Susi Reinink reminisces about participating in the first year of the Ontario Handweavers and Spinners Master Weaver certificate course and discusses how weaving education has changed with new technology.

Susi Reinink reminisces about participating in the first year of the Ontario Handweavers and Spinners Master Weaver certificate course and discusses how weaving education has changed with new technology.

July 05, 2021

© Kingston Handloom Weavers and Spinners

Shaelagh Cull

Susi Reinink

Zoom

It definitely has changed a lot, what people present and how they present it, in two ways. First of all, on the local Guild level, it is much more creative. It used to be quite technical, and quite predictable, what you see. We always have a show and tell and to me that is one of the nicest parts of the meetings, because you can see what people are doing. Not just that, but people can ask questions, what did I do wrong, what would you suggest for another thing to do and so on. But what you're seeing now is, in a way, much more creative than 40 years ago. And also, with the OHS, the changes there through that education program is just immense. I mean, I was in the first group of graduates of the Master Weaver course, which is now called the Weaving Certificate Course and you can get your Masters with the thesis. So I was in the first group, I was also in the first group of handing in an in-depth study. Our in-depth studies, if you compare it with what people are now submitting as homework, it pales to it. I mean, what they are now submitting looks much more professional, much more detailed, much more technical, but of course, you know, it's also the equipment that we can use. I mean, like, the computers - and I remember, for example, that, besides our free having been President of the Guild for, I think it was in '84, '85, I also was doing the bullet at the bulletin was type written, had to be stencilled, had to be put in an envelope, had to put a stamp on it had to be address had to be sent. Well, now, you can do it, you know, over the internet. So just even the desktop editing has been such an improvement on presentations of assignments and in depth studies. There was actually one in depth study that was handwritten in '84.