The EarthLoom—a metaphor for life and community—provided an apropos setting for the annual picnic of the Riverbend Fiber Arts Guild.Guild members shared an afternoon of fellowship and a pot luck picnic lunch while learning about the Zati approach to the Art of Weaving a Life through a presentation about the EarthLoom and Journey loom.
Zati is a word in the Urdu language that means "from an inner or sacred place." Following the presentation was an opportunity for guild members to weave on the EarthLoom.
Using the smaller, portable, 7-piece "Journey loom" for illustration, the meaning of the loom's structure was described: being, doing, feeling, thinking, creating, and teacher [the batten]. The red warp thread at the center of the loom symbolizes life's core. Surrounding the core are the warp threads which symbolize human values.
Members tagged each part of the Journey loom with a label to document the symbolism.
Traditional weaving materials such as yarn and thread, as well as organic materials such as flowers, plants and twigs were woven into the warp. Guild members could simultaneously interlace various findings into different areas of the weaving. With its symbolic references to various aspects of the human spirit and our daily journey through life, the EarthLoom serves as an artistic illustration in which each one's contribution is vital to the design as a whole.
A colored stick, marked with an individual's name, was inserted beside each person's contribution. The connections to our craft, to art, and to each other is what weaves the fabrics of our lives.
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