Journey

dolphin at the aquarium

On a trip to Florida a few years ago we visited one of the aquariums.  They stressed that their primary mission was to care for those creatures who had been injured - they treat their injuries, provide as good a quality of life as could be managed, given they would not survive outside of the protected area of the aquarium.

In many ways life is like that for humans too.  We have our protected areas that we tend to live in, pretty much ignoring what is happening outside of our 'bubble'.

In weaving people find processes that work for them, and pretty contentedly stay in that circle of knowledge.  When confronted by something new or different they will go back to the tried and true and when that doesn't work may feel frustrated.

I have my own area of contentment - my 'happy place'.  I have worked with a small slice of yarns that are commonly available (here), know them intimately, pretty much know the limits to which I can put them into use.

When I go outside of my comfort zone, I have to check my assumptions.  This may be a quite different yarn from what I most commonly use.  I cannot expect it to behave in the same way.

One of the reasons I appreciate the Olds program (and others) is that the student is forced outside of their comfort zone in order to learn.

Once they have learned, they may decide that not all of the things that one can do is of interest to them.  And that is also a perfectly good lesson to learn.  One I put into practice almost daily in my own studio.

But from time to time I do dip into other techniques.  For example I'm not overly fond of weaving with two shuttles.  Because it takes so much longer to alternate between the two - it isn't twice as long but more like 3 or 4 times as long to weave.

Recently I did an overshot project and all the reasons why I don't much like doing overshot came back to me.  In spite of the cloth turning out the way it was supposed to.  I felt fumble fingered, repeatedly dropping a shuttle, having to climb down off the loom bench, dig around in the herd of dust buffalo below the loom to extract shuttle and bobbin (which frequently popped out of the shuttle), get back onto the bench and deal with a bobbin covered with dust bunnies, find my place in the treadling sequence, begin again.

Not my idea of fun! 

But.  But.

The cloth turned out quite nicely.

Am I a fan of using two shuttles?  Still no.

Doing the Guild of Canadian Weavers tests, I was required to weave things that required two shuttles.  I was required to use yarns I wasn't comfortable with.  I was required to understand the weave structures that I might not be all that interested in.  Still aren't in some cases.  But I do have a basic knowledge of things like overshot, crackle and so on.  I was required to understand how to do draw downs and understand things like unit weaves, how to design with them, how to create motifs.

If we are to keep the craft healthy, not just 'alive', we need to have a core group of practitioners who understand the principles of the craft.  Who understand the mechanics of looms, not just paint all looms made by a specific manufacturer as 'bad' when what they are complaining about is a particular style of loom, never mind who made it.

We need people to understand the mechanics of the three main styles of looms, their benefits and restrictions.  And to understand that within one of those styles - counter balanced - that how the mechanics of the loom works matters.

I consistently see people say that you 'cannot weave unbalanced weaves on a counter-balanced loom' when what they really mean is that you may have issues on a roller style mechanical system.  I also keep seeing people say that you cannot have a counter balanced loom with more than four shafts when what they should be saying is that a roller style counter balanced loom is four shafts, but that a lever/ horse type of mechanics means you can have many more shafts.  For example I have woven on a 16 shaft lever/horse style counter balanced loom.  And the shed was nice and lovely.

It is tiring to see these generalizations repeated over and over and over again.  It is why I am committed to teaching for the Olds program for as long as I am able.  And why, if the classes in Cape Breton meet student enrollment in September, I will most likely climb on an airplane to make the journey from one coast to the other. 

Wearing a mask.