Lisa Shobhana Mason

Name: Lisa Shobhana Mason

Studio location: Baltimore, MD

Website / social links: @shobhana_weaves

Loom type or tool preference: Saori WX60, Mirrix Big Sister

Years weaving: 7

Fiber inclination: Wool

Current favorite weaving book: Beyond Craft: The Art Fabric

 

 

1. How did you discover weaving and was what your greatest resource as a beginner?

I was a long-time knitter. I taught knitting for several years and had a couple of knitting books published. I felt that I had hit my wall with that and was on the lookout for a new craft. A friend mentioned that he was taking weaving lessons at a local Saori studio, so I decided to check it out. I, immediately, knew that it was for me.

2. How do you define your practice – do you consider yourself an artist / craftsperson / weaver / designer / general creative or a combination of those? Is this definition important to you?

A combination of all the above. I try not to get caught up in the artist vs. craftsperson argument, as it can sometimes get weirdly classist. There are so many master craftspeople out there who are undoubtedly artists. I’m a person who’s devoted to slow craft and making beautiful things by hand.

3. Describe your first experience with weaving.

I’m not a very good novice. As with knitting, I had no idea what was really going on when I first started weaving. I’m a visual learner, so I can only learn by doing. I’m obsessive about learning things, so I obsessively keep at it and make a ton of shitty work in the process until I figure it out and find my groove.

4. What is your creative process, from the initial idea to the finished piece? Are there specific weave structures, looms, or fibers that are important to your process?

My starting point is always color. The more color, the better. Adding a little bit of something ugly, like a color you despise, makes it pop.

 5. Does your work have a conceptual purpose or greater meaning? If so, do you center your making around these concepts?

I like to say that my work is spirit driven. I have a vague concept when I begin a piece, but then the spirit of it takes over and determines what it’s meant to be. When I try to enforce my own ideas upon it, it typically turns out to be a disaster.

 

6. What is your favorite part of the weaving process and why? What’s your least favorite?

My favorite part is when I’m weaving and listening to music and the work takes me a to a place, if you know what I mean. My least favorite is finishing, always.

7. Do you sell your work or make a living from weaving? If so, what does that look like and how has that affected your studio practice?

I sell my work. I don’t make a living from it. I fear that I would start compromising the work and making choices geared toward commercial appeal. I never want to be in a position to have to do that. If I could make a living from it without it impacting my creativity, I’d welcome that.

8. Where do you find inspiration?

There are a lot of things that catch my eye, like outsider art and indigenous textiles, but I don’t know that I’d call them inspiration. Inspiration, for me, comes from my inner landscape.

9. What other creatives do you admire – weavers, artists, entrepreneurs – and why?

Diedrick Brackens (@deedsweaves), Tsuyoshi Sakayori (@tsuyoshisakayori), Shiroco (@shiroco_), Naoko Ojima (@ojinaokiito), Simone Saunders (@simoneelizabethtextiles), Amy Sherald (@asherald), Bisa Butler (@bisabutler), Josh Tafoya (@joshtafoya6), Amber M. Jensen (@amberm.jensen), Natalie Novak (@combedthunder). They all demonstrate masterful use of color and technique. I find the spirit of their respective work to be singularly moving. And a special mention to new weaver, Jennifer Mao (@jjj_mao) for subverting capitalism and making art accessible with her name your price model.

10. If you could no longer weave, what would you do instead?

Rug tufting.