Tuesday the 22nd

Nat and Mihoko had to drive to New York last minute for a funeral.

I picked up a sweet woman from the airport.
Ann traveled from Georgia to take an intensive Saori weaving class. She weaves at home, but she wanted to rejuvenate her creative side. She knows how to do all of the technical things in weaving, but she needed to get out of her head. She wanted a vacation from conformity. I met her at the Logan airport at 1:15pm, and we immediately had a million things to talk about. She has blue streaks in her hair, she has a lovely Georgia accent, and she has 4 children. The drive from Boston to Worcester we spoke about everything from health and alternative doctors, to figure drawing modeling and small towns. At one point my GPS took us on an exit and immediately told us to turn around and get back onto the Mass Pike. Ann and I laughed and laughed and made fun of it for getting us lost. When we got to Saori, I showed her the studio and we went inside to get her settled in the house. We then went grocery shopping (for her week of classes and living in Nat and Mihoko's home) and then had our weaving class at night.

A stand-in for Mihoko, Katherine, was there to run the show, Ann was a pro at setting up and threading her loom. I got to (re)thread a loom with my warp threads. I feel like i am not very good at this yet. But I will keep learning and growing.

:)

My first Friday...

June 18. Last night I wove in the studio alone. It was different, and I think I learn the best, with most things, when I am alone and in a peaceful place to fully concentrate. I sang, loud. I never want to be that person, so I try not to sing out loud (more than a hum) when I am in a group of people. It seems snobbish, I feel.

Now i am networking. Publicizing. Getting the word(s) out.

It is sunny and lovely out. I think I will take a walk and hand out flyers for this upcoming event. Then, hopefully, I will have time to weave a little bit (If Mihoko doesn't have a list of To-Do's already for me).

I am a little sleepy and I feel bla. Maybe getting out of this office and outside will fix that.
until next time, you Blog, you.

The first of many bogs, I'm sure...

So it is somehow June 15th already. I am not sure how that happened. This is my third day at Saori Worcester, a lovely family business owned by Mihoko Wakabayashi and Nat Needle.

The business is in a neighborhood in the inner city, tucked between triple-decker houses that serve as 3 family apartments.

I have done so much in my first 3 days here.

Tuesday the 8th, the day after I had driven from Bar Harbor to Northbridge with the stuff from my house (that I was moving out of--lovely 'summertime), I met Nat and Mihoko at their home (in front of the weaving studio) to talk about Creative Laundry Day (which is taking place the August 13th). 2 other people who were working on the planning, art-making and publicity for the event were there, happily drinking coffee and eating bagels that Mihoko had made for everyone. I listened. I smiled. Mihoko and Nat's two boys woke up and started their day of school and Cha-Cha, a young woman who was living with them for a week came home right as Mihoko and Nat and I ran off to Goddard School to teach a Class of 4th graders how to weave. They were lovely.
the school was big and musty smelling--the kid of place I imagine public schools to look like--smell like--but at the same time, it had a unique quirk to it: a large auditorium with a piano and left-over Christmas decorations (in June)....bright red chairs bolted to the floors...some unruly knit things huddled in the corners of the stair well. The kids I met were fabulous. 90 percent of them spoke Spanish, and it made an interesting dynamic between the teachers and students. I would be fascinated to see how they view authority differently than students who speak the same language as their teachers and administrators.
I spoke with Karla, Cati, Indina and other sweet Latina girls who asked me if I was from Puerto Rico. I smiled at that--if only I looked like I was from Puerto Rico! One of the girls wore Nat's woven jacket. She looked like a little samurai drowning in her clothes. Another put a scarf around her neck and said "I'm a Diva!"...this same girl later said "Who like's fashion???" to the whole class. They all proceeded to answer loudly. :)
So full of joy and creativity--I couldn't believe what some of these kids were weaving--I felt nervous that i might never be that good. "That Good"--Hopefully I will break that mind set soon...but it is hard to remember NOT to compare yourself constantly..to everyone.
after teaching at the elementary school we went back home and worked some more on scheduling and I ended up helping Cha-Cha carry some boxes to her car. That day Kenzo and Naoto Jo were flying into Boston from Japan.
The house was buzzing and Mihoko was so stressed about getting everything in order for their arrival.-- work calls!

Taking my first weaving class tonight with Mihoko! yay