about keeping still

Hi! I'm Rebecca, a textile artist, clothing maker, gardener and folk herbalist.

Here's a little story about how I've arrived here...

For over a decade I made clothing as a full-time job, often with the help of seamstresses & friends. When eventually I forgot what I was doing and my body requested that I stop, I decided to pause, to allow space for repair, recalibration and for my mission to become clear again. I thought it might take six months. I began turning the wheels slower and slower, allowing a settling of my spirit and reconsideration of all of the relationships woven into this work.

It's now been several years and I am stepping out again, with a new perspective regarding relationship with place, with plants, and with everyday textiles. This is something I love to share, and I'm finding out that it's something other folks are contemplating too, so I'm very excited to be hosting workshops on botanical dyeing, eco-printing and mending.

Keep an eye on the main page for information about this year's workshops, sign up for the mailing list or message me directly.

I'm also hosting community events and several sessions at a Montessori highschool. If you know an organization that might be interested in this type of hands-on learning, please reach out to me - keepingstillstudio at gmail.com.

In addition to workshop opportunities, I am available to host quilting guild demos. Through demonstration, I offer quilters a view into the process of colouring fabric with the natural world around them, for creating solid colours and making prints with leaves. This exciting alchemical process invites a deeper relationship to the pieces of cloth that may work their way into a quilt. Dyeing with plants is a time-old tradition. Many quilts would have been made with naturally dyed fabrics until the recent invention of conventional dyes in the 1850s.

Please contact me at keepingstillstudio@gmail.com for rates and more information.

keeping still studio is on the traditional territories of the Anishinabewaki, the Odawa & Mississaugas, and the lands covered by the Saugeen Treaty. I give thanks to the first peoples of this land, the land stewards for time immemorial, and to all those past and present. May all I do honour you and the next seven generations.

In service to joy and beauty,

Rebecca

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inspirations for the studio name:

Line 52 in the I Ching - Keeping Still

Changing Line Interpretations

Line 1 (bottom line)

At the beginning of a major undertaking, reserve energy by pausing for rest and reflection at the start. Taking a moment to chart your course before setting out on an adventure supports good timing and brings good fortune. This is the point in your undertaking when few mistakes have been made and innocence is untainted by ulterior motives. Persevere in staying balanced, and you will be able to establish a firm, lasting foundation.

Line 2

If you find yourself being led by someone going down a misguided path, leave them to their fate or you may well become lost along with them. When the road leads nowhere, slow down to a standstill. In a case like this, stopping to sit by the side of the road brings good fortune.

Line 3

Trying to induce rest through forced rigidity is like expecting a computer to write poetry. An essential contradiction makes such efforts useless. When you are bone tired, a good sleep is more rejuvenating than a strict form of meditation.

Line 4

Letting go of the ego’s agenda facilitates a deeper kind of rest, though sometimes, the easiest way to let go is to satisfy the ego’s desires first (if they are harmless). They who are able to move through the world with indifference to the ego’s agendas are most free. Letting your heart rest in calmness is a part of this process and will help you achieve your desired outcomes. A deeper and more satisfying level of consciousness awaits those who can let themselves be still as needed.

Line 5

Lighthearted or foolish chatter about problems can make things worse. If you lack inner calm, your words will reflect fears, doubts, desires, impatience, and other restless forces; and this can cause harm in subtle ways. For example, if you constantly babble about travel difficulties while on vacation, you may put others off, and thereby miss the good times and new companionship you were seeking in the first place. In addition, you may inadvertently say things that allow others to take advantage of you, particularly when you find yourself dependent on others for essential needs. If you pause to govern your speech, when you do speak, your words will carry greater power, without remorse.

Line 6 (top line)

This line points to the ability to maintain stillness and composure in the midst of a chaotic world, which is a noble achievement. When positive acceptance of all of life has been achieved, what harm can follow? Peace and good fortune will await you.

from https://divination.com/iching/lookup/52-2/