SO IS WEAVING THERAPEUTIC?
Now is a chance to reflect back over the year's work and bring together all the main components for my presentation. I have looked at weaving being therapeutic in two areas: the impact that weaving has on the weaver and the impact a woven object has on the viewer. It has been amazing to have my neighbour agree to be my case study and we have talked through the experiences she has had, firstly with the woven bodice in the hospital and then with each of my bodices as she came to visit. Each time we have talked at a deeper level and she has experienced some profound moments of impact. I believe those experiences have shaped her, comforted her, encouraged her or guided her, and in some way brought healing to her. If it wasn't for my meeting with her originally, this research project would have taken a very different route. I am grateful for her friendship, her openness and her willingness to be a part of my exploration.
I am also extremely grateful for other weavers who have encouraged and inspired me. Many have had therapeutic experiences while weaving and I am keen to now start exploring how this potential could be developed further as a Creative Arts Therapy modality.
Each of the bodices I have made are symbols of healing. They can be used to stimulate thoughts and feelings that can then be explored in such a way that it is beneficial to our personal growth and the way we live our lives. The red and natural bodice is symbolic of relationships and our desire to be at peace with others (based on the premise that primarily we were created for relationship). The ti kouka bodice is symbolic of being connected to the land and at peace with the environment and the muka bodice is symbolic of our relationship with God (and if we are at peace with God then we can be at peace with who he created us to be because everything flows out of Him). Each bodice contains many aspects that can be a stimulus for us to relate to e.g. knots, patterns, and materials as well as themes that can be developed e.g. complimenting, competing, making changes, unlikely combinations, trying something new, identity, trust, faith, hope, commitment, belonging, working together, clarity, simplicity etc.
This journey has been extremely therapeutic for me and I am grateful for the new things I have learnt about myself, how I function in this world and the impact we have on each other. Weaving has changed me. Weaving has taught me. Weaving IS therapeutic.
I am also extremely grateful for other weavers who have encouraged and inspired me. Many have had therapeutic experiences while weaving and I am keen to now start exploring how this potential could be developed further as a Creative Arts Therapy modality.
Each of the bodices I have made are symbols of healing. They can be used to stimulate thoughts and feelings that can then be explored in such a way that it is beneficial to our personal growth and the way we live our lives. The red and natural bodice is symbolic of relationships and our desire to be at peace with others (based on the premise that primarily we were created for relationship). The ti kouka bodice is symbolic of being connected to the land and at peace with the environment and the muka bodice is symbolic of our relationship with God (and if we are at peace with God then we can be at peace with who he created us to be because everything flows out of Him). Each bodice contains many aspects that can be a stimulus for us to relate to e.g. knots, patterns, and materials as well as themes that can be developed e.g. complimenting, competing, making changes, unlikely combinations, trying something new, identity, trust, faith, hope, commitment, belonging, working together, clarity, simplicity etc.
This journey has been extremely therapeutic for me and I am grateful for the new things I have learnt about myself, how I function in this world and the impact we have on each other. Weaving has changed me. Weaving has taught me. Weaving IS therapeutic.
