I was an emotional, creative and strong-willed youth, and often felt misunderstood and misplaced in a big, Catholic, farming family where things were done in a structured way and there was little room for feelings.

I chose a handwoven willow basket I made a few summers ago to be the loom for my project. I was drawn to the idea of using what I myself had created, and the aesthetic was interesting to me. I liked the stability and strength of the basket. I wanted to work with a circle as a feminine shape and as an intention of healing the internalized patriarchal lineage I was born into. I see willow as a symbol that honors and invokes the strength, resiliency and adaptability of my ancestors who were land-based people, resourceful and skilled in the arts of quilting, farming, and homesteading.

My warp is a variegated thread of bright colors, delicate and pretty. The warped basket with a smaller circle at the center looks like a sun with rays of light shining from the center. The rays are crisscrossed and non-linear, messy, forming an interconnected network or web that holds the weave.

The weft feels like a spiral of healing. Revisiting past parts of self again and again, integrating them in new ways each time around. The center represents my original self, sunny at the core, encircled by the purity of youth, then wrapped in the colors of the land that ground me in my life. The textures, colors and patterns tell the story of my life: traveling, artmaking, always learning and growing. Braided turquoise and purple, favorite colors of my present, pops of green representing Nature, my holding container, nurturer and teacher. The outer ring contains pink and white for femininity, peace and beauty. I finish the piece by framing it in a flexible willow wreath, held in place by purple hand-dyed yarn.

I loved the process of Weaving my Story. Upon reflection, I am reminded of how far I have come in healing my own internalized wounds of societal & patriarchal oppression. Through my lifestyle choices and my way of life as a creative, nature-based, free-thinking person, I am able to steep in the inherent beauty of the creation within and all around me. I am reminded of my privilege to be where I am. I offer my creation with deep gratitude to my ancestors and to Mama Gaia.