I captioned this post Momentum. Then thought, “Perhaps ‘inertia?'” so googled “inertia” to be sure I understood how I was thinking about it–and the definition has bowled me over for several reasons:
The vis insita, or innate force of matter, is a power of resisting by which every body, as much as in it lies, endeavours to preserve its present state, whether it be of rest or of moving uniformly forward in a straight line.”
Bowls me over because of that one phrase: “power of resisting.” I’ve been pondering resistance in other forms–not physical forms as in this definition–but thought forms. Emotions. Reactions. Old programming. Any and everything that arises and feels like a flow deterrent. Any and every thing that disturbs my “wah.” I know I didn’t make that up–this word “wah.” But again, I just googled its spelling and can’t find it. It was a common concept in something I read years ago. A novel probably and “wah” as I interpreted it, broadly referred to tranquility–an unfettered state. Can anyone help me with this reference?
So anything that disturbs what I’m calling my “wah” creates what I’m also referring to as “resistance.” And paying attention to this–to resistance–has preoccupied me for the last few weeks. In the past I’ve struggled with it–or more aptly–against. Made resisting resistance a career. To be overcome. But suddenly the irony of “resisting resistance” becomes almost laughable. So–the practice has been NOT resisting but simply acknowledging. Allowing room for it to be without globbing onto it and making it all pervasive. And noticing how this simple shift reduces the charge. Fine tuning. That’s all.
When I sat down to post, I was stunned that it’s been a month. A few weeks I thought. But the momentum of thoughts and creation hasn’t translated to blogdom. Still, here’s what I’ve been doing. Bowls taking precedence for a while over slow cloth. I’ve placed a lot of them down town at Woolworth Walk and at a local market in W. Asheville. Constantly having to rephrase my thinking from “no one will buy these” to “they’re beautiful and will find good homes.”
Here are a few recent ones. Bowls with lids:
and a larger bowl, inside outside:
and several from this morning–moving back and forth between color and neutrality:
So. A month of momentum focused on bowls and recognizing/allowing resistance. And one more thing–the cloth that earns the title “slow.”
following thread 
I just love your bowls and with lids how clever, the slow cloth is just beautiful, lovely marks and so peaceful.
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hi Debbie. i’m enjoying the challenge of fitting lids to bowls. getting a bit more refined as i plod through this learning curve. thanks for commenting.
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I love the calm of this post after a couple of infuriating weeks dealing with mindless bureaucratic mistakes created by computer glitches at the bank and by the gas provider that reminded me of Terry Gilliam’s film “Brazil”.
re The Wah… the first book that springs to mind is ‘Island’ by Aldous Huxley but I have been thinking a lot about that book and the mynah’s calling to “Attention”… when the crows cry their ‘aaarrrrrrkkk aaaaaaarrrrrkkkks’ overhead I am reminded to pay attention to the magic that is always all around when we become still & listen no matter what the circumstances
or
perhaps it’s a form of The Way in the Tao Te Ching
or
‘Stranger in A Strange Land’…. that one gave us the word “grok” – ‘Grok means to understand so thoroughly that the observer becomes a part of the observed—to merge, blend, intermarry, lose identity in group experience. It means almost everything that we mean by religion, philosophy, and science—and it means as little to us (because of our Earthling assumptions) as color means to a blind man.’ definition from Wikipedia
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aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrkkkkkkkkkaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrk. hate to use the expression it but i feel your pain. infuriating bureaucracies indeed. i’ll revisit Island–that could be it. and yes…love grok as well–another bird sound i think–and it could have been there, SSL, will check it out. and there’s always the chance that i’ve just made it all up!
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Patricia, your ever expanding creativity with your unique and amazing baskets is wonderful to behold, colors, shapes, clever lids . Still in this post, it is your slow cloth that holds my attention.What intrigues me about your slow cloth is how it looks, at first glance, to be calm, reflective and it is. However it all changes when I enlarge your work and continue to look: this cloth resists that initial impression; I’m pulled into this vortex of momentum, movement, swirling, labyrinth, stitching that is running with story and I’m thinking of things known, unknown, wanting to come forth and it all feels like meeting resistance head on, moving through it and accepting whatever comes….
Re Wah” well I will be goofy here but I thought you meant it as a lament, as in waaaaa,!!!
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yes yes all of this. the unknown wanting to come forth–the primal force that runs beneath everything. today is a spring day–forsythia in bloom, daffodils up, sun shining–and i think maybe this cloth was somewhat of a harbinger of all this. sending love.
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love the sense of mapping and geology and season in your slow cloth
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thanks Mo. i’ve been away at a natural dye workshop and just getting around to these comments. like that you see what i’m doing.
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as always, i take time with your posts. Let the initially appear, then slowly settle and
change as i re read, re look.
The baskets…the baskets are just FINE and with lids…ohhh. yes. with lids. You are
becoming totally skilled.
the slow Cloth is just elegant…and i wonder if you would want to tell the story that YOU see? and this is all hand stitched? and is it you dye cloth? It’s just really Wonder full.
and the words that i have held in my mind since the first reading, and that come to
additional meaning for me today, Saturday, the 21st, are “the innate force of matter by which every body endeavors to preserve it’s present state”.
This has great meaning to me this evening
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the slow cloth–its story?–i’m not sure i can articulate. what it is to me is so primal–like the sound of a babies’ heart beat or the sound when you put your fingers in your ears and just hear hum. that’s what it is–and to try to say what those things mean to me–well i just can’t get close. the cloth is not all hand stitched. the white stitching is called “free motion” that’s appropriate isn’t it? the feed dogs are removed and the stitcher–which would be me in this case–totally controls the speed, direction and shape of the stitching. i had nothing in mind when i sat down with it–nothing except to just follow it–because once you get started, you almost have to just keep going and hope for the best. but yes it is my dye cloth and all the rest of the stitching is being done by hand–emphasizing shape and form i see arising from the background. i used to do a lot of this before i discovered Jude. and then it seemed to be that machine stitching was somehow just not what i wanted to do. but looking at this cloth–i don’t know–i really like it and may have a go at it again–for a while. big love
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oK. so i am looking More. What exactly is the Difference between
the free motion marks and hand marks? Am looking. because, really, you should ( anyone) be able to replicate the machine’s free
motion with hand stitching…but there is a Difference….WHAT IS IT?
This is very interesting.
and i’m back looking at the black walnut basket with the
Spaces
the
Eyes
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i’ll take a better picture–sharper–so the machine stitches are more in focus. yes the shapes and design created by free motion could be replicated. for me the difference is in the going. because once the free motion starts, i’m committed. can’t sit and mull and wonder and choose. it takes me rapidly into the unknown and unexpected–because when i do free motion, usually i don’t have a plan. and for some reason this really appeals to me. a huge “what if.” or more like “what now?” it’s very different from contemplative stitching because of the momentum that builds rapidly. and right now i’m seeing dervish dancers and in some way i think it’s like that. and Grace? did i even come close to answering your query?
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do you still have the black walnut basket?
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yes i do, Grace, but it’s not very pretty. i’ll take pics and send if you like.
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i take it back. just looked at it again–it’s been out of sight–and it is actually quite lovely–will send pic
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