My heart is heavy.
Weighed down by all the destruction and turmoil across this country.
Homes lost. To fire. To water. To wind.
I write these words as fires burn in northern California where I used to live. Friends and family have lost so much.
And here I am getting ready to open my studio to visitors. Offering handwoven textiles to enhance home, both the physical space and the home you carry within yourself.
I don’t know what to say to ease pain and loss. I’m not sure that words are what is needed right now. Sometimes we want to cry without assurances that everything will be okay. We just want company and to be told it’s okay to cry, to grieve. Not to search for deeper meanings or silver linings. To simply be with the pain as it moves through you and expresses itself in tears.
My heart is heavy and I feel helpless. I wonder if weaving makes sense. Yet it offers me some solace. In its wordlessness. In the slow creation of cloth. In the repetitive, rhythmic movements. A chance to be present with what is. And to make something beautiful.
A friend recently asked me if weaving is a form of prayer. I believe it is.
A wordless prayer.
A prayer for the person who uses it.
A prayer for kindness and connection in our world.
A prayer for more beauty in our lives.
A prayer for nourishment and deep self-care.
Tibetan prayer flags carry prayers on the wind to promote peace, compassion, strength, and wisdom. Perhaps the towels and napkins I weave are prayer cloths, carrying my prayers into homes, blessing those who use them.
Blessings,
P.S. In November I’m once again donating 20% of my sales to CERF+ (Craft Emergency Relief Fund), a non-profit that provides grants and interest-free loans to artists working in craft disciplines who are facing a career threatening emergency or disaster. To date, they’ve heard from over 100 artists in Northern California, Puerto Rico, Texas, Florida, the U.S. Virgin Islands.
I’ll be at a couple events coming up in November and would love to see you: the Fine Furnishings Show in Pawtucket, Rhode Island (November 3-5) and the Arts & Industry Open Studios in Florence, Massachusetts (November 11-12). You can find more details about each on my events page.
I love this so much. In part because of the simple truths in it (I’m not sure words are what is needed now.). In part because I’ve often felt as you do. And in part because the call to send out prayers in a time-honored way, both sacred and secular, touches me deeply – and feels needed. More needed than we often know, I suspect, because they help guide our way to the home that can never be lost or destroyed.
Thank you for this, and thank you for your prayers.