Weaving a Binary Conversation

The late twentieth century can inspire an art created in the Renaissance period. As a visual communications student, I am immersed in the world of computer graphics and artificial intelligence (AI) and have noticed that many people are relying on AI to create. With a few mouse clicks and thoughtfully worded queries, the project is done. Done but not created. I wanted to make something that was rooted in a time period before AI. Several years ago, I inherited a sixty inch Leclerc Nilus 4 Harness Floor Loom. It is a beautiful polished wood masterpiece that has terrified me, but I decided it was time to conquer my fears and learn to weave. My first piece was Binary Conversation, a wall hanging incorporating 8 bit binary code and a center panel representing a circuit board.

a sixty inch Leclerc Nilus 4 Harness Floor Loom

shuttles

A wrap board

Thread in three complementary colors

Flat copper wire

20 gauge copper wire

Copper brads

Steamer

Hanging hooks

A floor loom is both amazingly complex and simple. Countless computer searches created a wasted pile of tangled thread and left me feeling overwhelmed and questioning my ability to learn. According to an AI overview “In the 1700s, weaving apprenticeships typically lasted seven years. This period allowed apprentices to learn the trade from a master craftsman, gaining the skills and knowledge necessary to become proficient weavers.” I signed up for a weekend course at John Campbell folk school in North Carolina. It was an incredible experience.

Planning is a key part of weaving. The colors , dimensions and pattern must be decided before the thread is warped. My goal was to create a piece that included a reference to AI but also stressed the importance of not using AI to create art. I decided to use 8 bit binary code to spell the word “no” using a chevron pattern to represent “0” and a slash pattern to stand for the “1” in two colors. The panels are connected by draping the warp threads to look like electrical wires to a center panel has flat copper wire and brads to echo a computer circuit board

The first thing that I learned at the folk school was I needed a thread warp. In order to measure the thread for the warp ( the strings that form the foundation of the woven fabric and are threaded onto the loom), the thread must be wrapped on a thread warp. It is a precisely sized frame with wooden pegs and the yarn is wrapped in a figure eight pattern. For Binary Conversation, I wound 60 loops of thread, which will produce about four yards of fabric.

Sleying the loom is not a typo. However, it sounds like slaying, which is an accurate idea, because once you have mastered it, you can slay dragons, slay the day, slay your fears of weaving… It is the most time consuming part of weaving. Each thread must be tied to the breastbone, guided through its own headle, shaken and wound on the rear apron. Once it is done the threads must be counted to make sure that each one is separated.

First, the shuttles ,which hold the thread for the weft must be wound. Each color has its own shuttle. Now, the weaving can begin. The counting pattern for a chevron is 1-2-3-4 then 4-3-2-1 and each line of "binary code is about an inch wide. To weave the slash, the pattern is 1-2-3-4, 1-2-3-4. Once the word "NO" was coded into the fabric, 36 inches of the warp was pulled and wound around the front apron. The center panel was a simple flat weave and then another 36 inches of wrap was wound. The third panel has the same pattern as the first panel. Finally the project is ready to be cut off the loom. Each end is knotted into a fringe to prevent the piece from unraveling.

To visually imply a circuit board, I added flat copper wire of copper brads. I also cut flat copper wire to hang the piece on a coper pipe. To reinforce the top edge, copper wire was threaded through the salvage edge.

The panels were hung on a copper pipe, spaced and steamed. It was an amazing experience to create art weaving on a floor loom that has the same design as looms designed in the Renaissance period and has a hidden message about the use of AI in creative endeavors.