Showing Up

photo by Gentyl and Hyers

Submit to a daily practice. Your loyalty to that
is a ring on the door.
Keep knocking and the joy inside
will eventually open a window
and look out to see who’s there.

 

Rumi
 

 I have been interested in the idea of daily craft practice for a long time.  It is really hard to describe exactly what the allure of fiber work is for me.  What is easy to see is that the days that I make time to do some knitting, spinning or weaving are the better for it.  Sometimes though, I spin my wheels (pun intended) and do not have the oomph to push through to completion.  I look down at the work in my hands and see every imperfection and wonder...

 

Why does this matter?

It isn't any good anyway. 

You are just making more stuff that nobody will care about.

 

The project gets set aside and another idea is pursued.  The net result is not only a lack of tangible results but also a failure to achieve any sense of mastery.  For 2015, I desire a different result, so I am determined to show up everyday and put in the work.

This is going to require me to let go of my expectations and embrace the imperfections in the crafts I pursue and push through doubt to completion.

The bowls pictured above were valued by Zen masters because they were handmade and irregularly shaped, with uneven glaze, cracks, and a perverse beauty in their deliberate imperfection.  Their beauty enhancing the ritual of the daily tea ceremony.