What is Saori weaving? And why I love it.

What is Saori weaving?

SAORI comes from the Japanese word ORI , which means weaving and the Zen word ‘SAI’ which means – everything has its own beauty and dignity.

It was invented in 1969, in Japan by a woman called Misao Jo (1913-2018) who broke free from the traditional rules of weaving to create her own, free and intuitive style.

Instead of traditional patterns and methods, Saori weaving leaves the weaver free to do as he/she feels like, and ends up in a play with colour and texture.

I love this.

The freedom and the personal expression, that considers beauty in the hand-made, in the ‘flaws’.

The 4 principals of Saori are:

‘ 1. Consider the differences between people and machines.

2. Be bold and adventurous.

3. Look out through eyes that shine.

4. Inspire one another, and everyone in the group.

How good is this?

I endeavour to bring this philosophy into all of my weaving workshops – let us enjoy the process of the hand-made, let us be bold and adventurous weaving workshops in our creative process, and let us, as a group, inspire one another.

A joyful, free, intuitive, meditation in colour and texture.

Perfect.

For more information on Saori weaving check out the official website here.