Wrapped in the Good of Night: Scarf
Bringing a new idea to life is invigorating - the creative problem-solving, the wondering, the open questions, the iterative process of exploring what works/doesn't, and listening for the path for an idea to sing out in its truest voice - it's an adventure I embrace with delight, time and time again. It's my across-the-board approach to living this one precious life I've been given.
Of course, there's always that stretch when nothing is working and I start thinking the idea will never get off the ground and is doomed never to fly. That usually means it's time to look at things from a different angle, go for a walk to the top of the hill and look out at the city, or shift gears in some way. And sometimes the idea just needs to percolate, kind of like yeast bread dough. I have to wait while it rises. No judgement there - every idea needs to be shepherded differently. Some run straight to becoming Real - others have a more roundabout path. There are always detours.
This challenge: How to create something that allows us to be wrapped in the good of God (however you understand a power higher than yourself) with us in the night - and what might God say to us in that place?
Here’s the story of the scarf prototype:
I began with the sky itself. What does night look like? What fabric says “night”? If I wanted to wrap someone in this...cape, or whatever it would be...it had to be fabric.
After an afternoon at the fabric store, going up and down the aisles, pulling this and that bolt off the racks, putting them back, I finally settled on this lush and lovely deep blue velvet. It held the depth of night so beautifully. I decided to make a smaller prototype first to work out any execution bugs. Maybe a scarf?
How to create stars? I found I noticed lights everywhere I went. Hm. Lights would make great stars (These were at The Source in Buena Park.). I wonder how to get lights into whatever I’m making?
Maybe lights on a wire? Checking to make sure they will show through (they do!).
Yessss. Mmmm. This looked good. But the velvet was too floppy to support the lights. How to give it more structure?
A piece of polar fleece did the trick. The arrangement of the lights was designed, sewn in place, and tucked inside the velvet.
Added some pearl seed beads to help hold things in place front to back inside the scarf. Refinement of the guiding question is scribbled on the left. The blue paint test was for the Advent Tabiji Eggshells. That’s payne’s grey and anthraquinone blue for you color nerds out there. :)
From here: Prototype works, and I still want something bigger so the whole body can be wrapped in the good of God with us in the night. It does seem possible to execute, but the velvet might be too saggy at that size. The scarf makes a wonderful prayer shawl! People get reflective, quiet and calm when they put it on, interestingly enough. Still have to figure out what to do with the wires and the weight of the battery packs. Maybe redo with 100 lights/single battery pack?