Donna Loraine Contractor was born in Waukegan, IL and came to New Mexico to
attend St. John’s College in Santa Fe. Since she moved to Albuquerque 38 years ago.  The loom won out over the pottery wheel with the coming of children. Once I walked into a loom room, saw the way it looked, the things it could do, its parts, etc., I was hooked. I now own and weave primarily on an AVL professional 8-harness rug loom with a dobby mechanism, pneumatic tensioning system, and a worm gear. See how I love the parts!
Next, I love the materials. From the strong, smooth cotton warp to the luster of
hand-dyed wools and the sparkle of silks, I continue to be enraptured with the feel
and look of textiles. I’m becoming captivated by some unusual materials -stainless
steels, paper, and UV-changing fibers. These will find their way into future work.
Color is a source of constant joy for me, and I delight in the full range of its use.
The bold and surprising color combinations and the subtle gradations of a single color. The colors and the unique quality of light in the Southwest, and the diverse forms of its land and skyscapes, make up a rich and diverse palette.
Finally, I love metaphor. The very act of weaving has become a metaphor – the web of life, weaving a tale - and is entwined with my choice of imagery and the use of the window set within a frame, a view to another place, another reality as a motif in my work. I try to achieve a blend of the representational and the abstract and to keep a geometrical contemporary feel in the frames.