As I pick my way through the ‘last’ of the linen I have time to reflect on the power of persistence.
It is not something that our current ‘culture’ appears to encourage or support. We are beset by the distraction ‘machines’. So much easier to scroll and scroll and scroll, instead of focusing on one task that has multiple repetitions, requires concentration, even if it is only surface attention.
But I have been a weaver for over 50 years now. And I recognize my need to sit, quietly, focus on doing the task, keep doing the task, until a cloth results.
I know, I know, I could go to the store and buy a tea towel for pennies while I spend dollars of my time making my own.
But here’s the thing. I can make a tea towel that is unique from every other tea towel in the world. I have the knowledge, the materials, and the skills.
I know, I know, ‘no one’ wants a hand made tea towel when they can go to Walmart (or whatever) and buy one.
And thousands of people don’t have the choice but to do just that.
I made a different choice. I chose to become a weaver, to make it my career, right from the get go. And, in spite of lots of cliffs and precipitous valleys, I never wavered in that decision.
Why? I have no idea. All I know was that the decision sat ‘right’ on me when I made it.
So I worked to make it work.
Now, I mostly weave because I can, and besides I have all this yarn that needs weaving.
But I also do it for the physical and mental benefits. The way I weave is aerobic, despite the doubt expressed by many. (Including ‘so called experts’ who tell me that it takes thousands of hours to do what I’m doing when I can do it in hundreds.) I honed my skills to become ergonomic and efficient. Even on my bad day, I weave faster than many others – or so I’ve been told. I don’t know. It was never a contest with others, for me. It was a challenged I set against myself. Can I do this ‘better’? Can I do that ‘better’? Could I weave all day without injuring myself?
Why, I yes I could.
For those who know I am currently ‘disabled’ due to some injuries, those injuries were not caused by *weaving*. And I can *still* weave, even if getting to the loom has turned into a huge obstacle due to the necessity of getting down – and then back *up* – the stairs. I do the challenge anyway, because of the benefits of being at the loom.
There are days when I simply cannot face the stairs. But I try to at least do one session at the loom. And if I really need a ‘light duty’ day, I try to arrange tasks that require my presence in the studio, but not to weave.
I learned to persist a long time ago. And apparently I still have that ingrained in the way I live my life, now.
photo: stack of shawls needing to be ‘finished’ – fringe twisting, then wet finishing