Weaving activities supply surprise fun

Nearly 60 students participated in Fall Fest's FUN-damentals of Weaving put on by Homewood Museum this weekend. The event was organized by Abi Knipsher, the museum‘s visitor services coordinator.

In the museum's historical cellar, students were given the opportunity to weave a bracelet or bookmark. Weaving materials and snacks were provided.

According to the Fall Fest schedule, FUN-damentals of Weaving was marked as a free t-shirt event.  

While weaving is not a part of the typical Hopkins student's life, Homewood Museum wanted to celebrate a novel activity that was a daily part of life in the nineteenth century.

"Textiles are an item with which we are surrounded every day — whether clothing, bedding, or towels," said Catherine Rogers Arthur, Director and Curator of Homewood Museum in an e-mail to The News-Letter.

"They are largely something we give minimal thought to, especially in terms of how they are made. In early-nineteenth-century Maryland, however, textiles were comparatively rare and expensive with the most luxurious items imported from abroad."

At the event, Hopkins students tried their hand at cardboard weaving.

Using a cardboard loom, Knipsher helped students fill their warps with various colors of yarn to create  different patterns.

Some students came with a particular project in mind.

"I was interested in making a bracelet because I thought it'd make a good gift," junior Rick Fenrich said. "I'll probably give it to my sister or my girlfriend."

For others, weaving was an effective way to relax after a day of classes.

"It's really relaxing," freshman Kaylin Gonzalez said. "I wanted to see what I could make."

Other students saw the event as an artistic relief from more quantitative classes.

"It was a good alternative to calculus," freshman Jess Fong said.

Many students hadn't participated in an art for years.

Several engineering and science majors came to rediscover a childhood pastime.

"I really like arts and crafts and I don't get a chance to do it in my classes," Jennifer Lu, a freshman chemical and bio-molecular engineering major.

When the event was first advertised among the other Fall Fest events, many students doubted the event would be popular.

Sophomore Beth Flaherty thought that there wouldn't be many students attending the event.

"I was surprised at the amount of people," she said. "But I had never weaved before, and I love it right now."

The event's organizers were also pleased with the turnout.

"The turnout surpassed our expectations," Rogers Arthur said. "It was great to see such a large number of students seek us out within the space of two hours."

Beyond weaving, Homewood Museum is seeking to find new ways to reach out to the student body, according to Rogers Arthur.

The Homewood museum offers candlelit tours, horse-drawn carriage rides and social dancing each year.  

With a J-Card, museum admission is free.  

Homewood Museum's next program is a series of lectures on landscape design in the 1800s, to be held in Gilman Hall on Mondays, October, 10, 17, and 24.

Opened in 1988 as a museum, Homewood Museum was originally a country house for Charles Carroll Jr. According to the museum's website, Homewood House is "renowned for its elegant proportions, fine workmanship and extravagant details, including intricately carved woodwork, stylish faux finishes and ornate plaster ceiling ornaments."

‘Homewood offers exhibitions, lectures, and programs and serves as a teaching museum for undergraduate classes," Rogers Arthur said.

The undergraduate class Introduction to Material Culture, in the Museums & Society Program, finishes the semester with a student-curated show at the museum which focuses on some aspect of early life in Baltimore.

Many Hopkins undergraduates do not know about these events, however. FUN-damentals of Weaving was a way for many students to have their first introduction to the museum's different offerings.

"I never know about these events, but I would love to participate in these events if I knew about them," freshman Vanessa Pan said. "I think the Homewood Museum is a nice place that I would probably want to go visit sometime after the weaving event. It seems like something people under-appreciate because it's right on campus."

"I want to visit again and take a tour now that I've done the weaving," freshman Zeba Hashimi said. "The people there helping us were really kind."

The event left a positive impression of the museum for many students.

After two hours of weaving and chatting with friends, students took home a bracelet or a bookmark.

Additionally, they had a chance to meet other students and unwind in a calm environment.

At the end of the event, many students expressed an interest in weaving again.

"The next time I have a four hour gap between classes, I'm coming here to weave," freshman Lisa Kamran said.

For other students, weaving was a great alternative to other weekend activities.

"It was better than, ‘Oh let's drink!'"  sophomore Alexandra Scanameo said.

Other attendees seemed to share the same sentiment.

"Time really flies when you're weaving," Flaherty said.