Åsa Pärson: Yoroke

In 1993 I was studying at the Textile University [Väfskolan] in Borås. The tuition in hand-weaving had a fine reputation far beyond the confines of Sweden and many foreign students attended the college. At the same time that I was in Borås there was a student from Japan who, having completed her studies at Väfskolan, had returned in order to complete a project that was to be exhibited at the Museum of Textiles [Textilmuseet] in Borås. Every evening she wove assiduously on the upper floor, and those of us who were working on the floor below would make our way up to where she was working in order to check on her progress. The wave-shaped pattern that she created seemed very special. The following year I started studying in the textiles department at Konstfack – University of Arts, Crafts and Design in Stockholm. One of the assignments was to weave using a so-called fan reed. Since that time I have regularly worked with these reeds in a variety of projects. This is an account of my fan reeds during the space of 23 years.