What happens when you stop controlling and start observing? That’s the question Louise Martin is bringing to Los Angeles, California, this October—and it might change the way you think about the loom.
The American Tapestry Alliance (ATA) is hosting Martin, a weaver from the Shetland Isles in the UK, for a three-day workshop at the LA Tactile Lab, this October 14 through 16. Martin’s practice pushes materiality and structure into unexpected territory. Weaving with paper yarn, sisal, and other non-traditional materials, she creates work that is sometimes densely woven, sometimes translucent, always surprising. Her current work forms map-like structures that consider not just what is woven but what is left unwoven, stretched, pulled, or exposed.
Louise Martin; Lifetime; 2021; silk, linen, cotton, paper warp and weft; 49.25 x 51.25 in.
Her description of the workshop says it better than anything else could:
“During the workshop, we will discover what can happen when the conventional limits and uses of warp and weft are exceeded. What happens if warps are not all of the same material, weight, or spacing, if they are grouped, added to, pulled, and left exposed? We will be working quickly, freely, and directly onto the loom, seeking to question and to explore.”
The workshop is built around a series of exercises designed to get students working directly into weave—reacting to materials without prior design work. No sketches, no plans. Just hand, mind, and loom. Martin asks participants to bring their knowledge and love of tapestry technique and then be willing to apply it with a completely fresh mind—spontaneously and intuitively, observing rather than controlling the results. The goal is to ignite sparks that might inform or transform future work.
Louise Martin and Ros Bryant with their new book.
Louise Martin; Two Blues; 2019; linen, cotton, silk warp and weft; 9.75 x 10.25 in.
Louise Martin; Whispered Words; 2016; paper warp and weft; 98.5 x 137.75 x 177.25 in.
Suitable for intermediate and advanced weavers, this workshop is open to both members and non-members of the American Tapestry Alliance.
The ATA has been building toward moments like this since Hal Painter and Jim Brown founded the alliance in 1982 with a simple goal: to unite tapestry weavers and promote appreciation for the art form. More than four decades later, the organization offers juried exhibitions, awards, a mentorship program that matches members with master weavers, and scholarships for study locally and abroad including at West Dean in England. Online programming has opened access for weavers who face barriers to in-person learning. Tapestry itself is seeing a genuine resurgence among younger makers drawn to its slower, meditative quality.
Louise Martin; Island; 2023; wool, linen, silk, cotton, nettle and hemp; 50.5 x 60 x 1.25 in.
This workshop is exactly the kind of opportunity the ATA exists to make possible—an internationally recognized artist, an intimate setting, and three days to push beyond what you thought the loom could do.
LA Tactile Lab, Los Angeles | Oct 14–16, 2026 | 9:00 AM–5:00 PM each day
Learn more and register at americantapestryalliance.org
Louise Martin: louisemartintapestry.com
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Cami Smith is the Fiber Art Now media manager, community engagement coordinator, and a mixed-media artist.
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