While making this little bag I had lots of time to ponder the subject of amulets. What started as an attempt to speed up the necklace making process became a lot more complicated.My knowledge of amulets is very sketchy, but I like the small pouches created to hold them. Thinking it might take less time to complete than my other necklaces and appeal to more people, I decided to document each step with descriptions and photos.
Each pause to take photos or make notes interrupted my work, but the biggest time consumer was weaving the back side of the bag—which wouldn't even show! It was one solid color, one weaving pattern, and one big frustration.
My original pattern was a rectangle. Trying to maintain an even tension on the edges so the bag wouldn't taper towards the center was a challenge I failed to meet. By the time I completed the back of the piece I was so discouraged that I stopped my diary of the project before starting on the front flap. That section involved free-form weaving that would have been hard to describe; but mainly, I lost interest in writing about something I wasn't even sure I'd finish.
Thoughts of the amount of time I'd already invested prompted me to complete it—with or without notes. As with any of my projects there was a metaphor in there somewhere—appropriate for a container meant to hold meaningful items. Here are the lessons I learned (or relearned):
- Weaving (and life) doesn't always follow the plan
- With jewelry (as in life) this is not necessarily bad
- Challenges can be either frustrations or opportunities
Any amulets I might tuck away in this bag would stand for perseverance, patience and pragmatism. All were ingredients in the making of the bag, and pretty helpful in life too.
No comments:
Post a Comment