Yearning for a handmade world
For as long as I can remember, I have felt a deep longing to live in a culture that makes beautiful things as a way of life. I’ve always been fascinated and amazed by past cultures throughout the world, and how they managed to make everything by hand out of materials they also harvested by hand (in addition to washing all their clothes by hand and making all their food from scratch) And the part of it that fascinates me is that not only did they make everything, they made them BEAUTIFUL, They didn’t just carve a spoon, they carved an artistic spoon with reverence to dieties on it. They didn’t just make all their own clothes, they made each garment a detailed work of art that in some cases even told stories and held vast information about the person’s lineage and family. They made buildings coincide with the cosmos. They made utilitarian things into stunning works of art and that was just how they lived.
Sure, I get it…. living in ancient times wasn’t all an artistic fiesta of gorgeousness, people had to toil very hard for every little thing. So while I don’t want to romanitsize it too much, I also can’t help but marvel at the level of masterful beauty was created by people who, according to our standards, had very difficult and limited lives. And I can’t help but grieve for the fact that I live in a world that just mass produces things as cheaply as possible —things are literally intentionally designed to break and to go in the trash in a very short amount of time. We have more technology and wealth than ever before in the history of the world, and in some ways, more free time than ever before, and yet art has become a concept that not everyone can afford, something that is not infused into everything we do. We make ugly buildings, boring clothes, and are surrounded by more cheap plastic crap than we even know what to do with.
And so when people ask me why I weave, why I spend so much time on something so antiquated and slow, this is part of my answer. I deeply crave being in a world that has artistic things surrounding us in our daily lives that are embedded with intention and meaning and beauty. Things that were made not just to make a quick buck or to “save time”, but things that radiate a tangible meaning and presence. And so I am doing my own little part to create that version of the world I yearn for. Handwoven textiles are useful AND they are art. They aren’t pretentious or elitist. They are a basic human need that has been intimately nurturing people for thousands of years. I love that something so simple and basic as crossing threads over and under to make cloth can also contain a myriad of variations that are endlessly complex and beautiful. And so I devote myself to mastering this craft and contributing my mark on the long line of ancestors before me who have created beautiful things with thread.
