Erin Howe

06/02/10

Written Statement for Punk Rock Loom Project

My project focused on the site of one of the Northwest’s largest music festivals, Sasquatch, which is located in the Columbia Gorge. It consists of thousands of people camping and watching music over a three-day period. For my loom, I chose to construct on to people as well as objects associated with camping and festivals. My goal was to create a basic structure and line as well as use bright and simple colors to make weaving a communal and participatory experience. The use of bright colors and simplistic structure was also meant to emphasize the playfulness of music festivals. I wove on to strangers as well as friends, and had a few of my campground mates help me weave one of the pieces. I also unwound each structure to reuse the yarn, which relates to the limited resources available in both camping and remote locations. I also wanted to create several weavings in different spaces and representations of the festival. Ideas that I had when creating the looms was the temporary nature of such festivals, the construction and deconstruction of spaces, and the communal properties that weaving can have.