Wednesday, 9 August 2023

Weaving A Community Together

Have you ever heard of an Earth Loom? It's a modern day version of an ancient vertical loom, a variation of which is still used by the Navajo people to weave their famous rugs today.

An Earth Loom is set up in a public space and people are invited to weave or attach biodegradable items to its warp strings, thereby creating a collective work of art and fostering community building. When completed, the Earth Loom is often taken to a forest, orchard or other natural area and allowed to "return to nature."

Isn't that a cool idea?

My friend Sandra in British Columbia recently erected an Earth Loom, constructed out of scavenged wood found on the nearby coastline and lashed together by her husband Gord. Here's the Earth Loom on Day One . . .


. . . and two weeks later!


I see feathers, driftwood, twigs, shells, cloth, ribbons and other fabric in this woven celebration. The community really came together to create a striking art installation!

In the most recent closeup, there's an animal skull with a bead "earring" added by a neighbour and a strip of cotton attached by an Australian visitor. 


I first met Sandra many years ago in law school in Winnipeg. Following a distinguished legal career here in Edmonton, Sandra has become a serious weaver, creating beautiful textiles and art. She is currently completing a Master Weaving Program and hopes she may be able to use this fun and meaningful project in her thesis.

Thanks for letting me blog about your Earth Loom, Sandra!

[Photos used with permission]

35 comments:

  1. Thank goodness for interesting, creative people, a foil for the dull, offensive politicians we have to deal with.

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  2. I've never heard an earth Loom but boy what a cool idea. And then to just let time ravage it and return to the Earth is a cool concept.

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  3. It's a neat idea, although I find the results a bit creepy. I question whether everything in the loom is all that biodegradable, though.

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  4. Very nice!
    Love the idea that everybody knows that it's both a community project and that it raises awareness toward the environment.
    I have seen some projects similar to this around the lakeshore. Very cool.

    XOXO

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  5. I love it, I was thinking the other day about art classes I would like to take, and someday soon, I will have time to do so.

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  6. I've never heard of this, but my community & nature-loving self adores it!!

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  7. A local Scout built a permanent earth loom for my town library years ago and I was asked to warp it and get participation at our big annual festival of the arts, which I helped found.

    I did this for several years, getting kids to help warp, then weave in anything they wanted, fibers, feathers, messages, then help cut the finished weaving off the loom and hang it in the library.

    I also created a big original wall hanging on it as a residency, people could come watch and chat. That piece, Four Sisters, donated fibers from many women, beads, ribbons, handspuns, now hangs in the library. I did the work but it was collaborative because of women all over the world wanting to be included with their gifts of materials.

    Thanks so much for reminding me of those great times.

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  8. that is beautiful.
    love & magicks
    ~*~

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  9. Hello Debra, I love creative people like Sandra, especially when they get the public to participate in a project of this sort--kind of like a collective memory jar. By the way, my apartment also seems to be slowly returning to nature--does that make it qualify for an art project?
    --Jim

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  10. What a joyous idea. I wish I could have participated.

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  11. Wow! So impressive! Creativity on steroids! Love it!

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  12. I see she put a box next to it with a note that says "no garbage please". I don't think that request would work around here. Too many teenagers.

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  13. Great idea. Your title says it all.

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  14. What a great idea.
    This would be brilliant for schools. Teaching children about ancient customs. Natural alternatives to man made fibres and working together.
    I know a teacher of textiles who could use this idea. I’m going to pass it on to her.

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  15. It is a cool idea. It makes me want to pick up my needle and thread and beads again.

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  16. Any idea what animal that skull belongs to? It reminds me of those cattle skulls that you see in paintings or illustrations of an American desert, but you said that's a close-up picture, thus making it larger than it seems, so it could a mole's scull for all I know.

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  17. All ideas that bring people together are great indeed.
    I found this very nice.
    Amazing that your friend Sandra is doing masters in this intriguing topic dear Debra
    Hugs

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  18. @ Kirk -- I asked Sandra and she doesn't know. Her neighbour found it in the bush around her yard. It is probably the skull of something typical to their area -- raccoon, otter, seal or deer.

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  19. Thank you for sharing this wonderful piece of interactive art! I hadn't heard of an Earth Loom, but I love it.

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  20. Very cool..interesting idea..I ad never heard of an earth loom..Thanks for sharing..

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  21. That is such an awesome idea. I'm going to have to start one!

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  22. How cool is this! Thanks for introducing me to something new, Debra!

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  23. What a powerful idea! Beauty, culture, and collaboration in one piece. Wow.

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  24. Wow, this is so cool! I've never heard of it before.

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  25. Interesting. I have never seen a loom made rug with attachments. So many new things in the world if you keep looking.

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