I first learned of Kate Kilmurray when she reached out to me via Instagram, asking me if I would photograph her hand woven pot holders. She makes only potholders, just her, by hand on a small loom using dyed pieces of recycled fabric, often socks. Each pot holder a one of a kind. I am slowly amassing them. I was curious and as it turned out, she was local, within minutes walking distance from me. I came to her beautiful, clean, uncluttered home a departure from my toy filled abode, where she often sits in the garden and does her weavings. I was taken with her soft spoken, yet very direct nature and touched by her passion for her weaving technique. As I photographed her, she spoke tenderly of her process with me. She teaches classes online and soon will be hosting a workshop in Ojai, at Noted. Here Kate shares with us a bit of her process.

1. Hi Kate, can you tell me in your own words about what you do?

I am a textile artist based in California, forging new terrain within the art of hand weaving.

My work on square metal hand looms is creating an important medium that has depth and presence for the 21st Century; pioneering new techniques, application of sustainable materials and development of pattern form to reinvent handloom-woven work for the modern age.

I practice handweaving as a form of embodied meditation. Making beautiful handwoven textiles helps me to tap into my inner stillness and creativity, and I teach others to do the same; to slow down, engage the rhythms of the body, and access a state of wholeness and flow.

I try to quietly weave love into the fabric of my life. This includes my family, friends, customers, as well as Mother Nature in the form of my garden and nearby landscape.

 2. What inspired you to weave?

Several years ago I unearthed a forgotten item from my childhood; a simple 7 x 7 inch metal handloom. Holding that loom, I remembered my grandmother’s hands teaching me to weave and realized that my introduction to meditation had happened in childhood, weaving on a handloom.

When I rediscovered weaving, I remembered something that we, as a culture, find easy to forget; that we can always access inner stillness and peace through simple, embodied practices. Slowing down, going inwards and using our hands to make something simple and beautiful is essential. 

 I now weave every day, inspired by a need to express myself, to be of service and to leave a positive imprint.

3.  You say, “Weaving Meditation is a process of remembering who we are.” What do you mean by this?

In our over digitized and frantic-paced world, it can often be easy to forget how to access our inner creativity, how to slow down, how to share our experience with others to help each other mature and evolve. Handweaving helps us express and connect with ourselves again, giving us the opportunity to be fully embodied, present and engaged in creativity. Handweaving is also an ancient practice; by picking up fibers and a loom in your fingers, you immediately connect yourself to generations of weavers before you.

4. How do you envision the work you do affects the community of Ojai?

I have the opportunity to directly connect with my local community in October when I will host a ‘Foundations of Handweaving’ class at local stationery store Noted.  The workshop will teach people who are new to handweaving how to get started along their own creative and meaningful path. I also currently welcome other weavers from Ojai to my Weaving Way Community, an online group of fellow weavers who connect together every quarter to share experience, support one another’s creative projects and connect through collaboration. 

5. Can you talk a little bit about your process? 

We can access inner stillness and peace through simple, embodied practices. By using our hands in craft and contemplation, we can quiet the mind and reconnect with our innate creative essence. This is the inspiration behind my “Weaving As Meditation” classes. I teach women the principles of handweaving, while guiding them to slow down, connect to the breath, and tap into their creative channels. Women leave my workshops with a new set of skills to create their own inner calm and beauty in their corner of the world.

How do you create your weavings?

When I sit down to weave, my designs emerge from spacious and quiet communion with the colors, textures, and patterns of the natural world. I begin by sitting in a quiet space with a collection of loops of various colors. I let the colors begin a process of leading me to a combination and a pattern to try. I do not always know what is going to come as being in the unknown is the root of creativity. My morning walks in nature and my meditation practice of 'sitting in the stillness of 'not-doing'' both play a major role in preparing the inner ground of creativity. 

 Of course, at other times I have specific colors and patterns to fill orders from my customers. 

 6. What materials do you use?

It is important to me to consider sustainability and regeneration in the materials I use. I work with cotton and wool loops and also commission loops to be dyed with plant dyes to ensure my work is always connected to the natural world. This year, I have also launched a new collection which uses homemade loops made from old socks, ensuring these fibers are saved from going to landfill and continue their useful and beautiful purpose in life.

7. Where do you see Kate Kilmurray Weavings going?

My hope is that this path will continue to lead us out of stress and anxiety toward peace, creativity and compassion. 

What is your vision?

Weaving for Well Being: a practice that steers us toward kinder, wiser ways of living and being.

8. What are your favorite style of weavings?

My favorite style is a plain weave and also anything that is an expression of an individual's own creative weaving "voice".

9. What is your self care routine?

My life mantra is 'Pause, Relax, Open, Allow". This includes: paying close attention to what and how I eat; a regular and varied exercise program that includes hiking in nature, kayaking, pilates, sailing and yoga; a daily meditation practice; and bathing in the love of family and friends.

10. What inspires you in life?

Being silent and listening deeply under the oak trees in my backyard.

Instagram: @katekilmurray | www.katekilmurray.com