Weaving is deeply linked to my ancestors, hope and magic...
The first ancestral shawl I made was for myself, or rather it was for my ancestors and I together. From the first moment I started weaving I felt a deep ancestral connection surrounding me, and the first thing I wanted to do was make a warm soft shawl that I could wrap myself in to remind me of being held by my ancestors, and that I am never alone.
I have always had a deep love for textiles, unique patterns, and old pieces that have been handed down over the centuries. So it was a great joy for me to realize that these loves for me could so easily come together within the context of weaving.
My style is very much inspired the Japanese tradition of Saori weaving, which is Sai meaning "Everything has beauty" and Ori which means "Weaving".
The idea being that when you weave from the heart, each piece is unique, and flaws are embraced as a sign of beauty adding to the texture and uniqueness of the piece.
When we receive a weaving that was made by hand and not a machine we are engaging with the creative aspect of the art, and there is a deeper more inherent respect given to the piece, something that feels more interconnected and living.
It is my hope by bringing back this old practise I can create sacred pieces that will last a lifetime and hold more meaning then something bought at a store, created by a machine.
My style is very much inspired the Japanese tradition of Saori weaving, which is Sai meaning "Everything has beauty" and Ori which means "Weaving".
The idea being that when you weave from the heart, each piece is unique, and flaws are embraced as a sign of beauty adding to the texture and uniqueness of the piece.
When we receive a weaving that was made by hand and not a machine we are engaging with the creative aspect of the art, and there is a deeper more inherent respect given to the piece, something that feels more interconnected and living.
It is my hope by bringing back this old practise I can create sacred pieces that will last a lifetime and hold more meaning then something bought at a store, created by a machine.
Custom Ancestral Cloak
Wearing my ancestral cloak
These shawls and cloaks are a journey that you are I will take together that involves not just the creation of a shawl that holds the essence of your own unique ancestors, using wools and natural fibres that carry the ancestral memory of where you come from, but together we will enter into a journey that includes ancestral healing, and the understanding of how to work safely with an ancestral helping guide.
This process will happen not just in the realm we live within but also within the spirit world, as I work with my own guides as well as your ancestors to create and craft a medicine/ancestral shawl that will hold you and keep you warm, reminding you that you are never alone.
This process will happen not just in the realm we live within but also within the spirit world, as I work with my own guides as well as your ancestors to create and craft a medicine/ancestral shawl that will hold you and keep you warm, reminding you that you are never alone.
"Nikiah very naturally met me in the place of my truest essence, and from that profound place wove what she witnessed into its existence as a medicine shawl.
My Gratitude for this work is vast~ bounding and beating and singing through me with great reverence for her gifts."
Angela Willard
The Process:
The process will begin with a 1.5 hour consultation via skype or zoom to chat and see if we are a good fit for each other, as this work is tender and often times vulnerable.
We will talk about your ancestors--and even if you were adopted and have no idea of your ancestry, we are still able to access this information via the spirit realm.
After talking for as long as we need about who you are, we will shift into what your hopes for your unique shawl are, we will discuss colours and textiles, length and style.
After this I will give you a custom quote on the price--which starts at $350.
Once we begin the process I am all in, and will begin gathering textiles, unique fibres and colours for the project, also during this time if you yourself have fibres or other sacred things that you would like woven in you can mail them to me.
I am also a spinner and often will spin specific colours or fibres together so that our specific intention is woven in, this process is never the same twice and entirely unique to you.
Some examples are: Horse hair, strips of old quilts or clothing that was handed down and loved, any fibre you made yourself or has significant meaning for you, or charms you would like woven in or tied on after etc....
After this I will send you first a colour palate collage to see if I am on the right track and adjust according to your thoughts on it. In this I often include landscapes, and other aspects to create a potent sentiment for what we are creating together.
Once I begin I am usually in contact with you a LOT, I love to use whatsapp and send tons of photos as I go through the process. During this time dreams may become significant and both you and I together will keep track of any that come forward as being significant.
I also find that beautiful synchronicities start to happen once we enter into the process and many things start to show themselves, including boxes of old and special photographs being randomly found by family members, new information coming forward, feathers turning up on doorsteps, and unique and sacred fibres and charms making themselves apparent in support of the magic that is being woven into the piece.
Once the piece is completed, I work with my guides and your ancestors to ask for a ceremony or ritual for you to do to consecrate the piece and fully make it yours.
One of the important aspects of any weaving is a the process of wetting it, this binds the fibres together and makes the piece stronger.
With my first piece I knew right away that my ancestors wanted me to take it down to the river and soak it in the moving waters there, but for others the briny salty ocean calls, for some it is rain water, but no matter where the process happens even in an apartment in New York city, the ceremony is the same when done with deep intention.
We will talk about your ancestors--and even if you were adopted and have no idea of your ancestry, we are still able to access this information via the spirit realm.
After talking for as long as we need about who you are, we will shift into what your hopes for your unique shawl are, we will discuss colours and textiles, length and style.
After this I will give you a custom quote on the price--which starts at $350.
Once we begin the process I am all in, and will begin gathering textiles, unique fibres and colours for the project, also during this time if you yourself have fibres or other sacred things that you would like woven in you can mail them to me.
I am also a spinner and often will spin specific colours or fibres together so that our specific intention is woven in, this process is never the same twice and entirely unique to you.
Some examples are: Horse hair, strips of old quilts or clothing that was handed down and loved, any fibre you made yourself or has significant meaning for you, or charms you would like woven in or tied on after etc....
After this I will send you first a colour palate collage to see if I am on the right track and adjust according to your thoughts on it. In this I often include landscapes, and other aspects to create a potent sentiment for what we are creating together.
Once I begin I am usually in contact with you a LOT, I love to use whatsapp and send tons of photos as I go through the process. During this time dreams may become significant and both you and I together will keep track of any that come forward as being significant.
I also find that beautiful synchronicities start to happen once we enter into the process and many things start to show themselves, including boxes of old and special photographs being randomly found by family members, new information coming forward, feathers turning up on doorsteps, and unique and sacred fibres and charms making themselves apparent in support of the magic that is being woven into the piece.
Once the piece is completed, I work with my guides and your ancestors to ask for a ceremony or ritual for you to do to consecrate the piece and fully make it yours.
One of the important aspects of any weaving is a the process of wetting it, this binds the fibres together and makes the piece stronger.
With my first piece I knew right away that my ancestors wanted me to take it down to the river and soak it in the moving waters there, but for others the briny salty ocean calls, for some it is rain water, but no matter where the process happens even in an apartment in New York city, the ceremony is the same when done with deep intention.
Custom Altar cloth, or Stole or Shawl Depending on materials and size
These pieces are made with your unique spiritual practises in mind, and are created to reflect aspects of that path, guides you work with and/or destiny calling. One of my most favourite examples is the "Seaweed Shawl" I made for a sister whose unique calling is in the herbal and medicinal realm of seaweed as sacred medicine for women, and I have written a blog about it here if you would like to read all about that process with yourself in mind.
These pieces are usually smaller then the cloaks, but absolutely could be made just as large, because what you can imagine we can co-create together!
The altar cloths are usually 30" x 40" but can be made smaller and more the shape of a table runner or even stole for your shoulder, we can decide together what works best for your needs.
I can also deliberately make an altar cloth that would also function as a shoulder stole for ceremonies.
In this process we work closely together first with a consultation and then as the process and magic unfolds I share what is happening with you as I go.
This process is different from the ancestral shawl making process in that I do not do any spirit healing work, however should a calling for that arise as we are in process with your sacred piece we can work out cost together.
The cost for these pieces depends on size and materials, however we start at $150.00 for a stole or altar cloth and depending on size it may go up from there.
These pieces are usually smaller then the cloaks, but absolutely could be made just as large, because what you can imagine we can co-create together!
The altar cloths are usually 30" x 40" but can be made smaller and more the shape of a table runner or even stole for your shoulder, we can decide together what works best for your needs.
I can also deliberately make an altar cloth that would also function as a shoulder stole for ceremonies.
In this process we work closely together first with a consultation and then as the process and magic unfolds I share what is happening with you as I go.
This process is different from the ancestral shawl making process in that I do not do any spirit healing work, however should a calling for that arise as we are in process with your sacred piece we can work out cost together.
The cost for these pieces depends on size and materials, however we start at $150.00 for a stole or altar cloth and depending on size it may go up from there.
"To understand your personal myth is to understand the ways in which you’re located within a particular historic tradition, how you as an individual are woven into a collective fabric of image and meaning. It’s to find yourself embroiled in the fundamental questions we ask about being human: Why am I here? Why does it matter? Where did I come from, and where am I going? How do I get there?" Sharon Blackie
Seaweed Selkie Shawl
If you are interested in starting a conversation around the process click the button below to fill out a short form that will help me understand better what you are dreaming of.
*I am not currently able to take commissions at this time, but please check back.*
*I am not currently able to take commissions at this time, but please check back.*
© Copyright 2016. By Nikiah Seeds. Ancestral Healing, Red Drum Making, Ceremonies, Mystery School. Vancouver, BC.
Living and working on the unceded Indigenous land belonging to the Coast Salish peoples, including the territories of the xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), Stó:lō and Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations.
Living and working on the unceded Indigenous land belonging to the Coast Salish peoples, including the territories of the xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), Stó:lō and Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations.