Nikita Sheth

I am officially obsessed.

I am officially addicted.

I find myself thinking about it….all the time.

In the shower. In the pool. In the elevator.

Weaving. It has woven itself (tightly) into my life (I guess there could be a lot worse things to be addicted to).

It is meditative. It is immersive. It has an element of ‘boho-ethnic-chic’. It is my ‘thang’.

The perfect hybrid of colour, texture and pattern. I find the act of weaving quite performative. Exaggerated movements, help my mind connect with my hands. It allows my fingers to dance. It allows my mind to quieten. When I am weaving, I am truly in my ‘happy place’. I feel so blessed to have stumbled across this ancient technique. It has come into my life at such a perfect time.

Thanks to social media, I have found myself a little weaving ‘instagram community’. Living (and weaving) in all different parts of the world, we are are connected with our shared love of the loom. We share videos of different techniques and genuinely share our love for each other’s creative endeavours. Inspiration, motivation and a sense of belonging…instagram facilities it all!

Last night, I attended Maryanne Moodie’s weaving class at the fabulous Megan Morton’s ‘The School’.  Maryanne’s work is what inspired me to begin exploring weaving in the first place. So you can imagine my uncontainable excitement at even the thought of translating our insta interactions to real life. Admittedly, I was completely star-struck. Awkwardly, I introduced myself…”Hi Maryanne…umm…I am @nikita_sheth”. At once I felt at ease. Maryanne’s enthusiasm, passion and energy was contagious. I was to embarrassed to reveal the fact that one of her ‘weaves’ was set as the background to my phone.

Maryanne playfully taught us various techniques, tricks and tips. It was such a lovely evening and the Megan Morton school was the perfect setting. Sitting in a room with fellow weavers and my weaving idol….it was something out of my (weaving) dreams.

The class has left me completely inspired. Experimentation with new materials and application of the ‘soumak’ knot are first on my ‘to-do’ list. I am keen to develop my own weaving style….so that one day I can hopefully be an inspirational weaver…like Maryanne.

After years of experimenting with watercolour, collage, ceramics, drawing…I think I have finally… found the one. Weaving….it’s a long-term thing.