Projects for the New Year

In addition to looking back over the past year of tapestry highlights, I also look ahead. I don’t make resolutions, but I do make a list of designs I’m thinking of weaving. And I remind myself of ideas I may have forgotten.

One of my daily rituals is to do at least one little thumbnail sketch in my journal. Sometimes they come purely from my head or if I need some inspiration, I go through my photographs taken on my morning walks. Going back through these after a period of time allows me to see them freshly again. Some may still look like scribbles; others I find interest in.

I think this goes back to my photography days and proof - or contact - sheets. For those unfamiliar with the world of darkroom photography, negatives from a roll of film are cut into strips and laid out in rows onto a sheet of photo paper that when printed creates a tiny positive image the size of the negative of every shot on the roll.

Usually an image or two will jump out at the photographer and a print is made. But sometimes, months or years later, a different image will resonate. And so it is with these thumbnail sketches.

Do you have rituals in your weaving practice?

Leave a note in the comments if you want to share!