Weaving in Chaos - Chaos Weaving


‘Weaving can encompass the Everyday to the Epic from the Epic to the Everyday’
Gina Maffey:

Important Preparation
We invite participants to bring a piece of grass, thread or fibre with them to the session. We also advise having access to a view outdoors, or if that is not possible to bring something natural to the session – a leaf, stick or stone for example. These will serve as anchors for shared inquiry in breakout groups.

Introduction
The emergent social and professional practice of weaving, at its core, has deeprespect for the historical and cultural crafts and practices of makingfunctional objects from a wide range of natural materials. Contemporary weaversthough, endeavour to encompass practice and aspire to braid the everyday to theepic and the epic to the everyday. This session explores how the ancient craftof weaving can offer a mirror to this bold objective.

Thus basket weaving as a craft is embedded deep within cultural memory. It has developed as a reflection of the collective narrative held both in and across cultures. And, while retaining the roots of its origins it has continued to evolve as societal interests and demands have shifted. In this respect, it offers an ancestral lens to view and understand the emerging profession of systems weaving.

In this session, co-led by Gina Maffey and Dave Pendle, we invite you to join us in one of the oldest forms of basketry, known as Chaos Weaving, to explore the interaction between our individual and collective narratives.      

Holding the Story
Basketry invites us to create a permeable container. One where the weave exists both on the inside and the outside. A basket is an expression of the human-nature relationship that we still interact with on a near daily basis. Although near invisible in the home, baskets hold the stories of cultural transition.

In Chaos Weaving, the form of the basket is not necessarily predefined, with thepattern of the weave emerging from the capabilities of the material and the imagination of the weaver. As a tool for separation and organisation, thebasket becomes a technique to hold order within chaos.

This session uses the physical actof weaving as a metaphorical and material inquiry into systems weaving. We ask:

●    Where/How does your work intertwine with the natural world?

●    How does your individual narrative connect within a collective narrative?

●    What story/stories are held within the collective weave of the Weaving Lab?

From Tangible Thread to Systemic Practice
Basket weaving is deeply embedded in social human evolution. As a technique it has determined how we can store food, travel and trade. It is both a practical and artistic practice. It has allowed us to thrive. The query now is how we can draw on this lineage to further inform how we collectively foster and support systems?

Over time Gina Maffey has slowly developed an embodied practice held within relationships. Drawing on learnings from astronomy, ecology, science communication and, of course, basketry. Her love of Chaos Weaving reflects the tension of holding complexity and simplicity in story. Chaos weaving begins with three loops from which the fibres begin to adopt their own form – the resulting basket is a discussion of balance between the weaver and the material. The process echoes the experience of systems weavers, who begin with threads of relationships, allowing shared meaning and structure to arise through co-creation.

In our co-led session, Gina and Dave will explore the craft of weaving as a mirror for the art of systems change. Through live discussion, poetic storytelling, and material play, participants will engage in both conceptual and tangible reflections.

We invite participants to bring a pieceof grass, thread or fibre with them to the session. We also advise having access to a view outdoors, or if that is not possible to bring something natural to the session – a leaf, stick or stone for example. These will serve as anchors for shared inquiry in breakout groups.

An Embodied Experience
This is not just a conversation. It is a collective act of remembering and reimagining. Itis an invitation to:

●    Find innovation in the ancient;

●    Understand one of our most unbroken links to the natural world;

●    Weave our imaginations together.

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