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.
 |
| (he was much scarier and I’m sure much bigger when I used to make weekly visits) |
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.
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
