Tuija Hansen

Joining us From: Thunder Bay, Ontario

On Loom: 2

Tell us about yourself and what led to the Residency?

I am an artist residing and working in Northwestern Ontario, Canada. My artwork focuses on capturing time and place through the use of plant-dyed colors. I cultivate many dye plants in my Zone 3 garden and forage for favorites such as lupin, goldenrod, and lobster mushrooms in the rural area surrounding my family’s home.

My practice is seasonal: I gather colors in the summer and fall and then weave during the long winter months. This pursuit of plant-derived color provides me with a wonderful supply of wool ready for weaving.

Have you had any previous experience with Digital Weaving or Jacquard?

While I mainly enjoy weaving in the weft-faced Finnish tradition known as “Raanu,” I consider myself fortunate to have attended prior digital weaving residencies at both the Icelandic Textile Center and Praxis Fiber Workshop. These experiences have helped me further develop methods for displaying and highlighting my plant-dyed research in woven form.

Any goals for the residency that you would like to share?

As this is my second time at the Digital Weaving Lab, I look forward to settling into the daily routine that will allow me to be as productive as possible during this highly sought-after and precious time at the TC2 loom. I hope to create ten new weavings that utilize wool dyed during my residencies in Scotland (2024) and Iceland (2025), highlighting the colors from plants foraged in specific locations.

Connect with Tuija:

Instagram: @tuija_hansen, visit my website at https://www.tuijahansenfibredesign.ca/, and follow my Substack, where I will soon write more about the garden-to-loom process, at https://tuijahansen.substack.com/.