Part 3: Weaving Herstory: Messages from the Heart of Sarah Haskell
"NOW: Letters by Hand,” detail, 26 letters hand embroidered on antique linen squares, mounted on indigo-dyed, hand woven linen. Photo courtesy of Sarah D. Haskell.
Weaving the Fabric of Time: The “Well Used, Well Loved” Community Project
By Jamia Weir
Like the strings of an intricate and organic spider’s web, Sarah naturally connects herself to others through her work with ease, exemplifying the interconnectedness in life. In drawing with thread, she draws things out of her being, ideas and energetic images that show up in her work, like houses which contain so much symbolism for home, comfort, and relationships, and hands which are so expressive and powerful.
In connecting with thread, she has helped other humans to connect to art and to themselves, to emote, express, create and tell their own stories, and to heal and transform in the process. One of the projects Sarah shared with me, while we were in Vermont, that I felt was particularly beautiful, important and inspiring work, is the “Well Used, Well Loved” project.
“That project started because I was really curious about my own aging process, like with so many things…it’s sort of like, well duh, I’m not the only one going through this, I wonder what other people are feeling and thinking. And so I thought about how attached we get not only to our own bodies, but to things that we own or we think we own, like our children (laughs) and how they age and change and how at some point we think things, objects, or people are no longer beautiful because of age.”
Author’s photo from Vermont Studio Center, 2017
Sarah decided to make journals and dishtowels, with the idea that people would use the dishtowels and respond to prompts and questions she gave them in the journals. The response was overwhelming. She was only able to give out 8 journals and 8 dishtowels, but the others that wanted to participate in the project got to respond to her prompts on Kozo paper. (All of the paper in her piece that was recently showing at the Craft in America gallery in Los Angeles, is from this project.) Sarah would excerpt certain quotes from the project and put them on a public blog. I remembered seeing one woman’s completed journal while we were at the Vermont Studio Center, who really took to the project and beautifully decorated and designed each page with writings, quotes, paintings, and cut outs. Sarah said, “Her journal was amazing and she literally used that project as a kind of kickstarter platform for major changes in her life. It was amazing to watch her change.”
A page from a “Well Used, Well Loved” participant’s journal (Author’s photo from Vermont Studio Center, 2017)
Sarah describes that it was hard for some people because she was asking difficult questions about feeling loved and growing old, sorting through inherited family stuff-deciding what to keep and what to throw away. She learned that people loved sharing their stories and having a vehicle for them and some were surprised that parts of other people’s stories also rang true for them. “I think the hardest question that I asked was ‘as with most things that we love there comes a time when we have to say goodbye and can you? And I asked people to tell me a story of a letting go, of a saying goodbye of something or someone that they loved. And oh my God, be prepared for some sad stories, but again it honors that process of, I loved you so deeply, whether it was a blanket, or a car, or a friend, I loved you so deeply that this saying goodbye is difficult and it needs to be brought out in the light and shared.”
From the Author’s journal:
I am having my own feelings about aging and have been surrounding myself with some women from this fiber art community and textile artists—women that are older than me and I feel honored to be able to call them friends and even colleagues—I completely value their insights, judgments, feelings, artwork, creative ideas…I love these older women, I cherish them. I think they are so incredibly beautiful, wise, their spirits are so positive, warm, they are putting great energy out into the world. I aspire to be like them when I am their age. They know the power of the arts and use it in their lives.
Thank You Letters: An Alphabet of Gratitude, 26 embroidered letters sewed to spell what someone is grateful for. Photo courtesy of Sarah D. Haskell.
Sarah connects with others through thread. She is mindful during all of this and feels honored to share in that journey alongside them. “It’s empowering, it’s empowering to me and I feel so privileged to be a witness when someone opens up and through the art they open up and I believe that not only are they transforming themselves through the art, but in their own circle…it has a huge impact, these community art projects, and I think the effect goes on for a long time, it’s like dropping a stone in the ocean and you never know that the wave could go all the way across the ocean!” She laughs.
These are the traits of a good art teacher, someone who enjoys being along on the creative process, a creative guide that knows how to draw wonderful things out of you, one who at times may act as an art therapist of sorts. I mention this quality of art therapy I’m reminded of while talking to her about her work with students and especially in the community at large and she says, “Absolutely, it’s healing it’s transforming…how would you describe therapy how would you describe healing? It’s taking something and moving it to a better place. And I think that happens on the cellular level when you make art. But here’s the other thing…in order for art to transform, or heal, or have a therapeutic effect, it doesn’t have to be that the person is actually making the art, they can watch somebody make the art…” We went on to talk about plein air painters and people watching them, enchanted by the work.
Embroidered Grape Leaf 2019. 6" Indigo linen and cotton floss on leaf. Photo courtesy of Sarah D. Haskell.
People sometimes stop and watch Sarah when she is out and about creating artwork. She has “travel kits” that she puts together for when she is away from her studio. If people are curious, she talks about what she is doing, drawing them into the work, whether it be an embroidery on a leaf, or something more participatory and community oriented. For example, “Thank You Letters: An Alphabet of Gratitude” is a community art project where people are invited to spell out what they feel grateful for and to engage in a conversation of gratitude.
“Thank You Letters: An Alphabet of Gratitude,” 2014, a project that was conceived in a marine supply store. 26 letters embroidered on plastic marine flags. Photo courtesy of Sarah D. Haskell.
Sarah discusses her recent work/successes, an artist residency experience and her founding principles of any solid object can be a loom, as well as her philosophy of “anybody, anywhere, anytime, can be creative”
Tying it All Together: Following the Interconnected Threads
Shell weaving with indigo linen thread. Photo courtesy of Sarah D. Haskell.
Inspired by her work in schools and community, Sarah takes that inspiration into her private studio practice. She said, “I think it’s important as an educator to maintain a private practice, a solo art practice, because when you’re in that space of experimenting and trying new things, you’re reminding yourself of what its like to be a student or new at something, and you fumble around and hopefully you fail…so you know what it’s like when you’re in that classroom trying to explain something to them that’s so familiar to you that you might forget what it’s like to be new and nervous and unfamiliar with the materials, so it’s really important to put yourself in that place, in the studio over and over again and it’s also I think where I discover my own vulnerability and humanity and so I’m able to connect with other people in the classroom and out in the community more.”
I cannot agree more with Sarah. Being an artist who is also an art teacher, is fuel for the fire of an art practice; teaching is a creative practice and it is a constant source of inspiration and learning. The two roles of artist and teacher continuously prove to be intertwined. Furthermore, continuing the process of being a student, taking new workshops and classes, reading, writing, finding and participating in new art forms, “failing forward,” recognizing that to “fail” or make mistakes only serves in your successes has also been so beneficial to my own artistry and life’s progression. Opening your life to art, in any way, is healing, soothing and energizing…so many “ings” and things!
Soul Boat - Seed pod with hand spun linen, Sarah Haskell, 2019. Sarah is an artist who often engages with the natural world in her work.
There is something so comforting about the feel of fabric on your hands, or running your fingers through textured, colorful yarns-even if you don’t quite know what to do with them…yet. Thankfully, there are artists in the world, doing the kind of work Sarah Haskell is doing. We need it right now. She connects her heart to her hands. She is a thoughtful, kind, smart and creative person that I’m lucky to know. Accentuate the positive. Weave art into your own life story. Art can be a soulful vehicle for telling and reading an inspired interpretation of the story of your life.
For more of Sarah’s artwork, visit: www.sarahhaskell.com.