Resident weaves colors into creations
By Angela Randazzo Special to the Acorn

DREAM WEAVER- Simi Valley artist Deborah Jarchow works at one of her several looms.

To some it may seem like a lost art, but for Simi Valley artist Deborah Jarchow, weaving is a contemporary skill and one of her greatest passions.

Jarchow performs her magic on looms of various sizes, some of a scale seen in centuries past.

"I have several big looms. On the biggest one I can weave something 55 inches wide," she said.

Jarchow starts out with yarn to make the fabric and create her own patterns.

"It's the kind of thing where you sit in front of the loom and you operate part of it with your feet and part with your hands and you raise up different threads," Jarchow said. "You put the threads in from side to side- that's how you create a pattern."

Jarchow doesn't primarily weave patterns. The artist does what is known as "plain weaving."

"It's a very simple structure where you go over one thread and under the next and so on," she said. "If you look at a tablecloth or placemat, that's the kind of weave structure. I get most of my interest from color and texture."

Jarchow uses rayon chenille or mixed fibers to create scarves, ponchos and shawls. The beauty of a piece comes from finding the perfect combination of colors and textures, she said.

"The really time-consuming part is in the concept. When I do the garments, I'll sit around with different colors of yarn in front of me and figure out if they're the right colors that go together."

Jarchow said she finds great satisfaction creating something pleasing to the eye and to the touch.

"You can just wrap yourself in something beautiful that feels luxurious and become a walking piece of art."

Jarchow began weaving as a full-time pursuit in 1996. Since then, she's displayed and sold her creations at numerous venues in California, Colorado, Arizona and other states.

Her garments and some gallery pieces will be on display this month- on Feb. 22, 23 and 24- at the second annual Santa Monica Arts Festival at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium. Her work has been featured in magazines such as Creative Knitting and has earned her several awards. In 2005, her Paradise Puffs Poncho won Handwoven magazine's award for "best use of fiber" in an international competition.

Even as a child growing up in Ohio, Jarchow knew she wanted to be an artist. She majored in art at the University of Cincinnati, but the school did not have classes in fiber art.

"I went to college to study art- originally I was in the interior design program," she said. "I painted and did a lot of pen and ink. I didn't realize you could be a fiber artist."

Along with 22 other artists, Jarchow has a studio at the Studio Channel Islands Art Center in Camarillo, a nonprofit organization on the Cal State Channel Islands campus. Jarchow also teaches weaving and offers a number of workshops at her studio.

"There's a community of artists who have studios- painters, ceramics people, sculptors and one other fiber artist," she said. "I get a lot of influence just in hanging out with other artists. We're a real community."

For more information visit www.deborahjarchow.com