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:

Shibori weaving_color research Iceland 2024 Shibori woven samples of wool and linnen in a conversation with the wallpaper in my room at Textilmidstod. Supported by  'Tesselschade'.

Summer 2024 - color research_Tesselschade Since 1875 Dutch organisation 'Tesselschade' supports women's professional development. The Utrecht-Amersfoort group of our oldest feminist organisation supports Weeflab in ongoing and future projects. Thank you!

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

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

A.I.R._summer 2022 WeefLab returns to www.khmessen.no at Hardangerfjord into a welcoming local crafting community.

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

New work_winter 2022Series Journey 

Interiors_new weavings_winter 2021 To warm interior spaces.

A.I.R. in Denmark July/August 2021A 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 Peer 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) Sculpture 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 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 collectionCollection 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.Embroidered jacket by Agnes Richter (1873-?) and detail, courtesy of Sammlung Prinzhorn   

Linen XXL project 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 >>    

Vincent Van Gogh's weaver drawingsVincent 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 

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 colors

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. 

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

Coaching QS2 @ RMO - National Museum of Antiquities, Leidenlarge 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-preview 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.

>>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 cm

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'.

>>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.

>>Read more

Weeflab@Craft shows in Amsterdam and Münster  
December '17 

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 

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

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 '16Holland is densely populated and flat country, a patch of land rescued from the water and protected by dykes.>> Read more

EVENTS:

 What influences our perception of colors? Practice-based research as Artist-in-residence in Norway, Denmark, Ireland and Iceland. In this project, running since 2018, I combine global and locally discovered weaving techniques with colors and materials:  linnen, wool, paper, natural dyes. Supported by Tesselschade. and WPPO.

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.   

Stitch Your Brain

‘Stitch Your Brain’ was launched in spring 2024 by international publisher JapSamBooks. This 10 year research project explores the significance of creating with one’s hands and creativity, stress management and well-being.  The book features 118 stitched brains and five articles. To order  

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 timeIn 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 2022 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