The Weaving Workshop

Hi! My name is Dee Clements, I am an artist working in basketry and ceramics. I am building a new basketry and fibercraft school in Chicago called The Weaving Workshop.

While I work on creating a new website for the school, I have already begun in-person workshops and programming in my brick-and-mortar storefront space that has served as my studio for 2 years, located in Chicago’s Marshall Square/Little Village Neighborhood.

*A note on the name "The Weaving Workshop"

From 1919 to 1933, a now legendary school for art and design in Germany called The Bauhaus produced some of the most brilliant artists, designers, craftspeople, and architects of the last century. However, women faced discrimination when seeking to enroll, especially in architecture, ceramics, or painting programs. As a result, a department was established called the Weaving Workshop, which focused on textile studies and provided “a more suitable space” for women to pursue their art education. The Weaving Workshop became known for its innovative and technical work in weaving and textiles. Anni Albers, Gunta Stolz, and Otti Berger, to name a few, were some of the women who established textiles and weaving at the Bauhaus as a serious craft both for industry and artistic expression. This department and the remarkable women who contributed to its legacy serve as the inspiration for my school of the same name.