Becoming a Weaver

For those of you who might be new to the Weaverbee world I thought I might provide a bit of background about me. I am a Southern Ontario girl having been born and raised in Mississauga. This was back before Burnhamthorpe Rd crossed the Credit River and when there were still deer to be seen in the little field that would one day become the Erindale GO Station. People of a certain vintage and geography will remember what I am talking about. In school I participated in band, choir and drama productions. These 3 things were always the highlight of every grade for me. At some point they built a bridge over the Credit River, and I was able to walk across it to the local campus of the University of Toronto for 4 years.  

Fast forward a few years and I was working in museums throughout Southern Ontario. They were always contract jobs whenever the museums could get funding. I redesigned 2 different First Nations galleries, I developed special event days and children’s educational programs. But what stuck with me was the exhibit design. Heritage was being devalued under the provincial government at the time and my full-time colleagues were starting to lose jobs. I decided that it was time for a career shift, and I went back to school to study Interior Design.

In the meantime I had started weaving. I learned at a night school program through the Toronto District School Board. I am honestly not sure why I started it. I just remember thinking, “Weaving, Hmm, I have always wanted to try that”. I dragged a friend along which helped me feel less out of my element. And I began this 32-year (and counting) adventure in weaving. Along the way I have been fortunate enough to go to many conferences and workshops. I have described myself as a workshop junkie. I have taken courses throughout Canada and the United States. We have planned family vacations around weaving courses. I love learning new things. As well, I have learned over the years that even if I decide not to pursue a particular technique, it is in my bag of tricks and sometimes it just served as a way to get the creativity flowing again. Occasionally when it has not been a fiber related course it has served to remind me what I would really rather be doing. That is how I decided weaving was my passion. Looking back I was always doing something creative. That will never change but whenever I was doing something else, I always wished I could just be weaving.

Thanks for dropping by!