quietly creating

Barbara Wanhill

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A mental distaff

I’ve been spinning a lot this summer. For portability during travel, spindles have been my tools of choice. In particular, I have been delighted by the cross-bar spindles created by Helen Mawdsley.

One thing that has made spinning on them easier is having a distaff (Helen makes those too). I am liberal in how I use my distaff. Sometimes it is worn on one of my fingers or thumb. Alternately, it sits beside me on a chair, on my lap, or I’ll grasp it with all fingers and thumb to hold it in my hand. The distaff’s purpose is to simply and elegantly hold larger quantities of unspun fibre so that those fibres don’t get caught up in the spinning tool or become matted and disorganized by over handling before the fibres are smoothed out and arranged into useful spun yarn.

This morning has been dark and rainy. Vacation time is coming to an end and as larger expanses of personal free time dwindle, I’m again aware of how undisciplined I can be when organizing time to work creatively. This mental pattern becomes more pervasive as non-personal creative time barges back into my life (ie. paid and unpaid work duties). These last six weeks, I’ve now added more unfinished creative projects to the already large pile of incomplete thought ideas and physical items set aside in my mind, on my desk, cupboards and drawers of my physical space. What I realize I need is a mental distaff!

When the opportunity arose to purchase another distaff to the collection of spinning tools I already have, I was told that I really only needed one distaff – it was easy to remove fibre and add new fibre to continue with other projects. The distaff has been sanded smooth so it is easy to load, unload and reload to make spinning efficient and enjoyable. It doesn’t matter which position the distaff is in, its sole purpose is to organize the unspun fibre for spinning. In the same vein, if I work thoughtfully to clear my mind (using a variety of strategies) before I begin each creative task, I can get back to the creative practice more easily and efficiently.

Let’s see how this new way of thinking will serve me in the coming months! In the meantime, I have this spinning project to finish.

British Columbia cherry wood cross-bar spindle and ring distaff with various levels of fibre organization.

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2 responses to “A mental distaff”

  1. xunholyanubisx Avatar
    xunholyanubisx

    This is such a beautiful and thoughtful reflection — thank you for sharing it. I love how you’ve taken something as tactile and ancient as spinning and woven it into a metaphor for the way we hold (or fail to hold) our creative lives together.

    The idea of a “mental distaff” really struck me. I think so many of us know that feeling of having too many unfinished projects scattered across desks, drawers, and minds — all of them tugging for attention, tangling with each other, making it hard to find a clean starting place. And the way you described the distaff’s purpose — not to do the work, but to simply *hold the fibre* so it doesn’t get messy or caught up — feels like such a gentle, forgiving way to think about mental clarity. It’s not about having all the answers or being perfectly organized. It’s about creating a space where the raw material of your ideas can just *be* until you’re ready to work with them.

    I also really appreciated what you said about being “undisciplined.” There’s such honesty in that, and I think it’s a word we’re often too hard on ourselves for. But the way you framed it — noticing the pattern, recognizing the shift as non-creative duties return, and still choosing to show up with a project to finish — that’s not undisciplined at all. That’s just being human, and still choosing to create anyway.

    And the distaff you already have? Sanded smooth, easy to load and reload, ready for whatever fibre comes next. That’s a lovely reminder that our tools — whether physical or mental — don’t have to be complicated to be effective. They just have to be *ours*.

    I hope this new way of thinking does serve you well in the coming months. And I hope the rain this morning felt like permission to slow down, even just for a little while. The spinning project will be there, and so will the next one after that. You’re holding it all beautifully.

    Reply
    1. B. Wanhill Avatar
      B. Wanhill

      Thank you for your kind words and generous critique. I am glad this resonated with you! I think many of us are trying to find positive ways to navigate this increasingly dissonant world. Having a personal creative practice is valuable and I’m glad you find that too with your writing and music.

      Reply

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