I recently visited the local museum in my home town
of Paisley. Walking through those high
glass doors and up the steps past the room where I used to attend Saturday
Morning Art Classes there was a touch of nostalgia reinforced further by Buddy the
Lion. The reason for this visit was
to see the Story of the Paisley Shawl and the Weaving Gallery.
I was born and brought up in Paisley, and spent
most of my teenage years planning my escape.
I never truly appreciated the history of this beautiful town and the many treasures to be found
here. I’ve been working on creating some
pieces around the Paisley Pattern and thought a trip to the museum would bring
some additional inspiration. And I was
not left disappointed.
(he was much scarier and I’m sure much bigger when I used to make weekly visits) |
The story of the Paisley Pattern, the Paisley Shawl
collection and the Weaving Gallery were well worth the visit. Whilst there was much to learn about the shawls
there was a wealth of knowledge to be gained regarding the spirit and resilience
of the Paisley People. Whilst Paisley
was a highly industrialised town, I’m sure this was as much a product of the
highly skilled and hard working people as the wealthy industrialists that also
called the town home.
As you enter the Weaving Gallery there is a short
video presentation showing the restoration of the Sma’ Shot Cottages, further
instilling a pride in Paisley’s Past and the pride Paisley’s people have in
their town. This is also where I learnt
what a ‘Sma’ Shot’ was/is. Every so
often, as weavers wove the cloth on the loom an extra weft was shot through the
work in order to add strength to the fabric – this was the “sma’ shot”.
A sma’ shot was a balancing thread strengthening the fabric. It struck me that the fabric of all our lives can benefit from a sma’ shot. What do you weave into your life? Art? Meditation? Journaling? What’s your sma’ shot?
Namaste
Catherine
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