Established in 1974 by Norma Smayda, the Saunderstown Weaving School will allow you to greatly expand your weaving horizons. Instruction is individualized for beginning and advanced students, with each student weaving projects of choice. Instruction includes designing the projects, warping the loom and weaving. There is a strong emphasis on traditional weaves, the works of Weaver Rose and Bertha Gray Hayes, and Scandinavian techniques, as well as design and weaving theory.
The school houses an assortment of about 40 floor looms and maintains a very large weaving library.
In 2014 the school celebrated its 40th anniversary, again with an exhibition at Hera Gallery in Wakefield, RI.
The school has received international recognition, and has a number of prize-winning weavers, at both regional and national levels. Talents are recognized, ideas are shared, and weavers offer each other encouragement that lets us stretch to the next level of our technical and artistic skills.
The Saunderstown Weaving School provides a supportive environment in which to learn and pursue handweaving in theory and in practice.
