No Pretense

The first time someone referred to me as an 'expert' I literally cringed.

I cringed because I felt so far away from being an 'expert' at anything.  How could someone know so little about the vast ocean of knowledge that compromises the construction of cloth be an 'expert'?

Even after being granted the master level by the Guild of Canadian Weavers I was very uncomfortable using that designation.  It took a couple of years before I added that to my business cards. 

Eventually I realized that an 'expert' didn't have to know All The Things on a broad base but could know one tiny facet very deeply.  

Studying, exploring, experimenting in the other facets keeps me coming back to the studio.  The what if I do this, or that, or something else.  Changing one thing to see the results in the finished cloth is endlessly fascinating. 

I do not pretend to know all the answers.  The creation of cloth is way too large, much too complex for one person to Know Everything.

Thing is, it isn't necessary.  It is only necessary to know what you need to know to get the results you desire.  It is up to the teachers to tell people where to look for answers, even when the student doesn't know the question to ask.  Because when you don't know what you don't know, you don't know that you don't know it.