Creative Hands

Steady and well-trained hands moving - the motions are rhythmic and mechanical yet personal and adjusting. From cold aluminum shafts and spun skeins emerges a tapestry finely knitted together. Out of the almost robotic redundancy patterned to perfection comes a new snuggle piece. It reminds me of the amazement I have when I watch someone play a musical instrument.

There are times when the mechanics of bowing or the technique of fingering simply seem to be completely unrelated to what your heart hears as the melodic course streams through you. To be taken to North American valleys and the forever stratosphere and to love lost depths or triumph gained by exercising string vibrations or the concurrence of certain octaves creatively fashioned, sets me to mind as I see a new hand-made blanket arrive fresh from its needled incubation. There seems to be a certain disconnect between process and piece and yet they are one.

Staring at the new hatchling it’s funny how I feel as though I would be violating a certain pact, unmade yet understood, if I were to take that blanket and allow myself to be covered by the beauty of her first warmth. When the craftsman makes a piece specifically for a definite person it seems adulterous to sneak in a comfy wrap or snuggle prior to the inauguration meeting when the recipient meets product.

So as the rain continues to fall and the night air is chilled, I’ll just admire from afar and gently brush my palm over the fine fibers. We do have a way of trade marking our creature comforts particularly when they have been woven especially for us by steady and well-trained hands, and who am I to intrude?