24.03.26
Decided to fly to Poland and visit dad. After a very intense week of school and my mum and stepdd helping, knowing I will not be seeing my dad until late summer, but also talking to him and feeling guilty for spending so much time with mum. Dad was feeling unwell, panicking about his heart and making me feel he’s all alone and if he dies nobody will find him. I visited him to make sure he’s ok and also to help my guilt go away, and also because I love him and of course I want him to be ok. But I also need him to want to be ok, not rely on me to always cheer him up and motivate him and find things for him to do. After 2 days I felt exhausted from being the only provider of positive energy but also less guilty. I also had my therapy session during which my therapist advised(as always) that it’s good to think about myself in these situations and set boundaries “When your dad says he’s worried about dying and smelling and a neighbour finding him, it’s ok to tell him you don’t want to hear that. That’s what therapists are for”.
I was happy to use an amazing exhibition and a basket weaving workshop as an excuse to get away.
I attended traditional polish basket weaving workshop. My mum and stepdad joined and it ended up being quite enjoyable and relaxing family session combined with my mum’s bday the next day. We learned quite a lot about the qualities of willow branches and were quite excited to discover that the neat and orderly baskets are not the only options when it comes to weaving. Each one of us made one chaotic wicker planet with a sturdy base/skeleton and a lot of chaotic weaves on top. I also noticed how beautifully the wicker twigs looked just tied together with a string. I really appreciate the all natural qualities of this material and how quickly it grows, a bit like bamboo(you should only use 1 year old twigs freshly cut but these can grow up to 2m/year) and all the possibilities of diferent shapes you can make with them. I started thinking of all the different ideas wicker itsef could be used to build a sturdy construction/base for a lamp, rather than weaving one. I imagined placing a lace lamp hardened in starch on the wicker twigs bunch and hiding the cable inside. I was generally fascinated by anything unfinished, anytthing half-made, anything that “still needs working on” but I saw it as potentially an element of a finished piece. I liked the elasticity of the unfinished pieces, the softness, the fact that they were able to “dance” There was also a certain type of freedom in this creation of something new, something I’ve never done before and also using this chaotic looping around method which meant there was really no way to mess it up.
WATER – willows grow best where nothing else grows. They need to be immersed in water for up to 1 week to get the softness neccesary for weaving. Unless you take off the outer layer, the bark, then you can immerse them for 1,5-2h and they should be soft enough
