The Flow
Water has an inherent serenity. No matter what is happening around it, water literally goes with the flow. Yet this suppleness brings power: with infinite patience, water shapes coastlines and carves canyons from bare rock. By being formless, water can take any form. By taking the path of least resistance, water can adapt to any situation.
This is a timely lesson for us humans in 2021. In a rapidly shifting world, it can feel like everything is terrifyingly out of our control. Desperately holding on can be as futile as grasping a fistful of seawater. Perhaps it's better to surrender to the flow. Bruce Lee said it best in his now-famous quote, “Be like water.”
Lee made this concept famous in the West, but it has existed in Chinese philosophy for centuries. Lao Tzu wrote in the Tao Te Ching,
Nothing in the world
is as soft and yielding as water.
Yet for dissolving the hard and inflexible,
nothing can surpass it.
The soft overcomes the hard;
the gentle overcomes the rigid.
Everyone knows this is true,
but few can put it into practice.
This philosophy is key to Tai Chi, which avoids using force against force, instead acting to keep Yin and Yang in constant flux. Like martial arts, weaving is all about finding the flow. You must manage your energy to create efficient movement, wasting nothing. Good weavers are meditative; present and aware of the work, yet allowing muscle memory to lead.
Like many before us, Auda Sinda has taken inspiration from water’s serene disposition. Our Current pattern is an addition to the ongoing human conversation about the give and take of water.
The rhythm of thick and thin lines in the float creates undulation, mimicking the movement of water. Arrow-like shapes dart back and forth across the surface, recalling the push and pull of watery currents. We are reminded of the wake behind a sailboat, harnessing the flow of water and air.
Versatile and dynamic, Current is easy to live with. Thanks to a natural vertical pattern break, Current is also easy to seam. We recently had the opportunity to create a full size Current rug in our Stone colorway for a home in Connecticut, pictured here. A seaside dwelling is a fitting home for this watery pattern.
