5 questions with weaver, Stacie Krajchir

5 questions with Loom Weaver Stacie Krajchir

Today we hear from weaver and lifestyle curator, Stacie Krachjir about what inspires her most, motivates her and what shifts are taking place in her textile practice as interviewed by Jenn Lima. Stacie is known for curating objects and spaces, with a love for textiles along with hand fabrication. Perhaps this is why she enjoys art-making done by hand such as painting and weaving. With a background in painting, she has consistently found a way to merge one art form with another throughout her journey as an artist. Stacie graduated from UC Berkeley. Whether it’s painting, ceramics, or working with natural dyes and textiles—it’s all a way to recharge, replenish and show up for the rest. 

You've advocated for taking the time to be slow and giving yourself the time to create and experiment. How has your art practice changed since becoming mindful of the need to slow things down and enjoy the process?

I’m a  triple threat multi-tasker by nature, which has been my superpower. However, In the past 2 years or so, I’ve come to realize that somewhere along the way multi-tasking for me became incredibly counter productive and terribly depleting. In juggling multiple things everyday, I was not really giving any one thing my best effort and I was missing the joy of being. Now, there  is a certain sacredness that happens when I walk into creating something —I’m less focused on the end result, I experiment more, and allow a natural flow to determine the pace of whatever I am making. Weaving, working with textiles and natural dyes, painting… all of this is my slowing down and my meditation. It’s my reminder to BREATHE, feel, let go and just be.  Now my work feels much more balanced intentional  and authentic . 

Connecting and  collaborating with women artists like Hilary, who I  deeply admire and respect is such a special treat. Collaborating always elevates a creative experience for me! I‘m really excited to do this workshop together!

​You confessed on Insta to having piles of materials just waiting to be used for a project. That is totally relatable. Do you find the materials inspire a new project or do you come with an idea in mind when you approach your maker space?

Both. 

I might  come across something on social media or in a magazine etc  that will light me up , and  I’ll  bring that inspiration into my maker space, I  lean into it, and  see where it takes me. That’s sort of as planned as it gets. 

I love to create on the fly — I feel like it’s when I create my most authentic work. I often times  go in with some idea of what I want to create  , but often I detour and go rogue. I spent a lot of time criticizing myself for not doing or approaching things “correctly”,  worrying that I wasn’t a “real artist” because I didn’t execute in some formal or learned way—but , I  have slid into my knowing and becoming , and now when I am working with a morsel of an idea and  it spills over into something else , that is when the magic happens for me. Everything is quiet and still, and I just know. it clicks. 

Yesterday, we were at the beach and I found this blob of  woven matter —a combination of wood, seaweed, sand, small pebbles and tiny roots of some sort stuck and woven together . I was just drawn to it, I inspected it closely with my son and I thought how I might recreate it —I imagines a huge ball of woven natural textiles… I was packing up and I actually walked over to where it was, picked it up and brought it home with me.  I have no idea what I’ll do with it,  but it spoke to me and I intuitively always listen to that knowing inside — it may not lead to creating something right away, but it’s a beginning to something that just hasn’t become yet. It also just fits perfectly on my desk and makes me feel joy and that sometimes is perfectly enough.

LEARN TO WEAVE WITH STACIE KRAJCHIR

​I love that you experiment with your woven pieces. You've incorporated rope and strips of dyed material. Is there a process you have for knowing how far to take a particular piece?

Such a great question! I think it’s different with every piece. Each has it’s own personality, sometimes I think it’s just about done and then I find myself backtracking,  almost starting over to back it into being “finished.”

My first large wall hanging was a spontaneous inspiration —it was one of those, "this is happening right now, there is no going to the store or waiting…"  I wanted to create something large,  but I didn’t have a loom or enough yarn, so  I built a loom from a huge tv box we had just purchased and was at the trash bin.  Instead of stressing out about not having yarn,  I thought about what I DID have at home — I had a bag of clothes set to donate and went to that bag and grabbed a few pairs of my toddler sons jeans and cut them into strips and tied them together to make them longer.  I also collect vintage Hawaiian fabrics, pulled some of that out, and also grabbed a sheet I had recently dyed with indigo and made strips to weave — that journey was a little bumpy, but it was a great opportunity to experiment with textiles / materials in a new way. It was incredibly inspiring and fun. I squeezed out every inch of what I had available  -- sometimes your materials let you know how far to take a piece. 

Let's talk about basket-weaving (literally)! Has it changed your weaving/art practice?
I grew up on an island where palm fronds were a huge part of my childhood.  I remember making so many random  things,--crosses , birds, headbands, fish, ….  I had no idea the art of weaving coconut fronds might one day be a thing — we were just bored kids making little things . 

Basket weaving presents never-ending learning with endless possibilities. It inspires me to try new things with my practice and it's a profound reminder how much love and manual labor is put into even the smallest basket . It helps me appreciate tradition, it’s truly an undervalued art that is incredibly beautiful. I think it’s about to have a bigger “moment” in mainstream making.  

I made a set of bracelets on the beach with some of my childhood friends last time I was home, it was one of those perfect , slow magical days. Weaving is like that — it recalibrates me. It’s such good meditation. 

Is there a favorite place that cultivates creativity?
Baja Mexico. It's wild sense of possibility, underdeveloped dusty roads, and slow pace reminds me of where I grew up. the hues/ colors of the desert, ocean , deep rooted culture, and of course the incredible rich colors  textiles. If you like to slow down, weave and explore rich textures alongside natural colors, then act now to reserve a spot our custom workshop coming up on June 27th Loom weaving with Naturally-dyed Fibers. We will be weaving with neutrals and hand-dyed shades - and you will receive with a special kit along with a natural dyeing demo from me, included in our next workshop! Counting down the days!  

We enjoyed learning more about Stacie, her work and what keeps her inspired- now off to plan our next trip to Baja.