My presentation at the Pomegranate Guild

This week I gave a presentation to the Pomegranate Guild of Judaic Textiles in Toronto. I've learned that " pomegranates were known in Ancient Israel as the fruits which the scouts brought to Moses to demonstrate the fertility of the "promised land". The Book of Exodus describes the me'il ("robe of the ephod") worn by the Hebrew High Priest as having pomegranates embroidered on the hem. According to the Books of Kings the capitals of the two pillars (Jachin and Boaz) that stood in front of Solomon's Temple in Jerusalem were engraved with pomegranates. It is said that Solomon designed his coronet based on the pomegranate's "crown" (calyx). It is traditional to consume pomegranates on Rosh Hashana because the pomegranate, with its numerous seeds, symbolizes fruitfulness. Also, it is said to have 613 seeds, which corresponds with the 613 mitzvot or commandments of the Torah.. The pomegranate appeared on the ancient coins of Judea. When not in use, the handles of Torah scrolls are sometimes covered with decorative silver globes similar in shape to "pomegranates" (rimmonim) Some Jewish scholars believe that the pomegranate was the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden.[68] Pomegranates are one of the Seven Species  of fruits and grains enumerated in the Hebrew Bible (Deuteronomy 8:8) as being special products of the Land of Israel. The pomegranate is mentioned in the Bible many times. Pomegranates also symbolize the mystical experience in the Jewish mystical tradition, or kabbalah, with the typical reference being to entering the "garden of pomegranates" or pardes rimonim; this is also the title of a book by the 16th-century mystic Moses ben Jacob Cordovero.

I realize now what a good fit it was for me since they hold dear their religious and spiritual beliefs, and that I myself value making my spiritual life a priority. I prepared my powerpoint presentation, and was really organized and ready for them. I thought having a powerpoint presentation made me look ‘professional’ and I was quite proud about that. I loaded my tapestries and handwoven items into the car, my laptop, my notes, my usb. There wasn’t a thing I forgot. I arrived at my destination 15 minutes early and fortunately, Rikki, my hostess for the evening, was also there early. I unloaded the car, and set up my presentation, laying out tapestries and woven items, and fumbling with the projector that would connect to my computer. Somehow, I made it work! I loaded my USB with the powerpoint presentation. Everything was going perfectly.

Then up came a message saying that Microsoft Office was not loaded on my laptop. Without it, I could not use my powerpoint presentation. Panic set in though I kept it under wraps. I felt somehow that now my talk would be a real disappointment to all the people who had shown up to hear and see it. A guild member tried and tried to open the pictures in some other format but no luck. Fortunately, I had some pictures of my work on the laptop but not all of the ones I had hoped to share with the group. So the decision was made that I would wing it and wing it I did. I let go of the facade of trying to appear ‘professional’ which at this point seemed farcical. And off I launched into a talk for one and a half hours. The first time I’ve talked about myself and work for that long.

This scenario kept me honest, genuine and real and now that this mishap had occurred it was an opportunity to just be very honest and personal with the group about what I do and why I do it instead of hiding behind the camouflage of academic speak. At the end of the presentation, many people came up to talk to me. Rikki, my hostess, told me I was a hit and that the people really enjoyed the personal approach. My colleague, Melanie Siegal, wrote me an email saying that many people enjoyed the presentation. My overall impression of the group was their welcoming warmth and appreciation of what I did. Love and respect was palpable in this room: love of people, love of textiles, love of art and creativity.

And all this seems to connect somehow to something else I’ve been wanting to share with you. One of my tapestries, Joy, appears as a book cover that has been published entitled: Born to Love: Memoirs of an Ageless Senior by Ofidean Virginia Mitchell_Phillips Ph.D. herself a deeply spiritual person.

This is a group who has its share of very talented fibre artists and I’ve included their links below, one for Melanie Siegel and another, Temma Gentles are the ones I know. Some of you may be interested in joining this guild which is located presently on Glencairn Avenue in Toronto. The membership fee is nominal and provides a warm supportive environment for whatever your textile preference is.

In parting, fill your life with all that you love and with all who love you!

www.pomegranateguild.ca/
www.msiegel.ca
www.temmagentles.com/

Community Threads Week 35

The Community Threads tapestries are coming along slowly. The momentum seems to have slowed somewhat and I hope this is not a sign that enthusiasm is waning. Jackie, on the right, has been working steadily away on the gobelin loom over the last month. Here she is showing Susan Menzies, an artist herself, how to weave tapestry. This is Susan's first attempt. Susan also brought along 2 boys who were in here care over the March Break. They too tried their hand at tapestry weaving. Below, the section of the Community Threads tapestry that Jackie has been working on. I love all the textures and its taking on a three dimensional look.

I brought in a video of the birthing of the Community Threads project that I put together to show those in attendance. I think it re-inspired us all. We're looking to promote a local musician(s) music track to add to the video and then put it on YouTube. It's a wonderful chronicle of the projects unfolding. I was also told  that the historical society had visited on Wednesday. I think the tapestries are looking great! I'm really pleased with the results so far!

Community Threads: Week 31

The Nottawasaga Handweavers and Spinners in Alliston and their guests continue to weave on their community tapestries. Elisabeth arrived with yet another section of her tapestry completed - a New Tecumseth hockey player. What a beautiful job she did. She has already made an enormous contribution to the Community Threads Project.

Linda Needles writes: At our last get together in Alice's Attic, we again saw an increase in the number of members and visitors who are coming out to see the Community Threads tapestries progress. Beth, a guild member who has a busy job and has not been out to see us in a long time, wanted to come and see what all this tapestry talk was about. Deb, a fairly new member returned this week and planned to work on the tapestry sampler loom but instead, got hooked on trying her hand at table loom weaving. (She was inspired by Dawna who was working on her overshot runner). We also welcomed Melanie,a visitor from the community who had heard about the project from a guild member, but. Nellie continues to be a great help on this project and helped to wind balls of wool. Sandi and Elisabeth sorted colours for the next tapestry. Wendy worked on repairing a loom and Linda and Jackie wove on the Gobelin loom, while Bonnie and Jean repaired the drum carder. Lots of things to do in our busy studio.

Valerie worked at making a warp for the next tapestry on the Penelope loom. She has already completed a tapestry and is now working on her second.

We also had a very special visitor. Marsha, the Executive Assistant at the Gibson Centre, frequently drops in to see us about administrative issues and constantly admires what we are creating. We chide her about how she needs to actually come and sit down to help us weave. Last week she had promised that she would enter it in to her appointment calendar so, sure enough, she arrived at 11:00 am and sat down at the Gobelin Loom beside Beth and they worked away and chatted for about 1/2 hr. She was more than enthusiastic about how cool the experience was. She is the blond on the left. It is great to see the camaraderie that evolves when individuals come together with such purpose.

Exploring the Possibilities

The tapestry weavers in my weaving class are so seldomly featured on my blog that I thought I would dedicate todays entry to them . They work away...usually quietly though at times they can get into very animated and have deep discussions. I've come to believe that the tapestry weavers are the philisophers among all the other weavers. Perhaps the process of tapestry weaving draws that kind of person - a person with profound thoughts and insightful points of view. I have not met a tapestry weaver who I would consider to be dull even if tapestry weaving is repetitive. Monday mornings has come to be the time when we have more tapestry weavers than other kind of weavers in the class. For me, a treat. Entirely different considerations in tapestry weaving. Technically, not as rigourous and demanding as other kinds of weaving. I wanted to talk about tapestry weavers this week because I think they have some important approaches that other weavers can learn and benefit from.

First and foremost, tapestry weavers tend to be an adventourous lot. They are usually up for exploring the possibilities of their creative endeavours and this I think translates in how they lead their lives. Most of the tapestry weavers I know have constructed an unusual life....and not a life that is prescribed. They take chances, and take risks.....and usually have surprising results that would make many envious. They think outside the box, perhaps because often they cannot fit into the box! This sampler, done by Pauline Abraham, is a perfect illustration of what I'm talking about. Most people I know that have done this sampler have done exactly what I told them to do, rarely departing from the format. Pauline was unable to restrain her own creative forces and it came surging through her sample. She explored. She experimented and did not concern herself with what I thought or anyone else. She asked herself, as she placed colours and threads side by side....what if I did this or that? She saw new possiblilities and explored them.

Which brings me to discuss another person who took her introduction to tapestry weaving with me - Susan Middleton. Susan is a talented artist. She also, could no longer be restrained from pursueing her dream. After being a teacher for many years, and fighting off her irrational desire to be a tapestry weaver and artist, she finally relinquished her fears and her job to make her dreams come true. The first thing she did was study with a tapestry weaver in Belgium. Upon her return she bought a beautiful Glimarka tapestry loom (no longer being made) and rented a studio space. This past summer, on her own, she created a wide range of yarns for weaving her tapestries, all dyed with natural dyes. This she did after attending a conference/trade show in France that was about natural dyes.

When one pursues what one loves, although we wrestle with our fears, it makes for a most interesting journey. We feel more alive. More real. There is no rule book. One advances a step at a time. Opening doors to new possibilities. Making new connections. Growing in our creativity, our technical abilities, but above all having nourishing and positive relationships with ourselves and with others. We need this fertile environment to flourish in every way. If you'd like to see more of Susan's work you can go to http://chezrouleau.com/chezrouleau.html

And so happy weaving and may it be your path to a bliss and joy.

Comminity Threads Week 28

It's been a while since I've been back to visit the Nottawasaga Handweavers and Spinners at the Gibson Centre in Alliston and it was nice to see some familiar faces as well as some new ones. Above, a newcomer to the guild: Jackie Teunissen. She's lived the last many years in Geneva, and moved to Caledon a couple of years ago. She's enjoying the tapestry weaving process and looking forward to continuing in participating with the guild's activities. The tapestries are progressing wonderfully. Some of the people that have been weaving on them regularly include Valerie and Elizabeth, who have really dedicated their time and efforts to producing their tapestry banners. They are feeling confident to make changes to the tapestries, both editing out the composition, and changing colours, as they think is appropriate. I applaud that they are taking artistic license. They have even decided that they will make some new paintings, of historic properties in the municipality to include in the tapestry banners, and therefore eliminating images that are duplicated in the some of the tapestries. Excellent and all the while, expanding their knowledge of the history of the muncipality. Sandi had some good stories about the churches in the area and we'll have to post this to the blog because it's intriguing. Their pride of place is coming through as they all work on this project, which they in turn put into the project.

Another new face at the guild is Deb Chandler. She's giving tapestry weaving a try on the 'learners' tapestry loom before moving onto the the large gobelin loom.

Jean and Valerie were back this week working on the finishing of the first completely woven tapestry banner. We'll have to start giving some thought as to what title we want to give each tapestry. Linda and Sandi discussed what new pictures needed to be taken, and then transformed into paintings. Linda felt so confident in their newly acquired artistic skills that she didn't feel she needed me to help them do the paintings! Linda reports that visitors to the weaving studio are frequent, which also means that this encourages traffic at the Gibson Centre. Linda and Sandi also talked about bringing some of the portable tapestry looms to the community libraries, and to the mall in Tottenham to promote the project, the Gibson Centre, and the Nottawasaga Handweavers and Spinners in the months to come. They will be giving a special presentation the Alliston Historical Society March 14.

I'll be visiting the project about once a month for the next year to help out, see what developments there are, and give advice when needed. The group are doing a great job! Don't hesitate to stop by and weave on the Community tapestries...everyone's contribution is welcome.

Perseverance

The president of the Nottawasaga Handweavers and Spinners, Linda Needles, wrote to me recently to update me on the progress of the Community Threads tapestries in Alliston. I'm including what she wrote below. I've also attached the latest tapestries to be completed by assorted members in the group. I'm very proud of them for having the courage to undertake such an ambitious project AND following through with it. What dedication and perserverance, qualities that all weavers and spinners and possess in abundance!

Linda writes: “After receiving the “Artist in the Community” grant from the Ontario Arts Council in the Spring of 2011, Line got us into high gear to begin our “Community Threads” project. This was a project with a timeline of 2 years and, with her enthusiasm and energetic approach to begin the project, we all thought, “My Goodness, what have we gotten our guild into”?
We photographed local sites, painted pictures, made cartoons, sorted wool, gathered looms and began. Newbies we were but oh, what Line helped us learn.


Well 6 months have passed and our fears have been dissipated and our enthusiasm engaged because, we are well on the way.

We’ve come a long way from July, when we began by taking photos of the New Tecumseth area, of activities and places of interest. These photos have now been realized in the paintings and cartoons and are coming to life in the few sections of the tapestries that have been finished.

Elisabeth and Libby are working on one loom (a Penelope), having taken it home Dec 1 and now have finished 2 sections of one tapestry - a golfer and a guitar player.


Valerie also took home a Penelope loom and finished four sections to complete a whole tapestry. Yay, only 11 more to go!

The large Gobelin loom at the Gibson Centre is busy each Thursday during our open studio day. Ann has been working on one of the tapestries and has 1 ½ sections complete. Corrie, Nellie and Linda have been working on the other one and are starting the second section. Nellie, our senior member wants to work on some tapestries at home so she bought herself a new Kromski harp loom to work on during the winter.


Other members gather each week to weave on the tapestry looms and floor looms, to spin, sort wool colours, plan new projects and provide encouragement to all as we move forward with the Community Threads. Our turnout is usually about 12 people, considerably increased from 6 months ago.

This project has generated a lot of excitement and curiosity in the community and consequently has brought in many visitors to our studio, many of whom are directed there by the Gibson Centre staff who are great promoters of the project. In addition, as a result of this project, we have gained a few new guild members who are willing to try their hand on our sampler loom. Recently the Canadian Tapestry Network Newsletter featured the project with lots of pictures and a lengthy article. An article was also written up for the Ontario Handweavers and Spinners Fibre Focus.

We hope to engage more community members and start to make presentations to community groups as well as demonstrate in public places to share our enthusiasm with others.

Portraits of Spirituality

Spirituality and acknowledging that there are forces at work greater than ourselves, that we are unable to control every detail and outcome of our lives, has always been an intrinsic part of who I am, and inspires much of the work that I create. This series, called Prayer Totems have emerged over the last several years. This is how I pray: for myself for others, and for the planet. It makes me ask myself what is prayer to me? It is asking the powers that be for greater insight, understanding, and capacity to have more positive relationships and impact on others, and that this positive interaction I have with those around me, will then inspire others to interact positively with those they encounter, thereby diminishing negativity and destruction. Yes, some will say this is naive and I gladly and wholeheartedly still subscribe to these beliefs, however challenging it is sometimes. I continue to work on this series each year. As my work has often made references to spiritual practice and working on my inner life, it seems that magically, similar energies are drawn to me, which I welcome, and have immense gratitude and appreciation.

Recently I received the following invitation:

"I write to invite your participation in Frequencies, a new web-based project to construct a collaborative genealogy of spirituality.
Frequencies is comprised of a series of essays, poems, and sundry other entries by scholars, artists, and activists. We seek to accompany entries with works from contemporary and emerging artists and photographers.
We envision these entries as fragments in a dynamic, large-scale critical portrait of spirituality as a historical subject and contemporary problem. Works selected will be exhibited on the Frequencies website and circulated among the multiple communities of interest surrounding this epic launch. To see the project, visit http://freq.uenci.es.
I invite you specifically to participate after seeing your work "Joy" at the Lowell Textile Museum last spring. I was impressed by the beauty of your tapestry. Frequencies is a collaboration of The Immanent Frame and Killing the Buddha, and was curated by Kathryn Lofton (Yale University) and John Lardas Modern (Franklin & Marshall College).
Sincerely,

Emily Floyd
Associate Editor, Frequencies

My tapestry Joy Is now posted on the their website. Click on the link here:

http://www.freq.uenci.es/