Beauty Refresher: De’Ette Ray Fiber Artist

De’Ette Ray began weaving as a way to give beauty to the world. She’s a mom of three and grandmother to five and lives in Athens, Georgia. She’s a dear friend, one I am honored to have in “my circle of trustworthy friends” as Nouwen wrote. 

She writes, “I have learned that it is both the depths of sorrow and heights of joy that add richness and texture to this life of now, and I have lived long enough to have experienced each of these. Weaving has given me a creative means to articulate the world around me and the emotions within me. Learning how to depict the richness, the depth, the complexity of life through the combining of beautiful fibers is humbling, exhilarating, satisfying, and fulfilling.

When we moved to a new town as first-time empty nesters, and then the world shut down due to the pandemic, I suddenly found myself with no children to take care of, no friends, no engagements on the calendar, and time on my hands. I have always thought of myself as generally creative, but never one who really had anything to add to the creative chorus around me. But as I began playing with yarns and fibers on a little loom off Amazon, a part of me started coming to life! I found such joy in the slow process, the steady rhythm, the combining of colors and textures to create something beautiful and unique.

The “playing,” I discovered, soon became worship! Weaving is a s..l..o..w art, quiet, gentle, and peaceful. All the things that I longed for, and condemned myself for needing, I found were perfectly suited to this artform.

The piece above is “Pleasant Places” and is based on Psalm 16. (And so fitting with Can You Drink the Cup?)

“Lord, you have assigned me my portion and my cup; you have made my lot secure. The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance… You have made known to me the path of life; you fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.”

Weaving has given me the space to be still, to meditate on God and marinate in His Word. Every tapestry I weave has a scripture paired with it, which helps me to pray for those for whom I am weaving. It allows me to wrestle with God through hard circumstances, to rejoice, to grieve, to be thankful; in short, to sit in the presence of God.

“What do you want to give to the world with your art?” 

I would love for others to taste what God has given to me. I would love for my art to invite people to sit and gaze, to be still, to be drawn in by the beauty of the textures, the knots and stitches, the colors and fibers, and in so doing, they would be drawn into God’s presence in worship.

You can check out De’Ette’s weavings at her website and on Instagram.