Wednesday, June 13, 2007

Eggs in a Basket

Logistics: I am teaching at the NEWS Conference July 20-22. I am leaving for the East Coast on July 2, stopping off to visit family and friends in Baltimore. On July 12, I grab a train to New York to visit more friends and attend the International SAORI Weaving Conference on my way to NEWS.

What to do with the 50 lbs. of slides, weaving samples, and supplies, I pondered? Torn between not wanting to ship my samples and not wanting to drag a huge suitcase through New York, I opted for comfort (after extreme anxiety) and Fedex'd my suitcase today.

Back in 1962 when I was a weaving student at RISD, I was working on an original overshot design to be used in a three paneled blanket. I had completed the weaving portion and had begun joining the panels together. I decided to work on it over the Christmas break and shipped it home by bus (along with some clothes). It never arrived.

I had already invested 100 hours into the blanket. The good news (if there was any good news) was I got an "A" on the project anyway. I think the weaving instructor felt bad for me, and she knew I had woven the blanket. Looking back on it, I'm not sorry the blanket was lost because it wasn't fitting together as well as I would have liked, so I am blessed with not having to be eternally confronted with less than satisfactory results. AND I don't have to wonder how I would feel if my weaving gets lost in shipping.

Shipping remains a somewhat nail-biting experience for me, however. I have decided to take a philosophical attitude about it all. If the suitcase disappears, it is a sign that I should take up a new vocation.

I meant to take a picture of the contents of the suitcase, but I forgot in my haste to get it shipped. I did make a written inventory however.

Interestingly, there were a few pieces I just couldn't make myself pack. This is surely a lesson in non-attachment.

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