Event Details: https://www.internationalfolkart.org/event/details/5172/2022/11/hair-weaving-workshop-with-karen-keenan

Scandianavian hair weaving expert, teacher & scholar Karen Keenan presents a 2 hour workshop on the  Gimping Technique.

One of 4 traditional sentimental era hairwork techniques, gimping was widely used to create handcrafted items such as brooches, gift cards, and for home adornments such as framed and hung hair wreaths. It and other hairwork techniques became less commonly made after the early 1900’s. Class participants will learn this technique by making multiple gimped strands with synthetic hair and wire. Shaped strands will then be attached to a card to keep or give to a friend or loved one.

To register for the free workshop email: leslie.fagre@state.nm.us

The workshop is restricted to 12 participants, but there will also be a waiting list if necessary.

In 2018, Karen received  a Reviving Folk Arts in the Midwest Fellowship through the American Scandinavian Foundation, to travel to Våmhus, home of her ancestors. There she learned how to make table-made hair jewelry from Joanna Svensson, a master hairworker. In October 2019, the Nordic Center in Duluth, MN featured a hair jewelry exhibition curated by Karen. She began teaching hair jewelry making, first at the Nordic Center and then at North House Folk School in Grand Marais, MN. 

Please contact the organizer directly or see their website for more details and information.

**I’m sharing this event on Hair Anthropology because Karen Keenan is one of my fabulous hairwork mentors and an integral part of our community.