Find me in the slow and rhythmic beat of my handloom, watching the energy of a thought transform into the tangible manifestation of cloth.

My Story

I'm Dani Ortman, a handweaver, spinner, and natural dyer.

For nearly twenty years, I have returned to my loom as a place of meditation and making. My work is a heartfelt expression of the otherwise ineffable, the mystical becoming of something unimaginable, manifesting itself in the tangible form of woven cloth.

I weave on a Leclerc 8-shaft Nilart floor loom, working with combinations of silk, organic cotton, linen, hemp, and wool. All of my patterns are self-designed. Each piece is the culmination of thousands of hours of focused, the grace of mind, the endurance of body, and the dedication of spirit woven together into cloth.

I produce my collections in small quantities, released 1–2 times per year. I have studios in Canada and Austria.

A woman with long blonde hair sitting outdoors on a tree stump surrounded by green foliage, wearing a black dress and a light blue shawl with fringes.

I graduated with honours in Fibre Arts from the Kootenay School of the Arts in 2009, and by 2015 had established my full-time practice as a handweaver and artist.

Over the following decade, my work was exhibited internationally from Toronto to Vienna, from Palos Verdes to Haslach and recognized with awards in craftsmanship, design, and textile arts. I served the Guild of Canadian Weavers for over a decade, including four years as President and eight years as Editor of their publication.

In 2018 and 2020, I was honoured to receive the Northern Arts Project Grant from the Ontario Arts Council, which deepened my skills as a weaver and natural dyer.

In 2023, I was among the textile artists selected for the World of Threads Festival, one of the leading international showcases of contemporary fibre and textile art.

I have since retired from all volunteer roles to return fully to my own practice. The 2026 collection is currently on the loom.

Overhead view of a woman with blonde hair in a bun, sitting at a wooden weaving loom, working on weaving fabric.

My path as a weaver has always been inseparable from my inner life. The loom is where I have done some of my deepest work, in stillness, repetition, in the slow accumulation of thread upon thread.

In 2025, I honourably graduated with highest honours from Pacific Rim College as a Registered Clinical Herbalist and Certified Intuitive Coach (2022), founding Angelica Herbal to support others in their own healing journeys. My work in the healing arts and my work at the loom are two expressions of the same devotion: to the handmade, the heart-centred, and the enduring.

I believe in objects that hold space. I believe in the vitality of cloth. I believe in the quiet power of making something slowly, with full presence.

To know more about herbalism or check out my lovely herbal tea blends please visit my sister site: www.angelicaherbal.com

Warmly, Dani

A woman in a long, purple, lace dress holds a bunch of lavender flowers in a garden with colorful flowers and trees.

Achievements

Exhibitions & Shows

2023 — World of Threads Festival, Oakville, Canada
Leading international showcase of contemporary fibre and textile art

2021 — Blickfang Designmesse, MAK Vienna, Austria

2021 — Haslach Textile Show, Kultur Haslach, Austria

2019 — Carnegie Craft RetroActive, Carnegie Gallery, Dundas, Canada
Exhibited: 'Not For the Faint of Heart'

2018 — Complexities & Cloth, Toronto Design Festival + Artscape Youngplace, Toronto, Canada

2017 — Nothing is Newer than Craft, Art Gallery of Burlington, Canada
Exhibited: 'Smoke on the Water' — Handwoven, hand-dyed silk, plant dyes, organic cotton

2017 — Carnegie Craft Juried Biennial Exhibition, Carnegie Gallery, Dundas, Canada
Exhibited: 'Blue Heron' — Handwoven, hand-dyed organic cotton, natural indigo, silk

2017 — Journey of a Woven Thread, Solo Exhibition, Artists on Elgin Gallery, Sudbury, Canada

2017 — Wearable Expressions 7th International Juried Exhibition, Palos Verdes Art Center, USA
Exhibited: 'Not For The Faint of Heart' & 'Electric Rainbow'

2016 — Craft Forms 22nd International Juried Exhibition, Wayne Art Center, USA
Exhibited: 'Pins & Needles'

2016 — Complexity Biennial International Juried Exhibition, Complex Weavers Org, USA
Exhibited: 'Infinity'

2015 — Materialize Juried Exhibition, Craft Ontario, Toronto, Canada
Exhibited: 'Dances With Shadows'

2015 — Lasting Effect, Curated by Melanie Egan, Harbourfront Centre, Toronto, Canada
Exhibited: 'Symmetry' — Handwoven, hand-dyed, plant dyes

Awards & Grants

2020 — Northern Arts Project Grant, Ontario Arts Council
2018 — Northern Arts Project Grant, Ontario Arts Council
2018 — Juror's Choice Award, Toronto Design Offsite Festival
2017 — Award of Excellence in Craftsmanship, Carnegie Gallery
2016 — Award of Merit, Craft Forms
2016 — Founders Scholarship, Guild of Canadian Weavers
2015 — Helen Frances Gregor Scholarship, Craft Ontario

Community & Leadership

2025 — Guest Speaker, Textiles & Tea, Handweaver's Guild of America
2018–2022 — President, Guild of Canadian Weavers
2017–2018 — Vice President, Guild of Canadian Weavers
2012–2019 — Editor & Contributor, Guild of Canadian Weavers
2017 — Guest Speaker, Journey of a Woven Thread, Burr House Guild
2016 — Guest Speaker, Shadow Weave, Guelph Weavers Guild