Tag Archives: writing

October 21, 2025 · 5:42 pm

Oh What a Lovely Evening- The Opening of The Oracle of Stillness-Weaving Coherence in the Chaos

The opening on Oct 17, 2025 at Harcourt House Gallery in Edmonton of my solo mixed media show of Woven Women Tapestries: ‘The Oracle of Stillness- Weaving Coherence in the Chaos’ was wonderful.

I made a wobbly little video after the show was hung but before the lights were set, so some of the pieces don’t show up too well….

Here is the explanation of the show:

This little video by Noreen Crone-Findlay is a glimpse of her solo show of mixed media weaving: The Oracle of Stillness: Weaving Coherence in the Chaos. This series of Woven Women tapestries were created by Noreen Crone-Findlay over many years and include many mediums: fused glass, steel rod, steel and copper wire, beading, Teneriffe lace making, Tatted lace, lace and tapestry and narrow band weaving on looms specially constructed for the show by Crone-Findlay, thread, yarn, painting on wood, painting on watercolor paper, found objects, leather work, crochet, wire work, carved Tagua nut, and carved wood. The Oracle of Stillness speaks to the heart about navigating grief, sorrow around personal loss and chronic illness, as well as the shock of living in social and cultural upheaval. Noreen Crone-Findlay works with her dreams, meditations, prayers, poetry, and deep conversation to create Woven Women who embody presence, mystery, magic, The Great Beauty and the Feminine Divine. The Oracle of Stillness Woven Women are immersive, textural, layered and complex. Each one has taken hundreds of hours to complete and invite the gaze of the viewer to listen with their hearts to find the ‘ring of truth’ and point of Stillness int the quiet of the journey ‘Home’. Noreen hopes that you will find a moment of wonder or Beauty in the Oracle of Stillness Woven Women and to follow the complex threads that lead to the very center of our Being-ness. There is love in every stitch, every molecule of each of these mixed media weavings. May they bring healing…. with love. Please go to http://www.tottietalkscrafts.com for more information

Our dear friend, Andrea Gray took photos at the opening, and oi vey, when I was captioning the pics, I spelled her name wrong! For crying out loud! I had one job to do….. sigh… my apologies… its’ GRAY not Grey….

The gallery was packed to the rafters, so it wasn’t easy for her to get the photos and I am grateful to her! ❤

Anyhow here are the pics:

Just a note… they were taken at the end of the evening and I was exhausted, so I do look mighty droopy!

I will keep working on getting photos of the individual pieces up here and on fb and ig.

Hugs all round!

A new Woven Woman Tapestry from my Oracle of Stillness series- One breath and then another, one step, then another

Today, I was talking to a dear friend about the incredibly difficult time that she is going through.

I told her about something that has been really helpful to me when I am in a crisis or challenge or other misery…. it’s a powerful, but simple way of getting through the suffering…

I quietly tell myself:
One breath and then another, one step, then another and sometimes, count to 3 and repeat, then repeat again…..

This is the Woven Woman mixed media tapestry that I wove for my ‘Oracle of Stillness: Weaving Coherence in the Chaos”, to illustrate and illuminate this healing practice:

“One breath and then another, one step, then another” is one of 50 Woven Women that I have created over many years for the Oracle of Stillness collection.

Not all 50 of the tapestries have made it into my solo show that is opening Oct 17 at Harcourt House Gallery in Edmonton (the collection is too big and the space can’t hold them all).

If you are in or near Edmonton on the 17th, please come to the opening- my beautiful husband and 2 of his close friends (they have been ‘The Jim Findlay Trio’ for 21 or so years) will be playing for the opening.

It’s going to be special!

I’ll be posting more photos of the pieces in the show as I can gather up the energy to do it (life with Lupus and Long Covid is a challenge and I have to manage my energy reserves-‘taint easy, but like they say: Tis what tis).

AND… I hope that, in these astonishingly unsettling times, the practice of

One breath and then another, one step, then another

will be helpful to you.

hugs all round ❤

Oh, right! I need to post the link to the gallery! Here it is: Harcourt House Noreen’s opening

The show will be up until November 25, 2025.

Kindred Spirit Little Woven Comfort Dolls

Living with Long Covid and the constellation of syndromes that it unleashes means that I can’t carve wood anymore.

BUT! I can still weave on small looms (hurrah!). So, for the last couple of years I have been working on refining little woven comfort dolls.

I am finally satisfied with my new series: The Kindred Spirit Dolls.

The Kindred Spirit Dolls are charming little dolls woven on the Kindness Loom as part of the Weaving Kindness Project.

The etsy link for the pattern is: L I N K

The Kindred Spirit Dolls are sweet little beings that are meant to be a comfort and a delight to you as you make them.

And then, if you choose to give the Kindred Spirit Dolls to your family, friends and fellow travelers, they will carry your good wishes and kindness that are woven into every stitch of these precious little dolls!

The Kindred Spirit Dolls are small- not quite 3 inches (7.5 cm) tall so they can go everywhere with you.

Because the Kindred Spirit dolls have Noreen’s signature hugging arms- they are ready to give a hug at all times, and they can also hold onto small things, too.

The Kindred Spirit Dolls have optional wings, made by following the instructions for the Kindness Butterfly in the video tutorial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7A11F11Lsp8 that is then stitched to the back of the Kindred Spirit Doll.

Their hair can be made in many ways. They all have embroidered bangs and side wisps, and if you like the simplicity of the ‘Pixie’ style hair, then don’t add any extras.