THE BACK STORY


THE BACK STORY: In January 2016 I launched "Well Used, Well Loved" (WUWL)a long term community art project that explores age, beauty, impermanence and attachment through a hand woven dish towel and reflective writing/drawing. Eight households from England to Oregon "adopted" a hand woven linen towel to use however they wish. Every other week I sent a prompt for reflection to be recorded in a small journal that I provided. The response to my initial call to participate in WUWL was overwhelming. Over 50 households expressed interest in taking part in the project and I only had 8 towels.


So I created a secondary project that dovetailed with the first one. This second group of ultimately 38 households (Maine to Arizona) wrote and drew on kozo paper (a special Japanese paper) to record their response to my prompts. Thru a hands-on workshop at my studio I taught local folks from this group how to spin their kozo paper into thread using a Japanese technique called Shifu. I created a video tutorial for those who wanted to learn to spin their paper from afar.


Prompts to both groups were the same. For example Prompt #6 was: "The materials for this project are hand woven linen and Kozo paper. Both are created from plant fibers, known for their absorption qualities. Absorption can also been seen as dissolving boundaries. In that light what parallels or connection do you observe between your own ability to absorb, to soak up, to empathize? What connections do you perceive between your linen/paper and the action of union, of dissolving boundaries, connection? What value do these actions have today.


In September 2017 I began to collect the 8 towels, the kozo papers and the journals to wrap up the project. The journals, the used/loved towels and the completed four panel piece woven from the community threads combine to create an installation that honors and reflect the spirit of this project.

Thursday, February 4, 2016

Inspring Words

Not only are the towels getting well used - but people are sharing words. I am inspired and in awe.


Here are two quotes ~


"More discussion with a couple of friends over a cup of tea after good soaking walk in the rain... We talked about the beauty of old objects and how it applies to the beauty of old people. It came to us that it is the stories that "old objects" conjure up for us that makes them so special, beautiful. We need to pay more attention to the stories of people, especially the elders in our lives"


"It's springtime in high school. The youth (flowers) are wearing me down (rock). I am grateful for the wisdom of age that allows me to accept them as they are and enjoy their zest for life. The hole is old. Its beauty lies in the patience to accept the endless drips that created it. This beauty was not formed overnight but through decades of quiet fortitude. It inspires me."


The Paper Team is exploring creative ways to introduce themselves to each other.

 


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