Yarns of the Soul
| Published in abQArts, May, 2004 and awarded Best Feature Article for publications of 50,000 by San Francisco Honorary Publications, 2005
Whether you call it luck, fate or serendipity, most often it’s the unexpected twists and turns of life which shape one’s destiny; the road less traveled suddenly becomes the main highway with the final destination known only to God and the soul. When I signed up for a class in Navajo weaving, little did I realize either the path I was about to take or the ways in which Navajo weaving would transform me and my life. Until that time I viewed weaving as merely an art medium enabling the weaver to express beauty of design and color. But once I placed that first strand of wool between the strings of the Navajo warp, it was as if some magical force took control and began to shape the patterns. The yarns of the loom became much more than just strings of fibers stacked on top of each other; they became connections of the heart between past and present, between cultures, and between man and the universe. It was no longer just a matter of weaving pattern and color–-weaving became an expression of myself and my soul’s yearnings. Working on the Navajo loom put me in touch with just a small part of the wealth of spiritual knowledge known to Native Americans. Each part of the loom and the Navajo weaving process has taught me much about myself, humankind, and the universe. With its two wooden poles aimed skyward, planted firmly in the ground, and crossed by two strong horizontal beams lashed firmly at top and bottom, the Navajo vertical loom reaches toward the heavens. Isn’t this what man has done through the years as he has searched for knowledge? The strings, spun of sheep wool and placed around horizontal sticks, become the warp between which woolen colored yarns are woven in and out to make either traditional designs passed down from generation to generation or contemporary designs that link past and present. How or why my fascination with Navajo weaving began is unknown to my conscious mind. Maybe it was a “natural” because of my work with cloth starting from the time when I sewed doll clothes at the age of six, or maybe it’s because weaving is an art form that has been with man for hundreds of years and it’s just part of the genes. Or maybe I just analyze too much and shouldn’t seek an answer why, but just accept the way it is. Regardless of the reason I feel this passion, Navajo weaving touches a place in my heart where today’s fast-paced technology has been unable to go. Could it be that Spider Woman, mythical teacher of weaving amongst the Navajos, entered my heart and soul during the time of my first Navajo weaving class taught by a Navajo from the Arizona reservation and that she has been there ever since? Over the years I have gotten much more than rugs and pillows from the loom. The weaving process mirrors so much of life, teaching lessons about who we are as human beings. Even the humblest beginnings of what we attempt have special meaning if only we allow outselves to acknowledge them. As Plato writes, “The beginning is the most important part of the work.” And, I might add, we never know where the work will go. I still hold onto one of the very first pieces of weaving I created, long before I ever took a lesson to learn the intricacies of the Navajo warp. It’s clumsy and out of shape with knots and strings poking out of unexpected spots, but to me it has a special kind of beauty because it symbolizes the beginnings of something very special. The beginnings and stumbles learning this art form have been very special steps of the past 20 years of my journey. They have not been easy. There has been no instant gratification, often only mini steps much as a baby learning to walk. I am still learning, thinking and dreaming about what to do next and how to do it. Isn’t that what all of us do? If only we could accept that some of our most valuable accomplishments take the longest to mature. Dreams of the heart are seldom accomplished without obstacle, frustration, delay and long years of pursuit. And yet we fail to communicate this to our children and teenagers, many of whom see life as a 30-minute sitcom. With each row, another bit of design and color is added to the whole. Over and back to make one line of design in the woven tapestry. My design is not always perfect, but it is always a creation in process. A mistake uncovered after many hours of weaving doesn’t distort the overall design, but adds a touch that a machine knows not. Beauty and harmony exist in spite of error. Lessons of the loom have helped me live my life. I have experienced joys, disappointments, surprises and sometimes sorrows from which I felt there could be no recovery. In those times there has evolved a beauty and spiritual strength unknown to the rational self, but ready to surface when the time was right. Unlike the old timers of the past century who learned this lesson at a very young age, today’s young people know a different world, one in which there is little or no training on where or how to find that deep inner strength. A lesson waiting to be learned and waiting to be taught! Like the weaving from my loom, life has strange bits and pieces. If we think about them rationally, they don’t always fit together, but when considered in the big picture, they blend and harmonize, creating a composition with beauty and character far exceeding our original expectations and unique to each of us. Life is a beautiful tapestry! |
