Interview with A Montana Living Treasure:
Joanne Hall
Cathy Koos
(all photos courtesy Joanne Hall)
Montana’s Living Treasure, Joanne Hall, spins, weaves, and fishes at the end of a country lane in rural Montana. As with many of us living the country life, reliable broadband often evades Joanne, so we conducted our interview the old-fashioned way – by correspondence.
Joanne began her educational foundation with an undergrad degree and master’s degree in Textile Design from the University of Minnesota. Following her graduate degree in the early 70s, she moved to the University of Montana, where she taught weaving and spinning. Another move found Joanne teaching at Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo and, as with most of us weaverly folk, she found a local guild. Eventually, she made her way back to Montana.
Cathy. “Teaching and sharing your knowledge of textiles and love of weaving is a continuous focus during your professional career. Tell me about your teaching program.”
Joanne. “I recently retired from teaching at Convergence (unless they talk me into it again). In addition to teaching at the University of Montana and Cal Poly, I have taught workshops from Edmonton in the north to Texas in the south, and East Coast to West Coast.
“Since the early 80s, I have traveled and taught four to ten workshops a year at weaving conferences, weaving shops, art centers, folk schools, weavers guilds and studios. I am also incredibly involved in my local guild’s education.
“During the pandemic shutdown, I taught six free workshops on the countermarch loom, using email. That way, the classes could be large — up to 150 participants. And, I had participants from the US and Canada, New Zealand, Australia, Eastern Europe, England, Europe, and many other places. What a treat that was! I also taught a [pandemic] class on weaving with long eyed heddles.
“[Currently] I offer workshops on beginning weaving and warping; tapestry on frame and floor looms; Swedish weaves; drawloom weaving; Swedish art weaves; transparencies; band weaving; and tying up the countermarch loom.”
With familial roots in Sweden and hailing from a rich weaving culture in Minnesota, Joanne now lives and works from home near Helena, Montana, not too far down the road from Mary Atwater’s studio. A longtime rep for Glimakra Looms, Joanne recently retired to pursue writing, teaching, and weaving. During her tenure with Glimakra, she designed the flagship Julia loom.
Cathy. “Tell me more about your partnership with Glimakra.”
Joanne. “In 1985, I began importing weaving yarns from Sweden to weave my tapestries and began importing weaving equipment for my studio and classes. This developed into Glimakra USA, distributing Swedish yarns and Glimakra equipment throughout the country.
“During that time, I expanded the knowledge of countermarch looms and in 2008, I designed the countermarch for their new Julia loom.”
Cathy. “You also have a rich legacy as a published author.”
Joanne. “My first book was Mexican Tapestry Weaving in 1976, followed in 2004 with Tying Up the Countermarch Loom. Learning to Warp Your Loom came in 2010, and Weaving with Long Eyed Heddles came out in 2018, with Drawloom Weaving book in 2018.”
Cathy. “Can you share some of your accolades?”
Joanne. “In 1973 I began weaving commission tapestries and selling my work in galleries. In 1996, I was awarded the honor of weavers in Montana, named a Montana Living Treasure.
“With help from my cousin Astrid, who was visiting from Sweden, we made an ornament to adorn the White House Christmas tree.
“Besides numerous flower tapestries, I also wove many tapestries with skies. I wove a series of six as a commission for the fish and game headquarters in Bozeman.”
If you ever have the opportunity, run – don’t walk – to register for one of Joanne’s classes!