I began Relic I in January 2020. This was going to be a strong year, and I was going big to celebrate it and I was going to push my art forward. I spent Sunday afternoons sitting in my sunny studio working on this beast of a weaving.
But before I talk too much about this, I must tell you about the afghan. I come from a long line of women and yarn. My grandmother crocheted, and I vaguely remember that maybe her mother did? My mother did. I tried when I was twelve, but I didn’t have the patience. I certainly couldn’t make one of these throws, but oh my grandmother and mom did. As a small child, I would hide under these things and watch Scooby Doo. The holes allowed viewing with just the right amount of protection. Upon my grandmother’s death I was given an acrylic beige crocheted throw that had been made by my mother as a gift for her mother. My mother had passed years before, and the aunts thought I would like to have it. Ok, so here I admit….I don’t really like crochet. I especially don’t like acrylic yarn. But there I was, given yet another afghan. (I am pretty sure the one that she had made me ended up at Goodwill). It sat in a trunk for a few years until I decided to shred it.
Yes. I did. I had an idea to take this thing that had only sentimental value and turn it into art that I would appreciate more.
Relic I was my first piece on my big loom. As I moved up the loom, I thought about how things get passed down through generations. The material things AND the intangible things like strength and resilience. Three generations of strong women. I can’t help but wonder how my mother and her mother would have handled this year. I started to envision my piece being a ship that was built to stand up against big storms.
Towards the beginning of April we went on lockdown because of the pandemic. I wanted my large loom home with me but I couldn’t transport it with the weaving still on it. I ended it as I had left it last. Because of that the shape became more ship-like.
I will always remember that night. I hadn’t been out in several weeks. I can’t really describe my thoughts at the time, but I know you can relate. We can weather these storms and press forward into the unknown.