WARP! WOOF!
Weaving can be a fine avocation. It is creative every sense and allows the artistic side of one's inner self to find expression in fabric designs unique to an individual. I can see how weaving, started as a hobby, can become a full-time occupational concern.
To hold strands of thread of various colors in your hand, and then to conflate them all into a series of meaningful shapes, figures, symbols and pictorial representations - places, studio props or people, is, indeed, an attainment demanding the greatest of artistic abilities I envy those who can do it with, seemingly, with such ease and enjoyment.
One special incident concerning weaving came my way in the fall of 1973 when I was re-visiting sites I had know thirty years earlier in England. I spent several days at Norwich, in Norfolk County and one afternoon wandering up Charring Cross way hoping to locate a place called “Stranger's Hall.” - an old Flemish leftover, the home of a merchant and a place where many Flemish immigrants lived.
I found the place easily enough and had the odd feeling that it had not changed one whit in the ensuing thirty years. It has become a more formal Museum of Domestic Life now, I understand, but at that time, it was quite open to all. male single spectator who was seated on a long bench just inside the entrance. He nodded a greeting and I joined him.
There were three young girls seated a what appeared to be a large loom-like arrangement. An older woman turned from one to the other giving assistance and guidance for the work they were doing. She was pointing at the fabric giving guidance and instructions, and my bench companion told me they were repairing a damaged tapestry or wall-hanging.
The item on the loom did not look like a tapestry. We were seeing the reverse side. The girls were being taught to examine the flaws
or breaks in the and to repair them, any weak or broken connectives, and to repair them so that the observe side would be more secure and last longer.
They were “apprentices”, I thought at the time, learning the ancient art.
My previous stay in the Norwich area was at the behest of my esteemed Uncle Sam and during war time, when all art works and wall hangings had been removed and stored away in supposedly safe havens. On my return visit I was surprised to see that what I remembered as being bare walls was emblazoned with paintings, art works of all kinds and tapestries in abundance. The Great Hall at St. Andrews, the Guild Hall, the Castle, The Bishop's Palace ...even some commercial locations and many private homes, I would imagine, were suddenly restored.
The warp and woof of history has been busy, as well. It, too, was “set aside” during the years. We have brought back much of what we had developed over the years.
It might be wise to inspect the undersides of those things we saved to be sure the structure is secure. It is nice to be sure the side we see is firmly founded and carefully sustained.
A.L.M. July 2, 2003 [c550wds]
