WEAVE WITH US: Colorful Textural Tapestry Making at Olive Rush Historic Artist Home & Garden – Santa Fe, NM

JOIN US DECEMBER 12TH

Santa Fe fiber artist Leigh Oviatt invites you to into the rich world of weaving - right here in Olive Rush's living room!

In 1956, 83-year-old Olive Rush sold the four-room adobe house next door, which she had rented to artist friends and family members since 1930, to 27-year-old Japanese-American fiber artist Alice Kagawa Parrot and her husband, Allen Parrott. Despite the age difference between them, Alice and Olive were friends. Alice became well known for her vibrant transcultural mixing of materials and methods and her visionary modern perspective on weaving - which she carried out on Canyon Road for the rest of her long life.

Today, Santa Fe fiber artist Leigh Oviatt invites you to learn the meditative art of weaving - right here in Olive’s living room!

In this 3-hour class, participants will be introduced to frame-loom weaving techniques. You’ll be encouraged to explore texture, color, and design with a variety of materials to choose from. You’ll learn the fundamental elements of weaving including how to set up a loom, while also being encouraged to play and experiment. Participants will create a beautiful 5” x 8” textural tapestry to take home.

Instruction also covers tapestry design, working with color, and techniques for creating rich, dynamic textures.

You will leave this workshop with one small wall hanging + 2 frame looms of different sizes from Hello Looms, plus weaving materials, for you to continue your weaving practice anywhere. Beginners and experienced makers are welcome!

TEACHER: Leigh (https://www.leighoviatt.com) is a multidisciplinary artist and educator currently immersed in weaving and fiber art. She grew up on a cattle ranch in Bozeman, Montana, spending her early years exploring the outdoors within a family of artists, cowboys, and educators. After more than 25 years in the rugged Pacific Northwest, she relocated to the gorgeous wide-open landscapes of New Mexico in 2018.

Throughout her life, Leigh has explored a wide range of creative practices including weaving, painting, jewelry fabrication, darkroom and street photography, film production, and set design. Her entrepreneurial spirit has been a parallel creative path, leading her to found a successful landscape design and build company with an accompanying cactus and succulent nursery in Oregon, and later to open an integrative wellness center that housed the first float tank on the Oregon coast.

Leigh has exhibited her photography and fiber art in galleries and shows across Washington, Oregon, Texas, California, and New Mexico. She was selected as a Harwood Art Center SURFACE: Emerging Artist of New Mexico in 2023, and received an Artist Inc. Fellowship in 2025. She is currently working towards her bachelor’s degree in Art Education at the University of New Mexico. She lives and works in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where her days are spent studying, making art, tending plants, and wandering the high desert with her sweet rescue animals.

COST & MATERIALS: The cost of instruction is $85. Additionally, each student pays a materials fee of $40 which covers ALL materials needed to create your weaving; plus leave class with materials to complete 2 more weavings. Materials fee paid directly to instructor at start of class. Materials fee covers:

• Looms
• Warp thread
• Felted Merino wool
• Merino wool roving and yarn
• Love Fest Fibers color core yarn
• Acrylic yarn in a multitude of colors
• Scissors
• Plastic needles