auch_The intelligence of the handPeer reviewed article in 'Crafting in a digital age', this chapter places the hand in the centre of contemporary art practice. The article is written from the hybrid viewpoint of the author as M.D. and weaver who works with threedimensional weaving on a computerized loom. The article defines essential aspects of creative making. It discusses dexterity, the development of material sensibility and cognitive processes in relation to the current use of digital tools in art practice. The discussion is illustrated by interviews with contemporary makers. It describes the author’s research project, ‘Stitch_your_brain’ with some preliminary results. >>>> articles

Linen, shifu and black clay (twice fired) weeflab_rmo_m_auch_2Sculpture Cherish and wallhanging Weaving stones are at the  National Museum of Antiquities (RMO) Leiden 1 June – 27 September 2020, Textiles from Egypt  >>> about: the process of making

Bauhaus workshop for Master studentsweeflab_m_auch_bauhaus_workshop_paulWeeflab welcomed six master students in Technical Art History from the University of Amsterdam for a hands-on workshop on Bauhaus weaving. Professor Erma Hermens blogs and they tell about their experience. ...read more

Wabi Sabi collectionweeflab_scarvesCollection of scarves, playing with endless design possibilities to keep tactile and visual senses sharp: a number of scarves woven on a very fine GOTS wool and silk warp, the weft is a spontaneous combination of salvaged yarns with 'mending' details of inlaid scraps and textured threads. Each inch/cm is unique since I get bored weaving repeats. For prices and shipping: mail info [at] monikaauch.nl  images and more:

Women in Art Brut, historic origins and contemporary artists. In-depth articles about female artists, their textile work in Art Brut and it's origins in 19th century psychiatry. Published in Surface Design Journal, 2019 and Dutch TxP magazine. After discovering a young contemporary Outsider artist at the Outsider art Gallery in Amsterdam I portrayed her in an interview.m_auch_artbrutEmbroidered jacket by Agnes Richter (1873-?) and detail, courtesy of Sammlung Prinzhorn   

Linen XXL projectweeflab_linenXXL Linen has unexpected sculptural and painterly qualities. It can be used as a canvas - on a loom! The making of several large scale works from 2019-2020. read more >>>> 

The MANIFESTO:

Weaving is a construction technique bound to materiality.                                                     Weaving is a metaphor for time to be filled with contemporary ideas about i.e. the experience of time passing.
Weaving
is a production technique for fashion and interior fabrics.                                       Weaving is about life making connections and constructing beauty.                                                                                                                                          
Weaving can be a community project with dance, theater or an installation in public space.
Weaving as a proces is synonymous with the infinite line, the thread.
Weaving has many poetic and dramatic associations in art, religion and science:
- Penelope’s story in the Odysee
- Psalm 139:13:.. you made my mind and heart, you wove me together in my mother’s womb.
- in anthropology:..weaving (like dwelling) continues for as long as time goes on - punctuated but not terminated by the appearance of the pieces that it successively brings into being.T. Ingold         Weaving connects traditional and digital techniques with smart materials and innovative discoveries. . 

Weeflab and the Brainshow in Amsterdam

30 November- 9 December 2018  

Weeflab presents woven work and the Brainshow at WG Kunst. For program of lectures and information read more >>    

weeflab_brain_m_auch_5

Vincent Van Gogh's weaver drawingsweeflab_weaver-with-a-baby-in-a-highchair_vincentweeflab_reenacting_vincentvan-gogh_weaver_april2020Vincent van Gogh's numerous drawings and studies of weavers are a source of inspiration. Art & Quarantaine. Weeflab re-enacts: Weaver, with a baby in a high chair. Vincent Van Gogh, (1853-1890), Nuenen, January 1884, pencil, ink, watercolor, on paper, 31,5x39,9cm, credits: Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam (Vincent Van Gogh Foundation)

Artist in residence Norway 

weeflab_juli_19 Into Nordic colors  What are the colors of Norway? National folklore shows brightly colored clothes and decorations, Edvard Munch’s paintings are a turbulent mix of bright colors. However - the association with Norway is of subdued colors, muted tones and earth shades.  A two month’s retreat as artist in residence in a remote Norwegian village at Hardanger Fjord started an investigation into the Nordic color palet.  Arriving on a chilly, wet June afternoon at Bergen airport I was greeted by dark letters spelling ‘Bergen?’ on a wall of granite rocks behind the bus station. A premonition that Nordic colors have a background of grey, shiny material - rocks and rain? Researching colors, restoring an old, traditional loom, dyeing, designing and weaving Nordic Ikat patterns resulted in a series of wall panelsshown later in the year at a private sales event in The Netherlands.    

Private view Nordic colors4-m_auch_nordic-colors_woventextiles

Work made at international A.I.R. Messen, Hardangerfjord was shown in a private sales event to collectors and friends. The technical restrictions of a 4-shaft traditional loom were a welcome challenge from working on my computerized loom. In a painterly approach several wall-panels were made, using hand-dyed vintage linnen warp and weft, adding locally salvaged yarns, fishing line and bark from birch trees.   photo: Wouter Stelwagen >>read more scroll down right hand side

Soft borders 2019  Guest editor and co-juror for Surface Design Association's International Exhibition in print. sda_eipsoftborders_

Masterclass & coaching  bmcombi-1 Focus op textiele vormgeving in 5 dagen intensieve les >>>> lees meer 

Coaching QS2 @ RMO - National Museum of Antiquities, Leidenweeflab_rmo_1large scale work by Martha de Vos_ 'Kracht en Macht', series of 5, 161 cm x 138 cm, embroidery  >>lees TxP artikel  blog

Online go to >>> sneak-previewweeflab_online_rmo Focus on Weaving:  Daniel Soliman, conservator for Egypt at the National Museum of Antiquities, Leiden, gives a brilliant online tour of the exhibition Textiles from Egypt. Precious antique pieces and contemporary work by QS2 and Weeflab. 1 June - 28 September 2020.  The large pieces in the background are contemporary work by QS2 and WEEFLAB >>>> rondleiding Youtube.

Wishing you all a creative New Year

  '...that peculiar human ability to weave stories from the past into the texture of present lives.'  Tim Ingold, Being Alive

Dexterity and CAD/CAM weaving tools August 2018  

Interview by Ann Marie Shillito, CEO of Anarkik 3d Ltd. (virtual touch technology for applied artists and designers) about constructing through weaving on a computerized loom.

on-dexterity_m_auch_weeflab_2018_7

>>read more 

The microscopic view

June 2018  

Bradley Quinn wrote about my work: ‘Monika Auch’s medical background is evident in her detailed textile work, which is often suggestive of the growth patterns found through the lens of a microscope. The clash of digital and tactile methods in Auch’s work heightens the material impact of the viewing experience, a combination of traditional, time-consuming methods and contemporary, instantaneous technology.' Wall hanging, 2m x 40 cmm_auch_summer_2018_1

Textile dyeing by Dutch experts

April 2018

Focussing on dyeing with natural pigments, here is a summary of recent articles about: The history of madder in The Netherlands. The discovery and conservation of a fabulous 17th century red silk wardrobe off the coast of Texel. Visits to workshops at the Rijksatelier, at Tinctoria studio and at Claudy Jongstra's 'Farm of the World'.10thunder-tinctoria-nl-wool-with-madder-cochineal-woad-and-discharge-paste-donder-tinctoria-nl-wol-met-rubia-cochenille-wede-en-etspasta

>>read more

Studio visit by ARTECHNE team  
Februari 2018

Professor Dr. Sven Dupré and colleagues from the ARTECHNE project are conducting research on how artist's master their art. What is technique in the visual and decorative arts? How is technique transmitted and studied? Who is considered an expert in technique, and why? In a unique hands-on approach the scientists try to understand the intricacies of mastering a technique in the making and knowing project.jenny-marieke-samples

>>Read more

Weeflab@Craft shows in Amsterdam and Münster  
December '17  meesterlijk_m_auch_weeflab_1

Two presentations reaching a wide public in Germany and The Netherlands. Invited by Akademie für Gestaltung der Handwerkskammer Münster and selected by Meesterlijk, Weeflab presented samples for tapisserie and scarves, while visitors could experience weaving hands-on.                                                                                                                                                 

ETN in Borås, an international fiber network
TxP 242 // November '17 

European textile network, grete sorensen, weaver, digital weaving, Nordic Award in Textiles, Monika Auch,

Grethe Sørensen from Denmark received the Nordic Award in Textiles at the ETN conference and Textile Art Festival CROSS-OVER in Boras, Sweden. 
Detail of work The OWL photo by Marius Hauge

Article will be published in Dutch TxP 242 magazine.

Earth Matters
SDJ and TxP 241 autumn issues 2017

m_auch_weeflab-com_sda

Critical review of the exhibition in the TextielMuseum Tilburg
>> Read more  in Dutch and from the
 article in Surface Design Journal : "Sustainability is a trend...The elephant in this discussion is the huge Co2 foot print of the textile industry. Conflicting problems are e.g. water pollution, inhuman labor conditions while at the same time maintaining an industry which supports millions....Are textiles being exploited to produce trendy sustainable life-style products or will the trend support a critical awareness about textile products? Will many of the presented concepts in Earth Matters survive the ‘Valley of Death’, a well known phenomenon in the innovative industry?..This is the point from which many new ideas going through the innovation process fail to progress, and even those ideas that do make it out of the valley can spend between 5 and 10 years trying to escape from it. Will there be time enough for Earth?' published in SDJ/Fall 2017/ p. 50-53

Dutch by DesignSurface Design Journal // October '16Monika Auch author, technical textiles, embroidery, lasercutting, Dutch designHolland is densely populated and flat country, a patch of land rescued from the water and protected by dykes.>> Read more

EVENTS:

Stitch Your Brain

‘Stitch Your Brain’ is a project that explores the significance of creating with one’s hands and creativity, stress management and well-being.  The book features 118 stitched brains created by participants and five articles. To order:

Workshop

I love working with rookies! They are slow, make mistakes, ask many elementary questions. They always make me realize how far I moved into nerd territory by challenging the walls of technical and material knowledge. Bonus - rookies come up with fresh ideas! Invited by Dr. Ana Serrano, Assistant professor, coordinator of the textile course in conservation-and-restoration, University of Amsterdam, I had the pleasure to teach a hands-on weaving workshop to 1st year master students. In previous years, we had two days to race through basic technical and material facts of weaving. Now it is a crash course of 3 hours. Five focussed students on five looms, ranging from the most simple rigid heddle loom to a CAD/CAM machine. Working at warping speed they demonstrated impressive dexterity, insight and potential in material literacy with interesting woven pieces.   


Iceland 2023

 https://www.textilmidstod.is  research and works about colors of the North.

Online talk

ETN conference, march 2023 in Lodz, Poland about forthcoming publication: StitchYourBrain about hand-brain-wellbeing, by JapSambooks autumn 2023

+ online

march 2023, two lectures HOW TO construct - from inspiration to design for Dutch Weefnetwerk

Working abroad

Summer 2022, Artist in Residence at KH Messen, Hardangerfjord, NO - weaving, workshops in dyeing, Hardanger embroidery

Publicatie

DeFKa Research Essay: Ik weef tijd/I weave timemonika-auch-press-defka-22In DeFKa Research, Archivering SC05 schrijft Gert Wijlage over: Hand en hoofd, industrie en immaterieel erfgoed, ethiek en ideaal. Een dialoog met mijn essay 'Ik weef tijd' en over conceptueel ambacht, branding, personalisatie van kunst in de hedendaagse praktijk. 'Het eeuwenoude gebruik van weven als ambacht met grote metaforische kracht en waarvan het constructieve ook wel vergeleken wordt met het tot stand komen van architectuur.'  ISBN9789464480603

Lezing

Nederlands Weefnetwerk April 2022weefnetwerk_air Over werken als Artist in Residence in het buitenland

Residency

2021 Two months at a remote place in Sjaelland, Denmark.

Nordic colors

2019 - Artist in residence at Hardanger FjordImpressions of work made at Hardangerfjord >>> www.monikaauch.com


Craft and Health

The Zen in stitch and bitch >>read article in TxP online

1-the-author-all-wired-up Nordic colors

Artist in residence at Hardanger Fjord

Aug/September 2019

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Impressions of work made at Hardangerfjord >>>monikaauch.nl

Outsider Art

Lecture at Outsider Art Gallerie

March 2018 // Amsterdam

schermafbeelding-2018-03-21-om-17-53-38

About creativity, vulnerability and well being


Rijks Museum Oudheden 

Coaching textielgroep QS2

De ervaringen van deelnemers in Textiel Plus

weeflab_rmo_m_auch Informatie mail info[at]monikaauch.nl

Meesterlijk

9th edition of annual Amsterdam craft design fair

December 2017 // Amsterdam

meesterlijk_m_auch_weeflab

Weeflab takes part at Meesterlijk.

>> Read more 

European Textile Network 

Presentation of Weeflab in Sweden

September 2017 // Boras, Sweden

ETN

Weeflab presents at the international ETN conference.
>> Read more


Summershow Nieuw Dakota

Woven piece in Fine Arts show

July 2017 // Amsterdam

timewarpgolden_weeflab_m_auch

Timewarp#3#golden selected

>> Read more


Koningsdag

Communityweaving @ Zonneplein

April 2017 // Amsterdam Noord

weeflab_kind

Weeflab staat met een mobiel weefgetouw op Koningsdag op het Zonneplein. De buurtbewoners worden uitgenodigd om een stuk mee te weven. Dit symboliseert ons gemeenschappelijk netwerk. Het resultaat wordt gepresenteerd bij Studio Spaanders op 5 mei. Op de Bevrijdingsdag 2017 is het thema verbinden.
>> Read more


Tallinn

Presentation of Weeflab in Estonia

April // Estland

Tallin Applied Art Triennial
Weeflab is building the network at 7th Talinn Applied Art Triennial 2017.

>> Read more


First visitor

March 2017 // Amsterdam Noord

jeroen-van-der-wielen-fotografie-niels-heymans

Designer Emilie Pallard visited Weeflab and showed the results of her trips to Japan and the IKAT weaving.
She will adopt one of the Weeflab 8-shaft looms for her work.
>> Read more