Kathleen Almelien is an artist and teacher from Washington, Iowa. Recently, Kathleen has been investigating the process and product of band weaving and rekindling her love for fiber. Kathleen began noticing the reoccurring band motifs that marked regions and valleys and that the bands were used as a shield to protect and repel evil. She has become interested in reading the Norwegian emojis that are woven into the historic rope and shared with all Scandinavian folk art.