Pam James can weave, and not just a great story! Pam has been in Weaver’s Guilds, each with over 200 members, in three different states, Colorado, Texas, and North Carolina, and has been an avid weaver and mixed media artist for a long time. Every two years, there is a convention where she says, “Every well-known weaver attends and is probably teaching a class.” This past year, the convention was in Wichita, Kansas, where she entered a piece in the Mixed Media category and won 3rd Place!
How does this correlate to her work at St. Francis? She weaves her love of art with her leadership of the ‘Care for Creation’ ministry at St. Francis. “I’ve always been a bit of an ‘eco-freak,’” says Pam,” I grew up with the idea that you mustn’t waste. My sister-in-law is kind enough to call me resourceful, but I’m cheap! I’ve always asked myself, ‘Why would I throw that away? I can use that.’” She exclusively uses ‘recycled yarn’ in weaving, embracing the ‘reuse’ principle of Care for Creation.
“The definition of yarn in weaving is everything from sewing thread weight to traditional yarn. I have always liked the yarn section of craft stores and realized I had seen art pieces made of yarn. As I said, I’m cheap, and it occurred to me that I could unravel sweaters to get “yarn” for weaving. I started haunting Goodwill, looking for material. In my weaving room, my ‘loom with a view,’ I have cubbyholes of yarn that are all unraveled sweaters. It’s way cheaper than buying it at the store, and I get more variety in the kinds of yarn I can use.” Her work features specific colors and textures, so she always looks for different materials to incorporate into her artwork.
“I have three looms; two just do a simple ‘over-under and over-under weave’ and a large one that allows you to weave complex patterns.” Pam’s 3rd place award earned at the Wichita convention matched the theme of her category well. The themes chosen usually match the environment and history of where the convention is each year. Being in Kansas, she says, “I used an unusual technique, addressing the theme of Wind, Wheat, and Wagons. There is no place in the weaving where the same color goes all the way across,” she says. Her piece is made of wheat and all reused yarn; Pam had 24 different yarns included at one point. Pam then adds with a laugh, “The ‘artist statement’ said ‘because the piece was folded a little like an accordion, the 3rd dimension added an additional sense of movement,’ but what it did was allow me to ship it in a smaller box for $60 rather than $200!”
Being able to embrace her love for the environment in her service at St. Francis with her art speaks to how much she embodies the tenets of Care for Creation. Even now, as a known artist, she does not ask for payment for her weavings but asks that recipients donate to charity. When you find something you love, and when you can incorporate that passion in multiple aspects of your life, it becomes a guiding philosophy. Pam had found hers in her art and advocacy!