In October/November of 2017, Rachel Snack of Weaver House CO. hosted a challenge on The Weaving Kind platform. The topic of the challenge was to construct a woven language. Up until that point in my practice, I had been working generally in the direction of constructing a family woven language using symbols from my mom’s crochet and knit work. This challenge really helped me jump start my practice of very purposely thinking of my design work as a woven language that tells stories or expresses emotions. Since that challenge, I have always asked myself with each piece: what story is this design telling? It has been an incredibly fruitful direction for my practice. The following poem and piece were submitted as part of that challenge.
Mom,
You continue.
You continue.
You continue.
In my hands.
Fulfilling your unrealized dream
with a hereditary dexterity.
In my heart.
Prying myself open to the world.
Living a life
of vulnerability
of kindness.
Walking along your compassionate path.
In the fiber.
Speaking with your symbols:
Tower, swirl, tower, swirl,
Perfectly gauged stitch.
Telling stories of flying and stillness.
Where once I was absent,
I now sit with you at the loom.
Weaving your spirit
into every space
where row meets row.
Learning to forgive and begin again.