What I want to Weave
Once upon a time, there was a small village in a valley, where there lived two of the weavers who were known all over the world. These weavers created beautiful fabrics that shimmered like morning dew and were as colourful as a field of wildflowers. They knew each other well, and liked to challenge one another and test each others abilities. One winter, when the wind was blowing coldly outside and everyone was getting chilled, they challenged each other to see who could weave the best way to keep warm, to stave off the frigid air, to provide comfort and support in the face of the frigid and barren winter. They set their looms side by side in the town square, with the snow swirling in strange patterns in the air and on the ground and began to weave. As they wove, they talked and laughed, tying ever brighter and warmer colours into their looms. They drew crowds of people from all over the village who came to see, not only what the weavers would create, but the joy they took in the weaving. The weavers seemed to dance around their looms, playing with the threads, only to have them slowly fall into wondrous patterns as if by accident. Finally, after three days and three nights of weaving, and only weaving, the weavers were done, and the people in the town square gathered close to see what they had created. Hano, the first weaver, had created a beautiful, storied tapestry, thick and heavy with meaning and weighty with colours and patterns more beautiful than a sunlight, layered grove. Tyli, the second weaver, had created a bright shawl, thinner than Hano’s tapestry, and embroidered with fewer and simpler stories and figure than the great tapestry, but still beautiful and meaningful in it’s own right. However, the villagers all flocked to the profound safety seemingly offered by the tapestry, impermeable to the wind and weather. “But the contest in not yet complete” cried Tyli, and all the villagers turned towards her. “We still have to see whose performs best throughout the winter” she said, and all the villagers nodded, sure that Hano’s creation would block out the wind and snow and keep him the warmest. Hano and Tyli left the square, and each went to their own home, where Hano put his tapestry across his door and Tyli put on her shawl as she walked home.
Both weavers were comfortable and warm, both the tapestry and the shawl gave relieving heat and soothing protection, and the weavers went to sleep to rest and recover after their three days spent weaving. When Tyli got up the next morning, she put on her shawl and left her home and went about her daily business. She stayed warm and protected from the cold elements all throughout her day. When Hano woke up, he walked towards his door, and shifted his magnificent tapestry so that he could get out. Immediately, he has hit with a blast of cold snowy wind that shocked him so much dropped the edge of his tapestry and it swung back into place in front of his door, stopping the cold wind. While Tyli was out doing meeting friends and doing errands, Hano stayed stuck behind his wonderful tapestry. He couldn’t leave his house again till the end of winter.
The next winter, Hano wove a shawl.
I want to weave a shawl, something that has meaning and significance, but also something that I can carry with me, take into the wider world, and use there. I also want to experiment with the play of playing, increase my spontaneity and ability to improv and work collaboratively to create. I want to tap into my ability to create, that I don’t use that often and that I would like to use more, another thing that I would like to carry with me into the world out of this experience. I want to create stories with meaning, significance, as well as stories that are fun to play.