Hazel Schwass

1925, Wadena, Saskatchewan, Canada–2011, Calgary, Alberta, Canada

In 1943, 18-year-old, Saskatchewan born artist and weaver Hazel Schwass devoted 210 hours to the Searle Grain Company’s concentrated weaving study program.

Building on this foundation, she continued studies with Margreet van Walsem and Kate Waterhouse at the Saskatchewan Summer School for the Arts in Fort Qu’Appelle, SK and with Mary Snyder at Banff. Known in Lethbridge as an influential teacher and “the lady who made saddle blankets,” Schwass also produced more experimental works that incorporate elements of her blankets—juicy padding, rectangular shape, and a single fringe—in novel and expressive forms. She was an influential teacher at Lethbridge Community College and active member of the Lethbridge Handicraft Guild; the Handspinners, Weavers and Dyers of Alberta; the Handweavers, Spinners and Dyers of America; and the Lethbridge Allied Arts Council.