Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Back at it!


Gee, it felt good to sit down at the loom and weave again! I finished my latest saori scarf - a ruffled one. I'm pleased... I have another one on this warp to finish. It's been a fun way to use up some of my old and very old bits of handspun... and so much fun to explore different weave structures with a direct tied up 4 shaft warp. I hope to finish the 2nd one this week.
AND... I sat and spun up a delicious thick and thin yarn of merino and bamboo blended fibers in turquoise, blues and pale greens on my new Kromski wheel while I watched tv last night. The roving was one I'd gotten from Beth of Whorling Tides at the Fiber Frolic in February. Lovely... and such a delight to spin!

I'm back!!!

Civic Duty

Well... I lived through it... the week from hell. Nothing to do with fibers or wabi sabi even but last week I served on my first jury. Sure... I'd always been curious about what it would like to serve, but now I know... I hope I NEVER, EVER, EVER have to do it again.

When I called the Friday night before and found out my number 155 meant I had to go into the Chatham County Courthouse with everyone who had under 184 Monday morning, I was disappointed. When Monday morning 8:30am arrived and I had to sit in a large room with a lot of other people waiting and watching a film on what it meant to be called to do your civic duty as a juror, I remained calm. When 35 were called by name to sit up front and the rest of us were asked to go to the back of the room, I moved calmly. The ones in the front were told their civil case was settled over the weekend so they were dismissed and could go home. I was jealous! Our group of 35 was asked to follow the deputy into the criminal courtroom of Judge Morse where we were asked as a group questions from the defense and the state (prosecution) lawyers. If we raised our hands yes... we were asked more probing questions.

Then came the hour of reckoning when one by one our names were read and the defense and state nodded in agreement and the papers were given to the court clerk. Then one by one the names were read of those who had to serve on the jury. My heart sank as my name was called near the end... it was to be a child abuse case. The twelve of us who were unlucky enough to be called took our seats to the right of the courtroom looking around at each other in disbelief. Oh my!

By that afternoon we were hearing the opening arguments and testimony from a few witnesses including the teacher who took the first cry for help, the doctor who examined her, and the little 8 year old victim herself. We were dismissed at 6:30 to go home and asked to come back at 9:30am the next day. Drained from the days events, I drove home in a fog.

Tuesday morning we waited a bit in our jury deliberation room (but could not talk about the case yet) Finally we were ushered into the courtroom by our court deputy to our seats to spend the day hearing testimony about the horrible acts that the defendant, a young black man in his early 20s with short dreadlocks in a crisp white shirt and black vest was accused of doing to his girlfriend's 8 year old daughter. We were given a well-deserved break for lunch in mid-afternoon and stayed until 7pm hearing testimony from detectives, her art therapist, a polygraph specialist with video that was impossible to understand because of poor audio, the girl's mother and later another video of the first detective from child protective services who interviewed the little girl on tape that first day. Once again I drove home in a fog... exhausted by the day's events.

I was hoping that as a jury we would be able to reach a decision that we all felt comfortable with - within a reasonable doubt - within a reasonable amount of time. AND my daughter's family including my 2 adorable grand-daughters was arriving in Savannah mid-day on Wednesday. When would I be able to see them? I still wanted to do my civic duty to be sure of my decision about the fate of this young man and this little girl. Wednesday morning the dectective finished up and we heard testimony from the boy's mother, his aunt and his own testimony. Then the closing arguments were made by both sides and the charge by the judge. We had the case as a jury by mid-day and it was up to us to deliberate after lunch.

We elected a foreman, a quiet man in his late 50s who would later hand our decision to the judge. I thought the hardest part was behind us.... but NO... we had one juror, a young black woman who could not make up her mind. She got so mired in the minutia of the case... she could not make a decision. She was upset that the doctor had not conducted her own history of the case, that the detective had conflicting dates, that the victim now was saying the grown up word "rape" for what happened to her instead of the more childlike "he stuck his ____ in my _____",etc., etc., etc. It was endless... The other eleven had made our decisions independently but conclusively. We had been stuck for a while on some of the counts, realizing later because we were led by the defense attorney away from the exact charges.... but eventually by Thursday morning we were all in the same place... except this one young juror, who could not make up her mind.

I was able to meet my family after 7pm on Wednesday after the judge dismissed us for the day. We had a nice dinner by the river and walked around a bit and later stopped for ice cream. When we got home, I tried to forget about being exhausted and about the horrendous testimony of the day... and enjoyed playing with my grand-daughters. I snuggled in next to them on the air mattress until they fell asleep later that night and then enjoyed playing with them the next morning, making them breakfast and baking scones until I had to get ready to go back to deliberate. I felt hopeful that we were close to a unanimous decision and that I would be home by early afternoon to play.

But... our indecisive juror STILL couldn't decide. The rest of us tried to remain supportive and patient -- unbelieveably patient... trying to tell her why we were so certain of his guilt. By mid-afternoon we still weren't any closer... so our deputy and two others led us across the street where the county bought us lunch at a Japanese restaurant and we all sat together at one table and were led one by one to use the restroom. Then all afternoon she sat and read her notes over and over and the judges written orders over and over... she was no closer. We worried that we would be a "hung" jury and that it would be a mistrial and because of double jeopardy (not being able to be tried twice for the same charge) this sick young man would be set free and on the streets able to molest her or others! The thought made me ill!

Our wonderful cheerful supportive Deputy Pinkney brought us menus and we ordered dinner. We took turns being led to the judges chambers to call family... and I told my husband that I had no idea how long it would take. We returned and little by little our indecisive juror made up her mind - one charge at a time. It was like she didn't want it to end... when the rest of us were going out of our minds trying to be patient with her and supportive of her right to take her time. I wanted to scream!!!

At 10pm we did it! -- she did it! -- she made up her mind to join the rest of us in guilty charges. The foreman quickly wrote the resulting unanimous decisions on the sheet and within 10 minutes the court was reconvened and our foreman handed our decision to the deputy who gave it to the clerk who gave it to the judge who gave it back to the clerk who read it. We all looked at the judge... the gallery was quiet. Guilty on all counts of child molestation, aggrevated child molestation and on the lesser sexual abuse charge. The defense attorney asked us to be poled individually. SO... each juror's name was called and asked what our decision was when we signed... guilty and now... guilty. We all held our breath as our lone indecisive/now decided juror said guilty... guilty. We were thanked for our time, told we could not be called again for a year (a year!!! how about NEVER) and ushered out of the courtroom with deputies down the elevators and to our cars. IT WAS OVER!

I was numb as I drove home - sure in my decision and very happy that it was finally over. My husband met me outside... and it dawned on me just then... that my daughter and family had left. I fell apart... because I was exhausted and I missed them! I understood, of course, that it didn't make sense for them to wait when no one knew how long it would take... but I was spent! It's five days later and I'm still spent! This is going to be an experience that will haunt me for some time, I'm afraid.

My husband read online that our judge sentenced the young man to 30 years and lifelong parole. He will never ever bother this beautiful little girl again... or any other little girls. I did my civic duty. It's done! C'est ca!

Sorry for the rant... just had to get it out....

Friday, April 15, 2011

Movin forward... ever learnin...

The auction is over and was far less successful than hoped, but we did earn collectively about $2000 to send to Japan to help through Global Giving. So... that is far more than each one of us could do individually. BUT... they have figured that at least 3 families will be helped with all the supplies they need. We had hoped for at least $5000 but it wasn't meant to be...

So... moving forward... I've purchased several pairs of socks for the SOCKS FOR JAPAN project and was pleased to get more than I expected because GAP had them on sale and I had a gift certificate to use! WIN, WIN! The idea is to send socks for people living in the shelters in northern coastal Japan who have been through so much tragedy and include a personal note in each ziplocked bag pair. All socks are sent to an American man, Jason Kelly who lives in Sano, Japan and so far, has delivered over 10,448 pairs of socks to survivors in Ishinomaki and Onagawa in Miyagi Prefecture. He has thousands more to deliver. He writes about it in his blog. It's just one small way to help. We can't do everything... but we can do something!
In an effort to always keep learning... a couple weeks ago I had the pleasure of attending a SCAD (Savannah College of Art and Design) program on Mayan weaving. Beginning with an interesting lecture on Guatemalan Mayan handwoven clothing on Thursday night by expert anthropologist, Barbara Knoke de Arathoon, I spent Friday afternoon with Barbara and the Mayan weaver Nancy Tuche she had brought with her to teach students the technique. (I should mention that Barbara wore a beautiful white on white handwoven huipile from the district of Coban. It was such finely woven elegance! Unfortunately, I did not get a photo of it. On Friday she wore a brightly colored purple huipile while Nancy was clothed from head to foot in spectacular pieces that she had woven herself!)

The courtyard at Pepe Hall, SCAD's fiber department, was full of students and backstrap looms that had been pre-warped with a couple inches of supplementary weft designs. The looms were tied to the antique iron fence that surrounded the courtyard and students sat on chairs, not on the ground as typical. (Barbara explained that our American bodies aren't used to sitting for long periods of time on the ground.) Nancy patiently went from student to student showing them the process while Barbara translated. I tried whenever possible to be helpful explaining the process to students who were on the other side of the courtyard. As a special bonus we were all treated to delicious Guatemalan refreshments. This whole event was the idea of a SCAD student Leslie Nanne from Guatemala who arranged the entire activity with the Events Department staff.



Several Fiber Guild of the Savannahs members attended. We all ordered backstrap looms (only $26 for a 12" fully equipped backstrap loom and $36 for a 15" loom) We hope to have a day of exploring the weaving technique in the Fall at Oatland Island Wildlife Center. What fun! Here's a video that shows some of what happened that afternoon:

Thursday, April 7, 2011

The time is nigh...

Tomorrow is the start of the 3 day eBay auction created by Arts and Crafts United for Japan. It starts at noon EDT. They have accumulated over 70 beautifully made items that will go for the highest bid. One Hundred percent of the money earned will go to Global Giving for the Japan disaster relief.

I just read on Facebook that there was yet ANOTHER earthquake - this time 7.1 which set off a 6 ft tsunami that struck Northern Japan. How much more can these poor people take. I read a diary by a relief worker who told of what the displaced people are having to deal with. It's just SO sad!

I sure hope that the auction is successful! I hope that my handwoven haori finds a good home and earns a good price in the auction. My biggest fear is that people don't bid... and we can't raise enough to be helpful...