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| Towel II cools with the bread. |
As a weaver and thread enthusiast, I am well aware of all the metaphors that underlie my work. One of my current passions is thread as connective tissue between living organisms - the element that binds you to me, binds cultures throughout history, binds seemingly disparate tribes. Sort of gluten perhaps?
And yet sometimes our threads do not connect - we have different points of view on the same issue. This is where conflict could arise. But what if rather than conflict we simply nodded our head - and agreed to disagree? Then the connective tissue that binds us together is unbroken.
"Well Used, Well Loved" has a closed Face Book group - where we share our thoughts, response to the prompts and the photos. This is a safe place for our participants to be vulnerable and share ideas, opinions - each one unique. I, for one, have had my eyes opened to feelings that are quite different than my own.
We are on Prompt #7 "The Dark Side"
For two months we have examined and reflected on different aspects of using and loving.
This week I would like to explore what might be considered the dark side of this topic. It’s a place that some might shy away from – with all good reason. And yet, to know and understand something – we must be aware of its opposite. In this case, what might be the opposite of “Well Used, Well Loved”?
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| Towel VII helps with Easter eggs |
In yoga class, sometimes my teacher will have us exaggerate the opposite of a pose – for example if she wants us to relax and drop our shoulders – she asks us to shrug them up, way up to our ears. And then we dip our shoulders back down with new awareness of both positions. As many philosophers query – how can we know sunshine without knowing shadow?
These opposites are an integral part of Yin/Yang philosophy, Bali Hinduism and many other spiritual traditions. Perhaps the deeper we explore both sides, the less obvious is the line between “black and white".
PROMPT #7
Do you see an opposite to Well Used, Well Loved?
Do you want to explore this opposite side?
If so, what do you see is the opposite of Well Used, Well Loved?
As always – there are NO right answers to these prompts. And they are very personal.
To share them is your choice – not a requirement.
I am so very grateful for your companionship on this journey of inquiry.
Here are two responses: one visual, one written ~
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| Visual response to Prompt #7 |
"I can't seem to shake the last prompt regarding opposites, darkness and light... it follows me through my day and even seems to be stalking me in my sleep. Clearly something, I have not given enough consideration to, is seeking my focus and attention. As I sat staring at VIII on my kitchen counter this morning I wondered... is she a continuation of VII and all the woven and numbered towels before her? Cut from the same cloth, but with her own unique sewn and stitched edges. That's when it hit me.... the idea and nature of EDGES is what has been insistently prodding me. Edges, transitions and the nature and power of something to be itself and at some point (visible/invisible/tangible/intangible) become/express something else. It's time to grab some paints and stay tuned to what is bubbling up from the edges and transitions of the dark woods I am about to wander through."
