The Art of Spinning

When people discuss spinning, they are usually referring to craft or a technique to create an art supply or yarn that is then used to make something else, such as a sweater or a scarf. However, in the situation that I'm describing, the act of spinning rather than the result of spinning was put on display. The gallery owners of One Night Only Artique invited me to spin during an art opening Thursday night, September 4, 2008. The wheel and I were placed in the front window of the gallery where spinning could be seen from the outside as people were driving by and people could talk to the spinster (me) as part of the living artwork from the inside. I like this picture a lot. Through the window people can be seen standing outside in the rain under the protection of the awning smoking cigarettes and talking as young intellects do. Then on the inside is the wheel as a piece of art in its own right. All the while, the manequins are supervising the whole event.
Spinning is relaxing - it is the first time that I have been able to do something with both hands and both feet at the same time. When learning it takes a lot of concentration...over time some of it gets taken over by procedural memory, and when that happens, the body can manage the techniques of drafting and treadling without conscious thought. Never the less, one is always making conscious decsions about spinning which affect the look of the finished yarn. People at the opening enjoyed seeing the difference in yarns made from the same fiber that looked totally different. I think they also were drawn to the colors of the handdyed fibers. I love to watch people touching the yarns. The yarns want to be touched. Yarns come alive in people's hands. They need to be touched.




Here's Emily wearing my first layer cake cap which was orignially depicted in an earlier blogpost. Erica (co-owner of One Night Only Artique) and Emily are sisters. Erica thought Emily would like one of my caps and we were planning for a pink and black one for her. But when Emily saw this one she immediately put it on her head covered in long, shiny, auburn hair - we all knew that this green, brown, and white cap had found a home. It is a perfect fit. In general, people were very complimentary of all the caps and cap kits. I'm going to knit some up to have in the shop, and I am confident that they will do well there. They are young and hip - guess it does help to have a teenage daughter.

I don't usually like to get too personal here; but last night my daughter got in her first motor vehicle accident. Luckily nobody was hurt - the only damage was to the bumper of the other person's vehicle which we will fix next week. The accident happened because my daughter was someplace that she shouldn't be. She was supposed to be at a movie with one set of friends - instead she went to a fraternity party on the university campus where she was not supposed to be with another set of friends. Had she asked permission to be there - she could have gone - but she didn't. And poor thing, something always happens to alert me to her bad decisions. Like this little fender bender or Cody, her beloved dog coming into my room crying when she decided to sneak out of the house in the middle of the night several years ago. When will she ever learn....? I'm ready for her to learn.