Getting my new SAORI loom and weaving my first piece - Intuitive Threads

June 23, 2023

NEW LOOM

I collected my brand new SAORI WX60 weaving loom from Amanada of Beautiful Cloth Saori Studio from Napton on the 23rd May. Amanda had constructed the loom for me as it is shipped from Japan in separate parts. We had two hours together where Amanda showed how to attach the warp and the threading process and we set up the loom together. I was really glad to be shown how to do this as the process is noticeably different to what I know from warping conventional looms. The Saori looms are designed to be as easy to use as possible, but for me that also involves unlearning things. Then, with some assistance, the loom was folded up, secured, carried out to my car and buckled into the back seat and I drove it home. Struggled a bit to carry it into the house by myself, but what’s a few bruises for the sake of art? I was really pleased that it did fit where I hoped it would in the living/dining room.

I am fortunate enough to have a room in my house that I use as a studio, unfortunately it’s already full with a floor standing Harris sample loom. I keep thinking I should sell it and make space for the Saori loom, but I can’t quite bring myself to make the decision as of yet. There are advantages to working from home as an artist, but sometimes I would really like a studio space too. My weaving and artistic practice is now taking over three rooms in the house as well as some of the garage. Things just don’t flow and work quite as well as I’d like and sometimes I would like things to be in their right place and rooms used for their correct purpose. Having the loom in such a prominent place in the house makes me feel like I should always be weaving! Perhaps this is just about adapting to a change in my immediate environment. Having said all of that, I know I’m fortunate to have the space I have, so I will work on making it work.

One thing that is really different about Saori weaving, is the ready made warps, that come wound on a tube ready to use. I noticed this was usually a black cotton warp, although I believe other speciality warps are available. I didn’t realise it was a deliberate choice that plain warps would be black, in fact it seemed like a difficult colour to me, especially when I wanted to weave in white. Then I read this on the Saori website,

3rd SAORI Workshop - Intuitive Threads

April 26, 2023

I attended my 3rd SAORI weaving workshop on Friday 21st March with Amanda Edney of Beautiful Cloth SAORI Studio. This is part of my Intuitive Threads project exploring the nature of intuition in creativity through Saori and intuitive weaving methods. After attending two previous workshops, I was starting to feel more at home at the village hall at Napton, so when I arrived 10 minutes late, I apologised, made myself coffee and helped myself to biscuits. Part of my excuse for being late was I had to wait for the bin lorry to leave the narrow road to the village hall at Napton, the same thing happened the last time though so ideally I’d have been even earlier arriving. Anyway this actually turned out quite well as the three other people in the workshop were beginners taking their first Saori class, and it had given Amanda time to go through the introduction with them and get them set up to start weaving. After my coffee Amanda suggested I get together my yarns and wind bobbins to use before I started weaving. I chose bright coloured yarns this time, yellow, orange, pink, blue and green. This is quite a contrast to last time when I chose white and neutral colour yarns.

I had already decided before the workshop that I wanted to try the techniques Amanda had shown me at the last weaving day. These were Sakiori, weaving with yarns made from strips of fabric, and extra threads in the warp to add colour and interest. Before the workshop I had gone through my collection of fabrics at home and put together a collection of materials to bring with me. Perhaps most people don’t have a large box of assorted fabrics and materials hidden in a cupboard, but it turns out that I do, even if I’d forgotten about it for a long time. Most of the material came from my grandmother, after she died in 2006, I inherited most of her fabric collection. She had been a dress maker who made wedding and bridesmaid dresses as well as clothes for herself and the family in her younger years. When I was a young child, she would make coordinating outfits for me and my younger brother and sister. Some of these fabrics brought back memories of clothes she had made and times in my childhood. I found a brightly coloured graffiti style design that she had made my younger brother a pair of Bermuda shorts in, I seem to remember this being quite the thing in 1980s fashion. I’ve always quite liked the bright luminous neon colours of this fabric so I decided to use it in my weaving.

What is Intuitive Weaving?

April 17, 2023

My original aim for the Intuitive Threads project was to explore both SAORI weaving and Intuitive weaving. The purpose of this project is to allow for exploration and expansion of ideas. It's open ended with loosely defined outcomes. Having said that, sometimes it's helpful to have definitives and definitions. To close down the parameters a little and close in on what's most relevant with some focus. So that you know what you're doing, where you're heading, what you're looking at. I wanted to see if there was a definition of 'Intuitive weaving'. There are 1,902 entries with the hashtag #intuitiveweaving on Instagram as of today (17th April 2023), so it must be a thing!

Maybe not surprisingly, considering the multiple meanings the words intuition and intuitive can have, I've struggled to find a universal definition. The term seems to have different meanings and purposes for different people and weavers. Maybe an Internet search is not the most comprehensive way to explore this but that's where I started. A bonus of this approach was that I discovered some really interesting and inspiring weavers and textile artists that I wasn’t aware of before. People from around the world who have created businesses and workshops and put together ideas in ways that show something out of the ordinary can work. I’ve also come across some really interesting and perspective expanding pieces of writing.

Returning to attempting to define the term ‘Intuitive weaving’, some common themes came up in my research,

Spirituality - weaving as spiritual practice, and/or tradition.
Ancient origins - weaving as an ancient craft
Archetype - weaver/weaving archetype - weaving as creation/creating
Ritual - weaving to create or as ritual
Self-expression - as a vehicle for self-expression and creativity
Subconscious - accessing and expressing the subconscious
Process over outcome - intuition is connected to in the creative process
Instinct over intellect - (favouring creativity over logic or right brain over left brain)
Boundaries - weaving process providing structure for creative practice and intuition
Flow - weaving as a physical practice that allows for a state of ‘flow’ to be experienced
Mindfulness and Meditation - similar to flow, a mindful process
Spontaneity - a creative process/way of working without or with minimal pre-planning
Individuality - creating one off individual work
Non-standard materials - using natural, found, collected or recycled materials

Technology - Intuitive meaning easy to use and understand computerised looms for industry (the interloper)