May
19
2008
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What an opportunity I had today, and in my own town of Taree. Weavers from Bula’bula Arts in Ramingining, central Arnhem Land, Northern Territory are here to teach basketry in a three day workshop. Clara Matandatpi and Marley Djangarri helped us to start weaving a basket.
Although the weaving technique is generally called coiling and twining, it is referred to as weaving here in Australia. The weaving is so expressive and beautiful that it moves me to tears. You can feel and visualise the land and country by its colouring, shapings and textures. Meeting the makers added to my appreciation of the great richness of cultural expression held within these containers. The Manning Regional Art Gallery is exhibiting the Bula’bula weavers work which consists of coiled baskets in many shapes and handle types, twined dilly bags, twined large mats and looped string bags. There are also sculptural animal images which are delightful and surprising.
There is nothing like seeing skilled hands creating this work. I have studied lots of basket beginnings but it was something of a revelation to see how to start a basket in the ‘buttonhole’ stitch which was quite different to any technique I had read about.
We started by preparing some fresh Pandanus then moved on to starting a coiled basket base with pre natural dyed and dried pandanus. The colours of the dyes really make the work distinctive. String bag looping was fascinating and we saw Clara spin the yarn for the bag on her thigh in the traditional method.My jeans weren’t conducive to this – sadly. (see Curiousweaver May 95 – PDF for instructions on thigh spinning)
Clara and Marley are Yolngu and their Ramingining community can be seen in the film Ten Canoes
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May
16
2008
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I’ve just returned from a trip to Tasmania. So although my blogging has been a bit slow on the outside, it’s still happening on my side with lots of ideas for textiles and the web. Tasmania is a little isle full of great things. This time we toured the east coast starting with Wine Glass Bay at Freycinet National Park. This area is so pristine and beautiful although I also found Bruny Island, south of Hobart, just as inspiring.
No trip to Hobart is complete, food wise, without a visit to the Jackson and McRoss Bakery for something extra yummy to eat – they even have chocolate croissants and the most mouth watering menus I’ve come across.
Most of my photos covered my search for patterns in nature. At the Bay of Fires I encountered the most unusual clusters of tiny black shelled creatures gathering in lovely curvy patterns on the rocks.I wonder which creature organised the pattern!
As I was travelling around I was the usual desperate for seeing textiles and fibres and I hoped to see more than I did. I was very interested in the fine Tasmanian wool and the Tasmanian Wool Centre at Ross had good samples of the raw product but I was disappointed with the attention to detail for the display. I’m sure this isn’t the fault of anyone but I would think that such a wool region would know about how wool is processed by hand. I’ve photographed a display with a spindle (modern) and the fleece wrapped around the whorl. It would have been nice to see some spindle spun woollen yarn around it. Additionally the spinning wheel (an Ashford) was giving the impression of a time gone by and broken down – infering an ancient, now disused practice perhaps! I’m so glad we have the internet to share textiles and information otherwise I might have a very different dreary idea about the potential of the superb wool produced in Tasmaina.
Handspinning in all its forms is alive and well all over Australia
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The HandMark Gallery in Salamanca Place, Hobart housed the weavers I encountered in Tasmania. Jeannine Binoth also had some very nice textiles at the Tasmanian Wool Centre in Ross. |
May
05
2008
This is an exceptional book that contains information about textile design and weaving techniques, some of which were new to me. Janet Phillips is the author and the book is really about a system of designing for handloom weavers.This system, written about in a very well explained way, involves the construction of a sample weave blanket based on the 2/2 twill. Ten different threadings are used and 50 different treadlings or lifting plans.And the really good news is that it is for four shafts.
These sample blankets may look the height of boring to the beginner weaver but Janet shows how relevant it all is to designing beautiful textiles as she includes 50 different project designs based on the sampling but showing what yarn, fibre, colour, inspiration in design and specific choice of structure can do…and wow.
The sample blanket creates a reference for the weaver or more accurately the base recipe that you can adjust to your own flavour. The author has written it with a generosity and warmth that will appeal to new weavers as well as delight hardened ones like me!
I’ve been thinking about beginner weavers in general. There is something exciting about beginnings. Learning something new allows no preconceived ideas about anything much. Anything may be possible and experimented with. This is why I think it is so important to be around beginners. When we know more about the rules and conventions our choices become more refined but also much narrower.
As a beginner I just thought that the creation of ANYTHING woven was something of a miracle. To think that I could make such a web of fabric. I was so pleased with what I would consider so little today. Now I’m fussy about what I want to create, how it is woven, how it is dyed, how it will perform and more. It’s a wonder I can start to weave anything.
Pictured is a towel I wove many years ago on a four shaft counter-balanced floor loom. I was so pleased with it that I gave it to my mother in law and she has kept it. This reminds me of the pure thrill that weaving can give. How can it be that I have the skills to create a fabric from such raw materials. I love how close I can get to the fibres and know something of the process from the natural environment that leads to the spinning of yarn ready to weave. It all gives me such an intimate connection to life and I’m so grateful that I have learnt such an extraordinary craft.
