The definition of a project
If I’m working on a ‘project’, does that imply it must end as a Finished Thing? Is it classified as an ‘abandoned project’ if it doesn’t end as a Thing?
Does it even matter?
As furniture making has taken priority this year (being its student with fast approaching assessment deadlines), weaving has been relegated to playing.
Making many small sample weaves, most stopped at different stages, made me think about projects: how we define them, and how they define us. The term UFO {Unfinished Object} makes me uneasy, and while I know it’s pseudo, the horror at revealing how many we’ve on the go unsettles me.
It is a sign that our relationship with consumption has crept into our craft? Or is it because it’s not about the actual thing at the end, but what the process does for us?
Are our creations any less because they’re not finished? Who even defines what ‘finished’ means? Do we stop when they serve their purpose?
So then: why do we create?
Is created the same as creating?
Pithy, I know. Ultimately, I need to create. It’s not in the past, or the future, but the now. It is an act. And it is deliberate.
What say you, dear maker friend?
Amanda x
I’ve admired UK-based Sarah Ward from Lark & Bower for some time, and I wanted to learn more about her work and her techniques. I desperately wanted to attend her workshops but being on the other side of the world, I sadly could not.
I did the next best thing for me and purchased the instruction manuals for both of her courses. Perhaps this is bad news, because I cannot stop making little weaves. (Of course, I had to make myself a set of mini looms for this exercise, but this is absolutely not necessary for Sarah’s courses.) I’ve been thinking about the intersection between weaving and furniture making and Sarah’s discipline felt like a natural progression.
The Lark & Bower website is well worth exploring, and her Instagram page is brimming with inspiration.
I worked my way through Sarah’s comprehensive instruction manuals, building on my skills with each piece.
Then, using a simple spreadsheet editor, I created a herringbone pattern template. I printed it off and with some coloured markers, I started playing about with colour order and width on both the weft and the warp. I chose my favourites and then wove those.
I was shocked and delighted to find that making one simple change can yield a totally different piece!
Here is a little sample of my work.
Another part of the process I really enjoyed was watching the backs of the work reveal themselves (the eighth sample pic above is the back of sample pic seven). I made decisions about colour and positioning without thinking about it, and I feel like I’ve come up with new combinations I like by simply not trying so hard.
A little about tools: Two large metal bulldog clips will act as another pair of hands and will make the process infinitely more enjoyable, especially if you’re starting out with weaving.
They’re useful in so many other applications too, so if you’re setting up, these are a great addition to your fledgling toolbox.
Materials:
Yarn, 8 ply, assorted colours
My own looms, but any small solid square/rectangle in cardboard/timber will work
Flat bodkin needle
Snips
Bulldog clips, large enough to clasp your loom, at least two
Lark and Bower Instruction Manuals for Class 1 Off-Loom Weaving and Class 2 Off-Loom Weaving (purchased in full, no affiliation)
