You know when you are eating pasta and it seems like no matter how much you eat, there’s still a bowlful left? This project was just like that! But finally, FINALLY it is off the loom!
So, in light of completing this challenging weaving feat, I thought I would share a few things I learned along the way!
1. Life & weaving projects don’t always go as planned. This may sound obvious, but weavers are notoriously great planners! So, when the project goes off the rails, we don’t always handle it well! (And when I say “we”, I mean me!) Because this one had a real life of its own, it helped me be more flexible – and creative!
2. There’s a place for every color – it just depends on the context. I am not a pastel girl. (Honestly, my friends might say that was an understatement.) But while the idea of lavender makes me break out in hives, when the color is next to something stronger (maybe a warm chocolate or a slate gray), it can really work well! For this project, I ended up in a tight spot with the color peach. With the help of a solid blue, the story had a happy ending! (Whew! It was a close call, though…)
3. Weaving or anything creative is good for your head! The process of weaving – that repetitive motion – really encourages my mind to settle and just be. I can do some impressive brainstorming while tossing my boat shuttle back and forth thousands of times! The trick is to keep my thoughts moving in a positive direction because once they spiral somewhere else, they tend to get stuck there. With this project, the timing was perfect considering it is a new year & I am reworking parts of the business!
I haven’t added up my hours for this project yet, but ultimately every minute was worth it! (I have no doubt that 2 weeks ago I was singing a different tune!) But, each project leads me to something new & how can that be bad?
What have you learned from a recent project?
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Art, Dressing the Loom, From the studio, Planning a Project, Weaving, Weaving Terms
