Armenian Needlelace (Janyak) hands-on workshop with Fiber Artist Emma Welty

Fiber Artist Emma Welty will be offering an Armenian Needlelace (Janyak) hands-on workshop at the Woodbury Public Library. The Armenian needlelace knot evolved from a net-making technique on the eastern banks of the Mediterranean to a decorative lace knot. Janyak is made simply with a needle and thread. Because it is made with lightweight and commonly found materials, it is a craft that has survived the forced displacement of many generations of Armenians. Over the last century, the craft of Armenian needle lace has been painstakingly preserved within communities of the Armenian-American diaspora through intergenerational instruction, how-to books, exhibitions, and, in recent years, video tutorials.

For this workshop, participants will be applying needlelace to existing cloth. This can be used for many applications including up-cycling clothing, adorning household textiles or other creative projects. Using a cloth base is also a great way to practice more complicated needlelace patterns and techniques. This lace technique takes time and patience. Workshop participants should expect to walk away with a few lace samples as well as resource guides for continued practice.

Emma Welty is an artist, researcher, educator and writer with a textile centered studio practice. Welty completed a BFA from Massachusetts College of Art and Design in Fibers and Art History and an MFA/MA in Visual Art and Art History at Purchase College. Welty’s work utilizes ancestral traditions of Armenian carpet and needlelace to explore economies of labor, notions of “heirloom” and cultural transmissions within a digital diaspora.
Welty has held residencies at the Newport Art Museum, Museum of Arts and Design and the Woodbury Public Library. Her work has recently been exhibited in the Newport Art Museum, Studio Hill Gallery in Woodbury, CT and Piano Craft Gallery in Boston, Joseph Gross Gallery at the University of Arizona and the Gilbert Gallery at Miss Porter’s School. Register for the needlealce workshop on the Library’s website www.woodburylibraryct.org or call 203-263-3502 for more information.