In 1998, together with pupils Marta Gfeller Grisanti, Rosita Guidati, Anna Ravano, Camilla Vita and Sanae Yoshida, I took part in Cannabis Textilis, an exhibition of hand-woven hemp objects that was part of a national effort to revitalize hemp as a fiber. We decided that, while the plain weave ground, pattern and measures were the same for all panels, each of us would be free to choose her own yarns and technique for the decorative inserts. Of the six weavers three had just completed a thirty-hour rigid heddle course for complete beginners. With this installation I meant to show that in hand-weaving it is possible to produce good design even with a minimum technical knowledge and using very simple tools. I also believe that exploiting the characteristics of a given material and structure is more germane to textile design than aiming for pictorial representation.