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From the Hands of a Master Weaver

Tom Conde
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History:

The exact origins of Finger Weaving are lost in the history of time. Native Americans have developed several unique techniques for this ancient art, although it can be found in many different parts of the world. This style of weaving predates the loom and has been in existence for hundreds of years. It is found in numerous segments of civilization, but has been cultivated into a fine art by the American Indians. This extremely useful craft has evolved much since its conception and implementation into a very utilitarian art. Not only does each item have a function, but also are beautiful to the eye and exhibit distinct personalities of each weaver inadvertently woven into their individual works of art.

warp face  weaving, in what is now the eastern United States. These early patterns were created by pressing finger woven material into the wet clay of unfired pottery, thus leaving their woven designs consistent with later motifs indicative of Eastern Woodland Indians.  One of these sights is located near Wickliffe, Kentucky along a bluff overhang that overlooks the Mississippi River (Drooker, 1992). A few other such archeological sights are scattered about the eastern United States. From these prehistoric remains one can piece together a congruent configuration that comes down through the ages into the 21^st century, giving us at least a glimpse into our Native American past.

The Craft:

Finger Weaving is a method that is used to create many different functional items with designs and patterns utilizing only one set of threads. There are three different methods: Twining: used mostly for bags, netting and burden straps; Warp-faced weaving: these are the chevron, arrow, and lightning patterns, and Interface weaving: also called “Oblique”, this is a more open weave usually done in a single color with white beads sewn into the gaps. This particular method seems to be more common in the north. These three different styles use the same setup of threads but are woven differently. With this approach, sashes, garters, horn straps, bags and other utilitarian articles used throughout the 18^th century were designed and created.

Traditionally pre-contact materials for finger weaving included the inner bark of basswood, cedar and slippery elm trees, dogbane (Indian hemp), milkweed thistles and fibers, nettle, wormseed and other plant fibers, as well as strips of sinew and brain tanned hide. All were woven in the same manner, but with different degrees of fineness depending on the intended function. The materials used were all chosen for their flexibility as well as texture and color so that the products were very serviceable, yet aesthetically pleasing to the eye. DeVries, a celebrated Dutch trader and adventurer commented on the superior materials that Native Americans used in the early 1600's: "...and the savages use a kind of hemp, which they understand making up, that is much stronger than ours is, and for every purpose..." (Pearsalls v.2 p 972)

The long tradition of finger weaving is obvious from the intricate examples that have survived from the time of European contact. After European influence, these items were usually woven of wool, though there is a fine example of an original sash in Frankfort, Kentucky that is woven of silk threads. There are also some cotton examples found seemingly from the South East. After they were woven, the native people went on to include personal decorations such as porcupine quillwork, moose hair embroidery, metal cones (copper and tin) and dyed deer hair to further decorate these pieces. One has only to take a look at the varied designs in existing examples to realize the creativity and personal inspiration these artists held within to be able to bring into existence such pleasing items for everyday use.

Finger weaving techniques produced tumplines (burden straps for cradleboards, packs or other loads) and drag straps for sleds or toboggans, sashes, garters or similar items of clothing, and even small bags. Finger woven items measured from a few inches such as the “hair bob," a common adornment to the Cherokee, to more than five yards long, a needed length in burden or prisoner ties.  As in any design, the length or form was decided upon while taking in for consideration the intended use of this practical art form. There are several writings that describe the various uses, such as the comment in "New England Rarities" (Josselyn, 1672) an early European voyager, noting a burden strap used for a cradleboard: "...then putting the strap of leather upon their forehead with the infant hanging at their back home they trudge."

Indigenous art industries of America were severely disrupted by European contact and trade. Upon European contact, the Native Americans accepted and transformed many European techniques and materials into their existing traditions. Glass seed or pony beads (generally white) were now woven or sewn onto these belts or bags. It has been written that Native Americans unraveled yarn from new trade wool blankets, re-spun new string, and wove this into belts or garters that had diagonal, chevron, lightening and other designs, however, examples of work produced by this method have yet to be documented or identified.

French Canadian traders learned finger weaving from the Native Americans and began making what was later termed "Assomption" sashes, the name coming from their originating town in Quebec. They became so popular the colors and designs became standardized and were marketed through the Hudson Bay and Northwest Trade Companies. These wide tightly-woven sashes were worn as belts, garters, as straps for bags and powder horns and even wrapped around the head turban-style. Although Europeans tried to replace the market with machine-made copies, the art of finger weaving has survived the centuries and continues to be made and worn by Native Americans and other artist recreating the life of the eastern forests and Great Lakes.  

The Artist:

An artist is someone able to evoke an emotional response from another individual merely by his or her act of creation. Michalangelo wrote, “Art is an idea”. Over the recent years, the modern phenomenon of “Living History” (buckskinning, reenactments, etc.) has come into existence and as with any group, there have always been a few men and women that shine above all others in their art and craft. Individuals that not only seem to have great talent…but also spend untold hours of research, thought and practice allowing them to faithfully re-create not only historically correct items, but also to rediscover and use methods that were customary in days gone by. As students, collectors, and re-enactors study and learn about the most pure of reproduced 18^th century items, we come to recognize, identify and respect these chosen few that are setting the criteria in our modern 21^st century world.

In our world of Living History, there are many craftsmen and artists, and one of the Master Weavers would have to be Tom Conde. After years of study and experimentation with various methods and designs, Tom presents the Living History community with pieces that can rival most other finger weavers of any time period. Over the past 20 years or so…when one spoke of anyone associated with finger weaving two names that always came to mind were Dick Carney, now deceased, and Tim Connin, who lives in Ohio. These two artists are the examples that most everyone has used by which to set their standards and now there is another continuing in their footsteps shining along side them creating a new benchmark. Tom Conde has set a new scale by discovering archaic methods and using them to re-create and design articles in a fashion that has not been done since the 18^th century. Tom has a quiet manner that belies his trait of always being aggressively observant. Using keen observation skills in research he views and reviews old examples of weaving in museums and books, and then strives to figure them out. He experiments; making attempt after attempt until he succeeds in discovering the method, exact material, and dyes that were used in the original work of art. Then he takes it a step further and produces magnificent, breathtaking pieces that can only be termed “works of art”. The fascinating process that takes place as Tom works makes one want to watch for hours with an open mouth. His hands and fingers move rapidly back and forth as he weaves and one becomes entranced by the dance. If any of you have ever tried to finger weave, you realize it is not as easy as it looks, and you wonder how the muddled mesh in your hands could ever become something usable, much less beautiful!

Tom Conde’s items are not only stunning to behold but are very durable and attend to their function of bags, straps, fasteners and leads of the 18^th century style. He uses different wools to match the colors and textures of the years gone by and though it is difficult to find commercially prepared material it is not impossible and he does a remarkable job matching today’s looks and colors with yesteryears. This ability to focus on a particular interest is what has put him on the path of weaving and eventually on to natural dyeing, doing his best to carry on in the manner of Native American artists. No one that we know of, or at least in the public eye, has been able to discover and recreate the technique the natives were using to resist dye. Tom believes he has found the method that was most likely used, and acknowledges that it came from a painstakingly long period of trial and error. Resist dying is a process of where stripes or patterns of color that follow a beaded design are put into a piece after it has been completely woven. Tim Connin, in his article, “Finger Weaving”, (Book of Buckskinning VI ) states that “resist-dyed pieces were to his knowledge rather rare" though he was intrigued enough by them to include several examples of original resist-dyed articles in his article. It takes a special person, someone who is dedicated to his art to put his heart and soul into it as Conde does, tediously making effort after effort until coming up with the process, the precise method, that he finally knows to be the "right" one, that fits and feels just right.

As a child, history was a fascination and Tom read everything he could get his hands on regarding Cowboys, Indians, Mountain Men and other explorers and adventurers. There is an old saying that “one must know who they were… to know where they are going” and it appears that Tom took that to heart at a very early age. Working as a cowboy for several years, Tom was living in Colorado and June of 1990 went to his first rendezvous in New Mexico. This was a Mountain Man event and it launched him from reading into doing. He says, “By fall I had my own tent and begin hitting every event I could.” From there he ventured further into the world of Living History and upon much contemplation, decided that his persona could only be that of a Frenchman. Tom’s persona developed from his perspective that the “French” of the last half of the 18^th century were much more interesting and  led more adventuresome lives than that of the English. This led him to his interest in the finger woven objects that were commonly used and sold by the French Traders and also how they were made. With considerable searching he found no one out west who could teach him how to finger weave, so he turned to Tim Connin’s article in “The Book of Buckskinning” Vol.VI and Alta R. Turner’s book “Fingerweaving: Indian Braiding”.  These few writings aided him as he literally taught himself to weave. The year of 1994 was one of frustration, enjoyment, and enlightenment as he traveled the first time across the Mississippi river and came to Historic Mansker’s Station. Since then he has traveled extensively, researching across America, studying finger weaving at every opportunity. He has spent several years recreating the art of natural dyeing and specializes in resist dyed pieces. One astonishing fact; although he personally favors original works and prefers to not copy, he is able to look at a particular piece and just seems to "know" how it is put together. This has enhanced his status in the world of reenacting because he frequently shows up with pieces that are exact copies “from a museum” and for those of us that are into documentation what better example can there be.

In 1997 he moved to where he presently lives at Mouth of Wilson, Virginia, nestled in the mountains where he spends his time patiently weaving satisfying an immense desire to create. His hard work presents our Living History World with wonderful works of art for us to appreciate, covet and enjoy. We feel privileged to have had the opportunity to become friends with Tom Conde and truly welcome each of his contributions of art and the personal charisma that he presents unselfishly to the world.

                                                               Mel & Sandra Hankla

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