Thinking up catchy post headings is hard and totally unnecessary. But the W’s in Wagga Wagga work well for this kitsch one! Unfortunately some of my better photos of the workshop have disappeared into oblivion. I may have had a hand in it by my inefficient data transfer process. So I apologise that all weavers aren’t included here, as I would like them to be as I saw something wonderful in all of their textiles.
The road trip to Wagga was amazing, stopping at Goulburn, then Harden (great coffee), Cootamundra, Junee and then Ashculme Textiles in Wagga where the workshop was hosted. Fiona, the owner, has a great studio well suited to the Saori community approach to weaving. With ten participants we were busy and got through a surprising amount of weaving and ideas.
Participants came from all over, 12 hours drive from Adelaide, 8 hours from Moruya and the surrounding districts of Young, Temora and even the Blue Mountains and Wollongong. The Australian landscape really is a restorative place. Having the oldest human habitation on the planet creates a defenselessness in you, as though your body and the environment merge though you. It has, at least for me, an incredible sense of belonging even though I know I don’t really belong in other places. Weird…I guess everyone feels like that about the country we are born in. Do you?
The workshop was catered by Mates Gully in Wagga with scrumptious food. Food and weaving seems to go together rather well! Each of the participants wove in their own way and all produced at least a scarf/cowl length over the two days. One weaver wove a memory style cloth with laces and braids from her mother’s sewing boxes. Weaving memories is a powerful way of weaving meaning into our work. I think this is a particular strength of textile making. I’m so glad we made the trip to Wagga, it is a substantial city and has everything. There are so many great towns around Australia and it’s especially nice when we can contact and meet people ‘on the ground’. Thank you to all of the participants who shared the workshop.
Fiona from Ashculme Textiles in Wagga is teaching free style weaving in her studio and welcomes inquiries. She has alpaca yarn from her own herd and sells handwoven garments. I purchased a poncho and haven’t taken it off yet! I love it so much.
