Why Macramé?
Why Knot?
Being born in the 70’s, a lot of people assume that I learned macramé as a little girl. Not so. In fact, I have my cousin to thank for roping me into this newfound creative outlet – and the story goes a little something like this:
In February 2020, I’d been enduring a very heavy and emotionally draining week when my cousin, Ashley, suggested a shifting of gears to get me out of my head and out of my own house. She invited me to leave my worries behind - where they’d be attentively waiting for me when I got home from our outing. Turns out, she had signed us up for a macramé workshop. (If you’re thinking ‘macramé? – is that what’s hanging on the walls in a Three’s Company episode’ you, my friend, are correct!)
I will admit that I’d always been drawn to this kind of art - in particular, for its quiet, unassuming, and timeless appeal. But things took a decidedly interesting turn for me when I finally got my hands in the mix to CREATE these hanging little darlings with body and mind at ease and a guide at the front of the room to help show me the ropes. (Sorry, I had to).
Truth be told, I’m a real sucker for a good, old-fashioned creative workshop. You walk through the door with a child’s sense of wonder – everyone does! – which completely levels the playing field and makes everyone ‘colleagues’ in the proverbial sandbox. You learn together, you ask questions together, you screw it all up together, you claim small victories together, and you leave a slightly brighter, more galvanized YOU than the version that walked into the place. Plus, there’s that beautiful, handmade keepsake to treasure and take home. Tokens such as these create opportunities of rare, momentary reflection on the tiny little journeys we so often DO NOT take. But in my case, on that day, I was accompanied by a dear cousin who instinctively knew that my own personal threads had effectively come undone. We went to the workshop to relax, regroup, have some fun… but what I gained in the process was truly so much more. I’d been given a new tool in the ol’ unwineding toolbox – a way to use my hands, free my mind, tie up loose ends for myself – quite literally! I had discovered a new method of ‘working it all out’ with everyone in that room that day – and with you here right now.
The art of macramé has a time-honored reputation for invoking meditative contemplation or, in our case that day, raucous laughter and uproarious storytelling. Like any skill, macramé takes time, it requires patience and, of course, a great deal of measured practice. For me, as you can see, this has BECOME a practice. One that I turn to when I need to slow the racing hands on the clock, when I need to check in with myself to recalibrate, to right the ship as it drifts into rough waters. With my treasured antique riddling rack as my workstation, I create these beautiful, humble works of art as my own personal way of truly “unwinding.”