First Day on the Job

In a couple of hours I'll have been a resident of Ontario for one whole week, and today was my first real (short) day as the Artist In Residence. Here's a little tour of the facilities:

The textiles studio and its army of 4 shaft counterbalance looms. To the left is the bank of windows looking out into the solarium, and off camera to the right is a 120" loom. Behind the camera is a large work table and a pantry. 

Some spinning wheels and a tapestry in progress. Also, the octado dobby. 

The dye kitchen! It's an oddly shaped room with tons of counter space and glass jars, and about 100 tea cups. I don't like the idea of tea cups being in a dye kitchen, but the rug hookers upstairs have a dye kitchen too and I'm hoping that's where they all go to mix their acid dyes.

The sink! Those buckets and bric-a-brac to the left need to be tidied up. 

It's a lovely space, but a wee bit lonely when there's nobody there and nothing to do. Today was a strange mix of boredom and paranoia that comes from sleep deprivation, mostly due to the fact that I have no materials and I stay up late thinking about that. I have a shuttle, some bobbins, a very small stack of silk hankies, and that's about it. You can't weave anything with that! And I forgot my notebook.


So I did what I usually do when left alone: I cleaned. Emptying the loom benches, returning the contents to their proper places, making new places for homeless items, and putting most of the harnesses back on the 16 shaft Macomber took up a good three hours. The supply room is still a wreck, but it's looking better. Another couple of hours and it'll be a pleasant thing to encounter. 

The supply room before I arrived...

That kept my hands busy for a short time, but not my mind. People keep telling me it'll take time to adjust to the new space and new people, and I hope it comes quickly. Feeling uprooted and naked (lack of supplies, folks, not clothing) is really, really uncomfortable, especially when there is no fluffy cat to greet you at the end of the day. 


The effects of last year too are resonating in this place and I feel slightly anxious about digging into the project. Not that it'll stop me, but the fear is something that simply must be worked through. 


Regardless of emotional state, there IS a rug hooking guild meeting tonight, which should mean tea, cake, new things to learn and a greatly needed project to dig into.