We’ve all heard the saying “watching paint dry.” I debate that watching yarn dry is even slower!
As I continue to dye more and more yarns — and wait for them to dry — I find windows of time where I wait. Pause and wait. These windows could be boring — as suggested by the tedium of watching paint dry ……but they do offer the opportunity to slip into a diversion or other projects — thus I have a variety of undertakings on hand all the time.
I recently made a small book using handspun indigo dyed linen with rust printed pages and stitched with found papers. This wee book was then buried in my garden to hibernate until spring.
This window of waiting also offers me the opportunity to strengthen my patience muscle. As a textile artist you know all about the patience required to spin and dye yarns, to wind a warp and thread a loom, to stitch hems, to rust and eco dye and to embroider details on a piece.
Our textile processes often require labor intensive and repetitive steps. It is in this repetition that I find a mediative state, a quiet space of engagement - a place to illustrate universal stories of love, loss and longing, the heart ache of the ephemeral, the tender beauty of the natural world and the astonishing gift of being human.
And here we are in a season of pause: the Winter Solstice was December 21st at 10:58 AM EST - a time when the sun stands still, pausing before she beings her northerly trajectory. Winter is a time when the natural word goes into a slowing down, a hibernation. This time of pausing gives me the opportunity to witness, to breath in.
Here in a world that seems to be wobbling off balance
I offer a deep bow of gratitude for all that is good. Including a new grand daughter!
Wishing each of you a season of good health, light and love. …and a pause to soak it all in.
Ways to connect with my work this month:
· “Exploring the World of Fiber” a NE juried exhibit January 9 – 30th.
Lexington Arts and Crafts Society, 130 Waltham Street, Lexington, MA. Opening reception January 9th
· Instagram posts always fresh!