I’ve just seen the finish of the last workshop for 2017. Where did that year go?
The weekend workshop was intimate and great. Such different weaves created by the participants. At one point they were all so engrossed in the task that there was no talking!
We see lots of weaving words making connections to other aspects of life, such as the tapestry of life, and I thought this article referring to facebook tearing apart the social fabric was an interesting one. Fabric can only be such because each thread intertwines with the others. If you start hacking into a few of them the others start to fray and gradually become consumed by the hole. The construction of fabric implies a dependency and trust that the other threads will work with each other to remain intact. I just hope facebook doesn’t start on the saori fabric too.
Although now, none of us seem to be comfortable being ordinary, it is what most of us are. Well at least me. Our lives can be restricted and luck plays a large part in what is available and possible, often despite your alternate goals and expectations. Social media makes us think that we should be something different, more this or less that and no ordinary moments. I came across this quote recently by Shin’ichi Suzuki (1898-1998), the violin luminary. (BTW,Violin is my other love!)
“The real essence of art turned out to be not something high up and far off: it was right inside my ordinary daily self.”
It’s the ordinary that works with Saori weaving too. Just doing it. It doesn’t have to be more of that and less of this. You’re just enjoying it. Doing it…around and within your daily routine of living and being. Ordinary doing is relaxing and important and your discoveries and capabilities will sit better in the woven cloth.
This struck me particularly with this group, although none were ordinary in themselves, they all travelled a long way to weave for the weekend. All had particularly wonderful colour and texture sensibilities. There were all delighted with their creations. Claudia wove two long long double wrap scarf lengths, Emily took three colour clasped weft to another level and Kylie created nearly five metres of the most wonderful lightweight drapy weave you ever saw. Thank you for a great weekend of inspiration.
