Hi Jessica, I forwarded this writing to my granddaughter, Julia, who is a junior in college and she is a fiber artist and works on a loom. I knew she would enjoy your writing about your weaving experience.
I appreciate the comments about writing being a kind of weaving. It is interesting how much word processors facilitate that weaving. You don't have much experience writing with a typewriter, but I remember cutting and pasting sections of news stories I wrote to move paragraphs around in stories before they were sent to the central office of the newsroom via a teletype or given to the typesetter.
I think I had read your weaving story before, but it was nice to read it again. We visited lake Antigua as well and have a wonderful memory of attending a Christmas mass in a church in a small village on the lake. The people were so welcoming. It was an unforgettable experience.
Such opposite sides of the coins. Weaving versus archeology, but both in foreign lands, one riddled with political upheavals and disaster, the other with cartels, a country torn apart but for different reasons. This one quote did make an impression, "I squint into the memory of that kitchen classroom now and see how the experience has become an intangible component of who I am, a stand-in 'for the stuff of life that no archaeologist would ever find.'" Some archeologists have found a component of meaning, dare I say. If you have a chance to read my latest post on Merle Greene Robertson, Women Trailblazers in Archeology, I think it might show that some Do find meaning in archeology, even though it is not weaving.
I love your history exploration and am so in awe of your knowledge on the Maya. Thank you for adding to my somewhat superficial memories. 🙏 I just read about Merle! Great person to know about — she lived to age 97 walking and painting the archeological sites of the world! What an inspiration.
This story of mine was sparked after reading about another female archeologist from the Republic of Georgia who discovered the oldest examples of woven textiles—made from flax linen. They are 34,000+years old and their discovery completely changes the thinking about ‘cave man’ culture. And are a reminder that the soft sides of culture don’t generally survive for discovery—which is why the eras are named things like the Bronze Age, etc.
Realizing my memory and stories are definitely the soft stuff that won’t last forever 😊
Hi Jessica, I forwarded this writing to my granddaughter, Julia, who is a junior in college and she is a fiber artist and works on a loom. I knew she would enjoy your writing about your weaving experience.
Peace, Jan
Thank you! I’m so happy to hear Julia is a weaver! I bet she’s learning a lot and creating beautiful textiles.
Love it! It was really interesting
Thank you!
I appreciate the comments about writing being a kind of weaving. It is interesting how much word processors facilitate that weaving. You don't have much experience writing with a typewriter, but I remember cutting and pasting sections of news stories I wrote to move paragraphs around in stories before they were sent to the central office of the newsroom via a teletype or given to the typesetter.
I think I had read your weaving story before, but it was nice to read it again. We visited lake Antigua as well and have a wonderful memory of attending a Christmas mass in a church in a small village on the lake. The people were so welcoming. It was an unforgettable experience.
Thanks dad. I often think about how different writing was before easy editing and revision. It’s so hard to imagine writing a book on a typewriter!
Love the weaving and of course the pictures !!
Thank you!
Love your writing Jessica! ♥️
Thank you! Thanks for reading!
Beautiful story, as vivid as the colors. And somehow I can smell the tortillas as weaving continues.
Thank you so much for reading!! I loved writing it — took me right back there!
Such opposite sides of the coins. Weaving versus archeology, but both in foreign lands, one riddled with political upheavals and disaster, the other with cartels, a country torn apart but for different reasons. This one quote did make an impression, "I squint into the memory of that kitchen classroom now and see how the experience has become an intangible component of who I am, a stand-in 'for the stuff of life that no archaeologist would ever find.'" Some archeologists have found a component of meaning, dare I say. If you have a chance to read my latest post on Merle Greene Robertson, Women Trailblazers in Archeology, I think it might show that some Do find meaning in archeology, even though it is not weaving.
I love your history exploration and am so in awe of your knowledge on the Maya. Thank you for adding to my somewhat superficial memories. 🙏 I just read about Merle! Great person to know about — she lived to age 97 walking and painting the archeological sites of the world! What an inspiration.
This story of mine was sparked after reading about another female archeologist from the Republic of Georgia who discovered the oldest examples of woven textiles—made from flax linen. They are 34,000+years old and their discovery completely changes the thinking about ‘cave man’ culture. And are a reminder that the soft sides of culture don’t generally survive for discovery—which is why the eras are named things like the Bronze Age, etc.
Realizing my memory and stories are definitely the soft stuff that won’t last forever 😊