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Today we're sharing an interview with Steven Salazar, a multi-faceted textile artist, teacher, and designer. We love his insatiable curiosity for all things fiber, and are excited to offer a peek into his world in this interview. Enjoy!
For many years I wanted to learn how to weave. Around 2010, I visited Española Valley Fiber Arts Center in Española, NM. When I opened the door, I was greeted by a room full of floor looms. They looked so complicated I immediately became intimidated and walked out. It wasn’t enough to silence the curiosity, though. During the beginning of the pandemic, I thought it was finally time to learn how to weave. I became consumed with online videos of weaving calculations and warping the loom. A few months later I was lucky to find a rigid heddle loom considering the supply chain shortages at the time. I was also learning how to dye wool. I was so excited when my first experiment using food color was successful. Since then, I have learned how to dye wool and cotton with natural dyes, how to dye cotton with fiber reactive dyes, how to dye wool with acid dyes and I have also learned how to spin.
Seasons of Miami Towels, designed by Steven Salazar, photo by Monique Juliette Baron
During my time as a weaver, I have served as president of my local weaving and spinning guild for a year, published a kitchen towel draft with Gist Yarn (pictured above), and have been featured in the Creators of Louët Instagram series. I have taught weaving both in a classroom setting and to private students. I also teach color theory and fiber reactive dyeing classes at a local store.
For me that is easy! I love to learn. I focus my creative attention on what I want to learn next. For example, I was once told it was very difficult to weave with linen on a rigid heddle loom. It was a challenge I was ready for. Seven linen scarves later, I felt I had mastered weaving with linen on a rigid heddle loom.
Dyeing yarn just seemed so simple, I had to try it for myself. My first experiments were tonals and solids. Then as a sock knitter, I decided I had to try dyeing self striping sock yarn. I decided to tame my ambition from four colors to two colors. There wasn’t much information online at the time, and the information that was available had critical steps missing. After some reverse engineering, I finally figured it out. It was a very exciting moment for me.
I think a comprehensive understanding of color theory is so valuable for any fiber artist. Knowing how colors relate to one another can deepen the satisfaction of the experience and finished projects as well as help avoid potential disappointments; especially in weaving where warp and weft colors can interact very differently than any other fiber art.
In the examples above, yellow is used as a neutral which is not a color usually thought of as a neutral. If you carefully study the examples, you’ll notice the yellow bordered by the blue stripes leans slightly toward green. It’s the exact same yellow as the others, but it makes sense since blending yellow and blue creates green. It’s your eyes doing the blending in something referred to as optical blending. Woven color gamps are a great example of optical blending. An area of weaving that looks green may actually be a blue warp and yellow weft.
My first loom was a 15” Schacht Cricket with a stand. I later invested in a 16” Ashford rigid heddle loom on which I’ve done most of my rigid heddle weaving.
Yes, my favorite loom is my 12 shaft Louët Spring. When I acquired it, I was completely obsessed with complex weave structures. I mistakenly thought that the more shafts involved in a draft, the more complex the weave structure was. After a while, I realized many drafts involving more than 10 shafts are really just Straight Twill and Point Twill creating complex patterns with the additional shafts. That was when I realized weave structure and pattern are two very different things. The main reason the Spring is my favorite loom is because of the engineering behind it. I feel very fortunate to weave on a countermarche loom.
My current favorite piece is this tote bag I made, pictured below. I love the optical illusion the weave structure creates. It looks like ribbons that have been woven together. The borders are a deep black cherry color. I currently have a blue version on the loom with navy borders.
I’m currently reading a book that has a really great section on block weaves and unit weaves. Earlier I mentioned I was very interested in complex weave structures. Block weaves and unit weaves are where the complexities of weaving reside and many of them require only four shafts. Translating profile drafts using blocks and units is very inspiring to me. I was very surprised to learn that one simple unit of Huck can create four different weave structures and that’s on only four shafts. It’s astonishing what can be done with Overshot Halftones on eight shafts. It is very inspiring that one profile draft can be translated into Overshot, Huck, Summer and Winter, and even Turned Twill just to name a few!
I am also inspired by weaving Plain Weave with color changing yarns. Since I started knitting long before I started weaving, I have a significant stash of knitting yarns. I love the way colors interact when gradient, ombre, or variegated yarns are woven in Plain Weave. I feel like it really showcases the color interactions.
I used gradient yarn for the turquoise and purple scarf shown above. The lighter colors are in the weft on the left side of the scarf. You can see how the warp colors intensify as the weft travels to the darker colors on the right side of the scarf.
The coral and yellow weaving shown above uses a variegated yarn I dyed. I am so fascinated by what happens in the intersections of colors in the warp and weft. Sometimes there are stripes and sometimes there are color blocks. Because there isn’t much contrast between the colors, if you used one of the colors for warp and one of the colors for weft the whole project would be flat with no dimension. Using color in this way can be very effective in creating dimension with colors that would normally have no visual impact together.
Joining a local weaving guild can be tremendously helpful. Experienced weavers are very generous with their knowledge. If you don’t have a guild local to you, there are many online forums available. Just exercise caution when asking for advice online. Be sure you are receiving answers from experienced weavers.
All photos and graphics courtesy of Steven Salazar unless otherwise noted.
Steven spent many years thinking of learning to weave. At craft fairs, he was often enchanted by the handwoven cloth and small table looms on display. He bought his first rigid heddle loom in May 2020. Within a few months, an 8 shaft table loom arrived, and a year later a 12 shaft countermarche loom. Currently, Steven enjoys weaving very simple to very complex weave structures focusing on high end luxury fibers.
