Progress Report

I made a woven dish for some scent cubes to put in our bathroom…

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It was quite a pleasure to make. I used less cane than I thought I would. The only part that did not go so well was the rim/finishing. The stakes were not long enough so I could not finish the rim without a bunch of them sticking out everywhere. So, I had to weave them in and out of a few places. What I learned from that is that I should make sure I know how tall my weaving will be so that I will cut the stakes to the right length.

I would also just like to briefly blurb about how basket-weaving is slightly like knot-tying. While I was weaving the dish, I thought: What if I had done knot-tying for In-Depth? Then I thought, basket-weaving is like knot-tying, in that there are two or more strands to weave in a direction of choice, but probably more useful! The thought entertained me for a while and so I thought I would share it in here.

I also started a cedar basket with my mentor. In doing so, I learned how it is that one can weave differently shaped baskets. I also learned how to use a knife to thin out the bark for weaving, how long it can be stored, and the process of twinning using raffia, as well as different uses of raffia, and much more!

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Mentor

The good news for this post is that my mentor and I have sorted out when to meet and we did meet last Tuesday. She taught me how to start a cedar basket and that is exactly what we did. It was a good meeting, and I am glad we will be meeting every two weeks on Tuesdays from now on.

Obstacles

One of my obstacles is being able to basket-weave itself. My dad will not let me put a bucket with water in my room anymore, which basically means I can only basket-weave…in the bathroom, and I do not want to do that. I think this is part of the reason I have not done much basket-weaving this past fortnight, in addition to thinking it is too hard, there is no point, and I do not have the time. But now that I think about it, these are all just excuses to not do something that I had committed to doing. I was excited to basket-weave in the beginning, no reason I should stop thinking that.

What I will do about the water bucket issue is I will put lots of towels on the ground and empty the bucket after every session…which means I should fill it up less to begin with, so it will not be that much of a hassle. I am currently resolving to basket-weave as if it were the love of my life. Hopefully, I will have more to show for next time.

After all, I do have a note from when I was weaving the dish that, honestly, while engaging in such activities like basket-weaving, it is hard to tell time because, well, it passes to its own accord!

Posted Questions

As for How to Have a Beautiful Mind, please see the following points:

#4 Some new information I got during my meeting with my mentor is about First Nations and where my mentor is from. I asked whether she belonged to a First Nation. To probe further into the topic, I asked about if she learned basket-weaving from her mother during her First Nation days. She replied that no, there is a man who basket-weaves well, who she learned from.

#5 A new point of view I developed was how many faces a busy life can take. While weaving, she told me about how on alternating Tuesdays, she delivers food to people, which takes 2 hours of driving. Yet she still wanted to teach me a craft of hers.

#6 Thus, a perception that was new to me was how many different things my mentor has going on, and how doing a craft like basket-weaving can bring everything together, into line.

#7 My mentor’s values are different from mine in that she has a lot of contacts and throughout our conversation I noticed she brought up many different names, such as that of the man who is an expert on the craft.

#12 “So I start again here after I cut it?” This was a question I asked at the end to confirm that I understood what to do for the rest of the weaving.

#1 “How would they use a rock?” “Is this how you would do it?” “Could I see how you do it?” I asked these questions because I wanted to learn as much as I could in the time I had with my mentor.

#8 I asked why I must cut the bark whenever I finish one round of the basket. My mentor answered that it is so that it looks tidier and that I just must overlap it on the next round.

#11 “Did you see it there or did you just pick it up?” I asked this multiple-choice question when my mentor reported having found a stray strand of bark that she remembered having laid out in front of her. I think this was useful because it allowed me to voice both versions of what I was thinking had happened and let her choose the one that had really happened.

#12 I asked my mentor why she delivers food to others in her community. She replied that she values giving back and that she feels it is a duty to do so for her.

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The rectangular basket was a basket for garlic from the supermarket that I was studying. Sadly I cannot attach the videos I made while studying here.

Thank you and goodbye.