Erin Duquette: Artist

The amazing Erin Duquette has just posted a poetic loveliness about hoods 
on her blog. PLEASE check it out: WRAPPED IN THOUGHT.

Image by Erin Duquette, All Rights Reserved.

Featured Artist: Jose Van Loon

Jose Van Loon is a textile artist from the Netherlands. Visit her webpage: http://www.josevanloon.nl/, and facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Jose-van-Loon.

From her webpage (this is Bing-translated  from Dutch):

"I'm trying to turn inside out,
the material is converted into a symbol,
that each one for himself can translate to a new interior."

This art speaks to me of how the wild is viewed by humans, the proprietary nature of humans, moments and breaths caught for analysis, threads binding ancient with modern, the poetics of science. Each piece is an artifact that still lives. Tangled ghost houses under glass. Categorized and labeled. Silent and proper. And infinitely beautiful.
 

Textiles and the Multi-Tiered Cosmos:

In order to prove that Textiles are associated with shamanism, my next task is to show how they are related to the multi-tiered cosmos. So far, we've seen how weaving itself can be an induction method to altered states of consciousness (ASC) and how ASC and entoptic images are precursors to a belief in a multi-tiered cosmos (underworld/this world/world of spirits), which is the basis of shamanism and (arguably) all later spiritual practices. We've also seen that entoptic images are ubiquitous in textiles from all over the world. Some may argue that since entoptic imagery is a product of the human nervous system, this does not necessarily indicate that the weavers engaged in any type of ASC or spiritual activity. And they'd be right! Of particular contention is the link between shamanism and phosphenes/entoptics. Bednarik points out that although all humans use phosphenes daily, "that does not make us shamans!" (Bednarik 1990, 79). But if we can see depictions of a multi-tiered cosmos (the result of ASC and entoptic experience), we come that much closer to making an association between textile production and shamanism.

Tai Daeng Shaman doing his thing.

Weaver as Shaman

There are many textile motifs still in use today that can be traced back to the first known artworks created during the Paleolithic period. It has also been suggested that textile production (weaving) is a sacred act.

The prehistory of textiles: Paleolithic

Textile production is one of the most ancient arts and is one of the most important factors in the survival of our species. Awls and eyed needles for sewing hides began to appear over 70,000 years ago. Amazing!