Building Relationships

 

Laura de Vrij helping out with the international tapestry project, Fate Destiny and Self Determination

Susan Abrams and Susan Middleton also helped weaving the tapestry this week.

 In terms of process and logistics, weaving a tapestry seems more like 'building' a tapestry at times. This is particularly evident in this tapestry as the cells of woven colour shapes  builds on top of the previous one in a certain methodical order. And  like this tapestry, where all the shapes fit together to form a whole, I begin to view this project and the process of tapestry weaving as a metaphor for building relationships and thus community. Like the cells of colours in the tapestry, relationships are built one at a time. Like the cells, each relationship and person has a different colour and texture.

So far this is how much we've accomplished since January 2013.

As this idea percolated over the week I  began to think about how relationships are the bulding blocks of our lives and all that happens...or doesn't happen in them. They are the source of our successes, and perhaps also our failures and disappointements. I was curious about what I could find about building relationships and went perusing on the internet. I enjoyed reading this article that you too can read by clicking on this link: http://ctb.ku.edu/en/tablecontents/sub_section_main_1139.aspx

 

The current page logging who has been weaving on the tapestry and how much time they spent doing so.

My thoughts turn to the weaving community and our collective desire to see it be more vibrant and provide more opportunities and more successes for weavers. Bulding relationships is the way that will support the weft of our interactions and construct the web of our connections to others. As a tapestry is only completed through steadfast, consistent and with a methodical approach, so too must relationships be maintained and sustained to create a healthy weaving community that works well together to all of our benefit, enjoyment and success, starting here at home, and throughout the rest of the world.

Kate Kitchen's tapestry woven on a piece of insect bored bark.

Kate Kitchen is a regular attendee at the Toronto Weaving School and we have featured her work many times over the years. These days she is drawn to using natural materials and this is a lovely integration of a found natural object at her cottage and tapestry weaving. She likes to write haikus for her small tapestries. You can find more of her work at http://www.katekitchenart.com/

 

butterflies of colour for the international tapestry project, Fate, Destiny and Self Determination

 

More shapes are coming in and will post on the next blog post!
www.tapestryline.com