Shuttle Works Studio - Janice Zindel

Shuttle Works Studio is located in my home in Eagle River, Vilas County, WI. The area is known for its beautiful lakes, forests, wildlife, hunting, fishing. There are trails for the silent sports of biking in summer and cross-country skiing and snowshoeing in winter, as well as snowmobile and ATV trails. County and state lands provide wonderful hiking trails.

My interests and passions are textile related. I am a handweaver, and also spin, wet-felt, indigo dye, and other related fiber arts. For the past eleven years I have focused on the woven shibori technique, weaving scarves and cowls which are indigo dyed. I will continue to explore this technique which I find fascinating, and has endless possibilities.

My paternal grandparents emigrated from Norway. I have many memories of my grandmother. A 1974 trip to Scandinavia brought Norwegian textiles to my attention, and I have never forgotten. My weaving interests have now moved to Norwegian/Scandinavian textiles and techniques, both historical and contemporary. I am looking forward to weaving both reproductions as well as being inspired by techniques and colors to create original works.

I weave on Swedish Glimakra looms, a 48″ 10 shaft/12 treadle standard loom, a 60″ wide Regina vertical tapestry loom, a 44″ 10 shaft/10 treadle drawloom, and a band loom. In 2025 I will be adding a 60″ wide warp-weighted loom. There is a large warping mill, various other pieces of equipment, spinning wheels, and a CSM, a circular sock-knitting machine.

I have been on the Northwoods Art Tour since 2009, both July and October tours, where area artists open their studios to the public, three days on each tour, to visit and learn what the artists create, and see demonstrations.

I am looking forward to getting to know other artists and makers on The Creative PlaceMakers site. It is always so interesting to see how individuals work and create using various tools and techniques to create original textiles and fiber arts works. I have always loved visiting artists in their studios, seeing where they work, works in progress, finished pieces, and hope to do that with makers close enough to travel to.

Languages and travel:

In 1974 I made a three week trip to Denmark, Finland, Sweden, and Norway. The memories that stand out from that trip are the beauty of those countries, from charming, safe cities to the pristine, rugged, and unforgettable beauty when traveling across the less populated areas. The people I met were all kind, friendly, helpful, and proud of their countries.

I have taken Norwegian language classes online via Zoom from instructors teaching for Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum. After two years away from the classes, I am back in my books, an app, and plan to go back to those classes to refresh my memory and continue learning. Being a weaver with a long interest in Norwegian/Scandinavian textiles, I have collected a small library of weaving books in those languages. I have weaving/textile glossaries in Norwegian, Swedish, Finnish, and Danish, and though familiar with some terms, my goal is to be able to read more text, background, and history in those books.

Sustainability and diversity:

In my weaving I use new threads and yarns, most from Sweden, and always high quality and natural fibers. For some weaving such as rag rugs, the warp threads are new as they must be strong, but used sheets, fabric, clothes, are used for the weft materials. For wet-felting and some spinning, I purchase fleece in natural colors from small farms, who raise and breed the sheep for quality fleece for handspinning. For knitting, I purchase roving from individuals who wash and card the fibers themselves, or who use small mills to do the washing/carding process. But most often I purchase fleece from people who raise sheep and sell the fleece to spinners. It is very satisfying to choose a fleece, wash it yourself, card it yourself using handcards or a drum carder, then spin the beautiful fibers into handspun yarn. It is the best yarn for knitting,

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