When the loom is working and only surface attention is required my mind can wander and think about other things.
One of the things I ponder is how much I ought to be adding to the carbon footprint of the world, the glut of textiles available in the 'first' world and if I should really be encouraging people to buy more...stuff...
The thing is, I have to be creating something. Making is as much a part of me as, well, breathing. Oh, I know, I exaggerate, but I am not a happy camper when I can't weave. The amount of satisfaction, even joy, I receive from taking individual threads and making cloth? Priceless.
The joy I see on the faces of people who buy my cloth? Even better.
So, yes, even though I am adding to the material 'burden' of society - quite literally - I decided today that I was no longer going to feel guilty about it. If joy is the ultimate result of the time I spend at the loom - not just mine, but others - surely that is justification enough?
Currently reading The Art of the English Murder by Lucy Worsley
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4 comments:
We all need textiles in our lives and you are creating beautiful, durable, functional pieces - definitely NOT landfill! Ignore the negative voices, Laura.
Those negative voices - yes. We all have them. The trick is to learn to ignore them. I'm working on it! :)
Happy new year, Louisa. Maybe we can have a visit when I'm in Vancouver next month (hopefully, next month!)
cheers,
Laura
The thing is that what we make is beautiful and well made and will last for decades, it can't be compared with the mass produced crud that the big stores turn into clothes that will be dumped after just a few wearings.
I might be a beginner weaver but I know what I make will last the distance and will be loved by the people who use it and eventually some may become heirlooms
I've thought about it all off and on, too. Usually I simply decide to put it out of my mind. I've provided services (instead of goods) for decades in my not-for-profit life, and now I'm providing goods. Well made, individually produced, hopefully beautiful goods. And since my weaving is predominantly a luxury (not a necessity), I think that if people didn't buy my 'stuff' they'd buy someone else's. So let it be mine.
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