Norma Rosier

I like the process of taking something that you could call string, and creating a finished object with it, building it up to end up with something that you can wear. Starting with nothing, especially with spinning... you start with a fleece straight off the sheep and first you spin it, then you knit it, and that's a whole set of creative processes...And at the end of it you have an object that you have made to be the thing that you want.

In 1980, Norma Rosier learned to weave and spin in Bradford, England, the centre of the British woollen industry. She participated in the Bradford Weaving Guild, and after taking a course on rug weaving in Wales, Rosier decided to pursue weaving professionally while continuing to work as a Chemical Database Editor. She started selling rugs and transitioned into tapestry weaving while living in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. She eventually moved to Canada, choosing to live close to Kingston in order to meet other fibre artists at KHWS. Rosier has served on the Guild's Board of Directors and in various roles on the Committee and has led workshops in tapestry and rug weaving.

Norma Rosier talks about weaving in Bradford, Wales, and the Outer Hebrides of Scotland, the inspiration behind her tapestries, and her involvement in KHWS:

Norma Rosier discusses how she learned to weave and describes her process for creating tapestries.

Norma Rosier's triptych tapestry of the Hebrides, Scotland.

Norma Rosier's technique of leaving enough slack in the weft, for tapestry weaving on a horizontal loom.