The purpose of Weaving Spirit is to bring you into my weaving studio to see my latest weaving. I plan to share my ideas, process and weaving philosophy on as regular a basis as I can manage. Think of this blog as an online workshop. I would love to re-connect with folks who have taken a workshop from me in the past.
I have been weaving for 47 years now. When I first learned to weave at Rhode Island School of Design, I was told there were 3 main elements to weaving: color; pattern; and texture. To have a successful textile, a weaver should emphasize only one of the three. If all 3 elements are operating at equal intensity, you will not create a pleasing cloth. There are times when I have broken this "rule" with varying degrees of success, but for the most part I am a color weaver. 99% of my weaving is plain weave. I am strongly influenced by ethnic textiles, color symbolism, and color codes of various sorts.
I used to weave primarily in wool, cotton, and silk. About 10 years ago, I fell into a pit of chenille. It has taken me several years to climb out only to stumble onto bamboo yarn. Who knows how long this kick will last, but I am having a great time with this versatile fiber.
I wove for about 20 years before I decided to try and make a living at it. Why did I wait so long to jump in? I think I always knew I didn't want to be or couldn't be a production weaver. I suspected I would burn out, wreck my back, get carpal tunnel, lose the passion, and move further away from the sheer magic of weaving. I feared one day I would no longer be able to hear the echoes of the ancient weavers. Although it is often questionable as to whether I actually make a living from weaving, (metaphorically speaking) the Weaving Goddess communicates with me on a regular basis.
It's getting late, so I think I will sign off for now. I am not sure how blogs work, but I'll get the hang of it eventually.
If you have arrived here from my website, then you know about me and the work I do. If you have come here via blogger, please visit my website to see my complete gallery.
3 comments:
Cool site! I look forward to future posts and will make a note to mention this on WeaveCast.
Syne
yeah, Bonnie,
Glad you're blogging, it'll give us one more communications path.
I'll get my blog up to date:
warp-n-woof.blogspot.com
I think bamboo textiles are going to be hot for a long, long time because this is a product that could save the environment. In places where the climate is ideal for growing bamboo, like southern China, the amount of land that it takes to produce a ton of cotton fiber can produce 20 tons of bamboo fiber! And unlike cotton, bamboo usually needs no fertilizer or pesticide sparying. The environmental implications of this are enormous.
Mark
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