I'm in Montana Now

I'll be resurfacing soon. I'm much beyond this point. In fact I am actually setting up the loom. I wasn't sure I would be able to make a blog post as I am unable to send email (although I do receive it). More to follow......

It may be cloudy in the picture, but it was sunny, warm and beautiful today.

Dalai Lama Weaving and Sunflowers

Although I brought the Dalai Lama weaving with me on my trip to the East Coast, I didn't show it around very much.
But when I got to these magical fields...well, you get the picture.


Whenever I feel overwhelmed with the move, I look at this picture and can't help but smile.

It puts every in perspective---don't you think....

I am living the experience of "Right Livelihood", a blessing to be a Weaver in this time.

The following is a brief excerpt from the piece by Susan Crowell, writer, and
ceramics instructor at U. Michigan, Ann Arbor:

"For craftspeople, this making special emphasizes both the making and the
special. Reversing the terms - special making- rings even truer when speaking
of craft, for which the process of handwork is an essential component. As our
perception of time becomes more precious and the time-intensive nature of
craft increases its value, craft may even come to represent the preciousness
of time itself, embodied in an object."

Where's Waldo--er, I Mean Bonnie

As I fly back to Seattle (9/11) to begin the next leg of my adventure in moving, my mind drifts back over the first third of September. I thought having a laptop would change the way I kept my web log and kept up with my weaving business. However all the moving and change that has taken place in the past month (with so much more to come) made me want to slow down and use my time in Baltimore to just visit with family and be present in the here and now.

THERE AND THEN.....

THE CURRENT STATE OF MY POSSESSIONS IN PUBLIC STORAGE

One of the highlights of the Maryland vacation and the main reason for the visit was my Mom's 92nd birthday. I had a nice picture of her blowing out the candles, but it seems to have disappeared. You will just have to imagine as she blew out her candles---she made a wish......for me

I didn’t take any pictures of the fields of corn or tomatoes, but I more than made up for it in the pictures of the sunflowers. I cannot tell you what a blessing it was to be in the middle of unending fields of sunflowers. It was the perfect gift between moving my stuff into storage and hauling my stuff to Montana---the calm between storms. It was like being transported to another universe.

Letter to a Weaving Friend

Hi Dorothy,

Just a quick note as I am now in the throes of packing. The movers come on Monday, and there is so much to do. But I wanted to take this moment to share a special picture with you.

This trip to Montana was amazing-- truly a once in a lifetime experience! Just to be clear, I wasn’t weaving FOR the Dalai Lama. I was weaving FOR a group of people who carry the vision of creating a place so sacred in the middle of the remote Flathead Reservation---that the Dalai Lama has accepted an invitation to consecrate this “garden” upon completion. I created the Dalai Lama's horoscope weaving as an offering to help raise money (which they dearly need) to complete the project within the next year. The result of this offering, so far, has been nothing short of a miracle, and I haven't even delivered the completed weaving yet. Call me if you want details as it is a story that must be told rather than written.

On the last day of the trip, I looked through the glass front door into the little house I was to rent and took a picture through the glass

and saw the future......(grin)

Colorfully,
Bonnie

Words Cannot Describe.....

There is so much to "tell", but I am starting off with the "show" part---enjoy!

These are the last 5 pictures in the series, something besides me decided I am supposed to show the last pictures first.

From the natural-dyed silk warp to the recycled cashmere weft, each thread was individually selected to correspond to a color sequence unique to HH The Dalai Lama.

You simply have to see and feel this cloth to receive the full impact of the quality.

I will tell you about the finishing process as I move backward in time.

Time is malleable....in weaving

Hanging Around Town

Back in 1975 when I was living in Missoula, I had an exhibition of my wall hangings---cleverly called Hanging Around Town. As I was doing some sorting back in Seattle, I happened upon the poster I made for the show. It is interesting to see where I was on my weaving journey back then.

I'll have to recopy the text below.


I specialize in custom weaving, a part of your environment that is an expression/extension of yourself.

These hangings represent--in part--a pleasant portion of the past 5 years.

It is easy to weave beautiful things---Anybody who wants to weave can weave something beautiful--but it is very difficult to see something in your mind and then weave it.

When someone says, "I want you to weave something for me." They are really asking me to weave a portrait of their soul, but most people don't realize this when they ask so casually. I think that is where the real magic of weaving lies.

When you weave for nobody in particular, you lose focus. You have to look too hard for the answers; but having a person to hold in your mind when you work puts you in touch with the truths of the universe--not that you always remember---but you always know where to look again.

I can surely see I was on the way. This was a few years before Color Horoscope Weaving and just at the very beginning of Almost Ikat.

Weaving Together

Here are some images I like that didn't make it into the earlier posts.

Sharmila and I look at our weavings at the same time on opposite sides of the world.


Hands working together......
This doesn't really relate to the Dalai Lama weaving except that I happened to bring the Mary Meigs Atwater merino wool, horoscope/ikat blanket with me and someone asked to see it.

As you may or may not know, Mary Meigs Atwater was the Dean of American Handweaving and lived much of her life in Montana.