In this edition... - Australian Basketry

v
In this edition...
Artisan Catriona Pollard
shares her journey
Helen Richardson and the
making of the Fibre Basketry:
Homegrown & Handmade
Arnhem Weavers Visit
Teaching on the road
Benefits of Basketry Groups
How to use PR for your
exhibition
AND SO MUCH MORE!
Contents
Artisan Catriona Pollard.................................................................................3
Basketmaker: Helen Richardson and the birth of a bible for basketry .....5
Arnhem Weavers Visit ....................................................................................8
Teaching on the road .....................................................................................10
How to use PR and marketing for an exhibition and art/craft event .......12
Untethered........................................................................................................14
The Benefits of Basketry Groups: .................................................................15
Musings from 2010..........................................................................................15
So you want to be a basketmaker...................................................................16
Contemporary Basketry: Our Island Our Ocean........................................18
Basketry NSW: What we have been up to....................................................20
Basketmakers of Victoria................................................................................21
ACT Fibre Basket Makers..............................................................................22
Plants uncovered: Bangalow Palm................................................................23
From the editor
Wow! This is a big edition for you - and I hope that future editions grow even more
juicy and full of goodness to digest and learn from.
I want to thank all the people who gladly contributed to this edition - it wouldn’t
exist without you!
The response to Australian Basketry newsletter, website and social media has
been amazing and it is people like you, who are taking the time out to read this
publication that make it work and help spread the beautiful work being done by so
many in the basketry ‘world’.
You will notice that this edition is in a different format, it is more interactive and has
links where you can directly go to websites and places on the internet to discover
more. The aim of this is to help you get more information on the gorgeous work
which is happening and find out more about basketry in Australia. Your feedback on
this edition - postive and negative, is most welcome.
If you want to contribute, by way of articles, please contact me. Perhaps there is
something that you or your basketry group is doing that you want to share with
groups all over Australia.
I hope you all have a safe and happy holiday period. I can’t wait to see what happens
in basketry in 2016!
Juanita Carrington
Contact: australianbasketry@gmail.com
On the cover
We are lucky enough to have two articles from
sculptural basketry artist Catriona Pollard this month!
Her work Losing your dreams adorns the cover of
this edition of Australian Basketry.
Thank you Catriona for your wonderful additions to
Australian Basketry.
Website: www.australianbasketry.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/australian.basketry/
Instagram: #australianbasketry
Artisan Catriona Pollard
A few years ago I got to the point where I was starting to get burnt out by
the intense pressure of constantly managing the ups and downs of running a
business and the million other things I do.
I did some reassessing and realised I needed to incorporate creativity and
art into my life. Importantly, I wanted to find creativity that wasn’t about
perfection, but more about exploration and play.
Using weaving to slow down
I’ve dabbled in many forms of craft, so I booked into a week-long basketry
class with Meri Peach at Sturt Summer School in Mittagong NSW. I picked up
a vine to weave and was hooked. For me it’s about the combination of nature,
imagination and beauty that attracted me to sculptural basketry.
We have seen a noticeable resurgence in creating traditional crafts in the past few
years. I think it’s the combination of how virtual our lives have become and how
busy we all seem to be which has resulted in people looking for arts and craft that
reconnects them with slower, traditional creative experiences.
I believe basketry helps us slow down, quieten the mind and put us in touch with our
inner wisdom. For me, basketry is about being still and letting the beauty emerge.
Seeing different perspectives
Arts and craft practices highlight how differently we all see things. They help us
appreciate that many different points of view expand our world view. They help us
overcome business and life challenges and different perspectives are essential in
dealing with the complexities of everyday life.
Reframing what’s in front of you
Basketry to me is about seeing potential,
which may not be readily apparent. You
may walk past a fallen branch and not even
notice it, but I may see the beginnings of
a sculpture. It’s pure joy to pick up a vine,
stick or seed pod and imagine what they
could be.
I use materials to tell my stories and they
represent every facet of me. I use nature
and basketry as a way to connect with
people in a way that goes beyond physical
beauty, but really touches them in a
personal and profound way.
Nature is my main inspiration as this is where I find beauty, peace and energy. For
me, the power of natural beauty energises me; it makes my soul sing.
Growing up in country NSW with summers at the beach and every other school
holidays camping and walking through National Parks has resulted in a deep
connection with the natural world around me.
As I walk through the bush tracks around Sydney
Harbour inspiration presents itself. I see a fallen
tree with the roots exposed, and an idea for
a sculpture is illuminated. Or as I wade
through the rock pools at Balmoral, the
shape of the water against the rocks
becomes an idea for a sculpture.
What they do is create an environment where we are combining right-brain
imagination with left-brain logic which increases the capacity for breakthrough ideas
and insights.
I have found basketry is the perfect representation of this concept. You can give 10
people the same plant fibre and teach them the same technique and you will get 10
different baskets.
When I’m weaving, no two pieces are the same, even if I’m using the same material
and technique – they will be different. That’s because weaving using organic material
is about listening to what it wants to be. I may have an idea about what I’m going
to create, and then I’ll pick up the material and start the sculpture and the material
decides what it wants to become.
Top to bottom: Cherish; You me and the Sea;
Sowing new seeds
My materials and processes
My work represents the connection and relationship we have with our environment
and the beauty it shares with us.
Using only found or gifted organic material, I harvest plant material and salvage
garden ‘waste’ to weave beautiful sculptural baskets and vessels. Most of my work
contains nothing but the organic fibre – no glue or synthetic dyes, and most don’t even
use anything to bind it together, such as thread or wire.
My work adds a contemporary layer to the ancient art form of weaving,
which is often dismissed as functional craft. My work gives the
viewer the opportunity review their assumptions about craft
and its potential in art. When they see my work, it forces
them to see beyond their understanding of basketry.
I also spend time creating ephemeral works as I
have an interest in the concept of impermanence
within nature and the juxtaposition of society’s
current disconnection with it. I use ephemeral
artworks to explore these concepts. The process of
disintegration of organic material and spending a
day creating art that is simply left to disintegrate is
an integral aspect of this exploration.
My first solo exhibition
In October 2015 I had my first solo exhibition as I felt
I needed to take my practice to a new level and I needed
a goal to work towards with my basketry. I love to create
large, cerebral works that require time and commitment.
There is nothing like a deadline to propel you forward!
Love.Honour.Cherish was a collection of beautifully woven pieces that
honour and worship the earth beneath our feet and the new growth that can
emerge from it.
While working full time running a demanding business, I put together the exhibition
in around five months. Leading up to the exhibition, I’d sit for hours at a time on
weeknights and weekends sitting on the floor of my ‘studio’ (which also doubles as my
lounge and dining room) surrounded by leaves and sticks working on my weaving.
Putting the exhibition together was at times challenging, but never stressful. Weaving
makes my soul sing. I would dream designs, go walking in the bush to find inspiration
and spend hours with material imagining what it can be.
Certainly there were nights when I didn’t want to weave but I willed myself on. If I
have a goal in front of me, it urges me forward. For me, slowing down and picking
up vines to weave has helped me see new perspectives and have a break from the
constant noise of a busy life.
My exhibition was nothing short of life affirming. I had no expectations about what
I would sell or who would take the time to turn up. While I made sure the pieces in
the exhibition were certainly exhibition quality, I refused to worry if others did not
think so or even like them. I knew if I went down that rabbit hole it would impact
the joyfulness of the process. Of course, positive feedback was welcome, I just
worked hard not to base the success of it on adulation.
It’s never too late
I’ve always had a secret, unspoken desire to be an artist. I
didn’t start truly exploring art until my early 40s, and it’s
only been recently that I felt that I could call myself an
artist.
During that time I have held my first solo exhibition
and I’ve have been in numerous group exhibitions,
shortlisted as Emerging Artist of the Year Craft
NSW (2014, 2015), and finalist at North Sydney Art
Prize (2013-2015) and Mosman Art Gallery 2088
(2011-2015). I’ve also created a website showcasing
my artwork at TheArtOfWeaving.com.au.
I know this to be true: We all have new growth ready to
emerge, and basketry can help you reconnect with your
imagination, and give you new insights and perspectives.
But remember, the key is to slow down and see what beauty
emerges.
Website: TheArtOfWeaving.com.au
Instagram: Catriona Pollard
Above: Manipura
Basketmaker: Helen Richardson and
the birth of a bible for basketry
The Fibre Basketry: Homegrown & Handmade book is often referred to in basketry
circles as ‘the bible’. It is a comprehesive compendium which is sold by the Basketry
SA group.
Helen Richardson shares her history and journey with basketmaking and
also the birth of this wonderful book. Thank you Helen for your
How did I get started in basket making? I suppose it goes back
eighty years actually, when I lived on a farm in Surrey in
the1940’s. One of our farm workers was a wonderful man who
knew everything there was to know about the old ways, but
couldn’t read or write. He made the best harvest festival corn
dollies I have ever seen, and taught us children how to make
little baskets out of rushes, and whistles out of corn straw. He
became a sergeant in the local Dad’s Army, and others would fill
in the paperwork for him. Together my mother and he were
responsible for teaching us the names of every flower, and
tree, and bird, and to absorb everything to do with nature,
and I shall be eternally grateful.
But it wasn’t until after we emigrated to Australia fifty years
ago that I got involved in basketry again, through a teacher
at Marleston CAE in the 1970s. A neighbour who couldn’t
drive wanted to do the Art and Craft Certificate Course, and we
both went along together. I thoroughly enjoyed wool knowledge,
spinning, weaving, drawing and design, and the contact with others.
But this is where I make my confession - I needed one more unit in order to gain my
Certificate, and basketry was the only subject left that I was prepared to do.
I was not keen.
We learned the compulsory cane basketry techniques to start with, which is a bit like
the first stages in learning to read and write. I’m very grateful to have done it. I’m a
great believer in mastering the basics first, in order to provide the tools for anything
else you might want to do later. The second part of the unit involved working with
plant materials rather than commercial cane, and this was much more interesting,
particularly for a mad gardener like me. We used to tour the Botanic Gardens
looking at leaves rather than flowers, and had no hesitation about knocking on front
doors for permission to take cuttings or leaves if something looked promising. All of
us in the basketry group still do this, of course, but we now grow so much ourselves
that offloading has taken precedence.
Nowadays I hardly do any basketry myself, there is too much maintenance work
to do on our property, but I am a top-class supplier of useful ‘stuff ’ - friends and
neighbours now know what is treasured, and drop off truckloads of leaves. Without
doubt my favourite fibre is Iris orientalis, a plant that is so easy to grow, totally
reliable, a joy to use, hard wearing, and a great colour.
But back to Jean Lange and life after years of Certificate
Course project work. She retired from teaching in
1980 and this was when she gathered together her
last group of about six students ‘in order that the
craft should not die out’. She never let the grass grow
under her feet, and it soon became obvious that
she had ‘plans’. She booked a meeting room for her
young group, and all of us turned up, we couldn’t let
her down. And this is how Basketry SA (or The Fibre
Basket Weavers of South Australia, as it was originally
known) came about.
Several of Jean’s former Art and Craft Certificate Course students, such as Nancy
Duggan and Pat Michell, had already formed a small group which met on a regular
basis. In January 1981, the year of Doug Fuchs’ inspirational exhibition Floating
Forest in the Adelaide Festival Centre Gallery, our group officially came about, with
a name, President, Secretary, etc., and things were unstoppable from then on. We
took part in many exhibitions, and held workshops to encourage new membership,
and we received a lot of interest and help from the South Australian Crafts Council.
The teacher was Jean Lange, who taught creative embroidery and basketcraft. She was
Jean had always wanted to produce a basketry book, in fact she and Pat Michell
a product of the CWA, and its legacy was apparent in all she did – well-made, wellhad been discussing the possibility of doing this as early as the 1970s, and this soon
shaped articles, useful and made to last. Her pedigree was impeccable – founding
became part of the agenda. Jean already had a wealth of experience and knowledge,
President of the Embroiderers Guild of South Australia, and founding President of our
basketry group. She was also an excellent lace maker, and she really appreciated how
Clockwise from top left: Corona by Helen, this
incredibly skilful aboriginal weavers are with their knotless netting techniques. I was
is a combination of felting and basketry; There
certainly in awe of Jean at first, but also totally appreciated how much she could teach
were ten in the bed, from a BSA Exhibition at
us. She was a meticulous teacher, and she expected our work to be likewise.
Prospect Gallery; A practical melon basket.
The next stage was in 1986 when Rosemary Beth-Rem organized an International Basketry Conference which was held in the Sheraton
Hotel in Melbourne, and we have a lot to thank her for. We met in the Banqueting Hall each day, plush purple carpet and all, which was
covered with paddling pools full of soaking materials, tables with dye pots, and all the rest of the basketry paraphernalia – we always
suspected that the hotel management was after a new carpet courtesy of their insurance company. Four of us went over from SA, and took
part in the four workshops on offer. I remember Jean Lange particularly enjoyed the string bag workshops with two aboriginal tutors from
Arnhem Land. It was here where we first made contact with quite a large group from Victoria, including the unforgettable Jean Stone,
Sally King, Jane Henry, Liz Souter, and many more whose names escape me.
This was when the Victorians decided to get together as a group, and future plans were discussed at the end of the Conference. We
thoroughly enjoyed meeting and working with everyone, and the idea for a second get together surfaced when Sally King came to S.A.
for a family visit and caught up with Jean Lange again. The first of these meetings with the Vics occurred the following year, 1987, at
Bordertown, SA, which was conveniently partway between Adelaide and Melbourne. The second was two years later in the Little Desert,
Nhill, in Victoria. And that was the beginning of the regular biennial gatherings. To start with they took place between the Victorians
and South Australians, but as members and interest spread farther afield, so did the gatherings, and it has since become a regular biennial
nationwide event to include NSW, Alice Springs, Tasmania, Townsville and Canberra.
It was after the Melbourne Conference that Jean’s book ambitions gathered momentum. As is often the case, conception was easier than
delivery. Like a game of Russian roulette, each successive secretary inherited the collection of ‘book material’ and wondered if she would
reach the end of her term before being asked to prepare the first draft. Finally, in 1985, a sub-committee was formed and a suggested
outline of the book was drawn up. The question of printer vs publisher then arose. The stock market slump of 1987 ruled out all possibility
of raising funds to publish the book ourselves and, in retrospect, this turned out to be a blessing – publishers and their technical staff can
make life a lot easier.
I did a rough first chapter, and collected some photographs, and Jean provided me with a list of publishers to visit in South Australia.
Money was tight in 1987, and we could find no one in SA willing to take us on. In August 1988 I happened to be going to Sydney,
Kangaroo Press was suggested, and I had quite decided that this was the last publisher I would approach. But the editor, David Rosenthal,
accepted the project within the first few minutes of the interview, and asked if it could be ready for printing in six months’ time.
Gobsmacked is the word that comes to mind. From then on activity and deadlines were ceaseless. Attempting to write a book on behalf of
a group of craftspeople has its advantages and disadvantages, but at least we were never short of material – pooling ideas, what to include,
writing, rewriting, experimenting to prove a point.
We organized a working fund of small loans from members, to cover expenses such as legal, photographic and administrative (postage,
telephone, etc.). Donations of stationery were made and we held workshops to raise money. We managed to get a grant from the SA
Department of the Arts to pay for the shortfall in photographic costs. Everything else was done on a voluntary basis. We started with a
sub-committee which held regular meetings, but these tended to drop off as decisions often had to be made in a hurry.
When doing the book we gathered together carloads of baskets from as many members of the group as possible to use for the illustrations,
and when something was missing I quickly supplied it myself – often there was just no time to mess about. If I needed examples of ‘bad’
workmanship I did that as well, so that no one would feel they were being criticized! Our photographer, Grant Hancock, made us a special
offer – if we were prepared to bring the baskets into his studio and lay them out on the floor with notes attached specifying what angles
and close-ups we wanted, then he would fit them in whenever he had time to spare. We were given one day’s notice for the action photos,
which were done in a galvanised iron building on the hottest January day on record. (I exaggerate, but that’s what it felt like.) Pat Michell
did the ‘how-to’ illustrations. We sometimes provided her with rope samples so that it was easier for her to see the finer points. She was
used to working back-to-front because she is left handed, and I have a memory of her occasionally working with mirrors to produce the
‘right-handed’ drawings we wanted for the book.
Above from top: A meticulous bottom!;
Photo from the Mount Barker “Courier”,
23.08.1989
Our publisher, David Rosenthal, must have thought me very naïve, I suspect. I took his deadlines to mean just that, and nothing was ever
late. Forget about computers, all this was done in the days before we had our first word processor. Our typewriter has never been the same
since, nor my fingers, and we are still coming across scrap paper from the days of the book. I wrote out everything in longhand first, and
fiddled and altered things until I thought it safe to type it out in draft form for Jean and others to read through.
And here I must not forget to mention that we owe a great debt of gratitude to Jean Stone and the Victorians. While the preparation of the
draft was making good progress, Nancy and I met up with Jean Stone at the Flinders Fibre School at Melrose, and it was there that Jean
showed us a book containing some of her superb basketry photography from recent Victorian exhibitions, and we asked if we could include a
selection at the end of the book, with acknowledgments and permissions, of course. Their basketry was so much freer than ours was in those
days – a few of us had just started including pottery, paper and wool, etc., but most of us still tended to play it safe. Their work was just what
was needed, and it pleased all of us to be allowed to include it.
As far as the draft was concerned we also received a lot of technical help from the chief administrative officer at the Adelaide Botanic Garden
staff, Thekla Reichstein, because I knew that some of the botanical wording needed to be checked. Thekla soon became really interested
in the whole project and offered to read through the script. She later walked some of us through the Adelaide Botanic Garden identifying
and collecting promising leaves, and on one occasion there was one specimen I particularly liked. You can get by with just using hands and
teeth for basketry, but I discovered to my cost that it is a good idea to be wary of using teeth. I developed a pain, mentioned it to Thekla,
we checked, and found that a small amount of this plant can kill cattle in South Africa. Our connection with her led on to a six-month
exhibition in the Museum of Economic Botany displaying all the things we had collected for inclusion in the book, and this made it relatively
easy to set up.
Kangaroo Press and the editor, David Rosenthal, made life very easy for us too, and handled all the publicity, etc. The book was finally
published in November 1989, and we were delighted that it came out in hard cover and with a dust jacket, rare even in those days. It was
launched by Angela Bannon (wife of former SA premier John Bannon, and a past student of Jean Lange) in the Museum of Economic Botany
in the Adelaide Botanic Garden. They printed 1,500 copies to start with, followed by reprints in 1991 and 1994. Unfortunately Kangaroo
Press sold out to Simon & Schuster soon after this, and as they required us to sell more books more quickly than we could possibly manage,
we more or less bought up what stock was left. We have since become independent, and produce our own copies for sale. The copyright is
ours, so we were free to scan the pages and produce a good but cheaper, user-friendly spiral-backed version.
As far as my basketry is concerned I really did enjoy it in the end. So often in life things that aren’t planned often turn out to be for the best,
and are obviously meant to be. I’m afraid my basketry will always tend to be neat, well ordered, useful and just as Jean Lange would have
liked. It comes with the vintage, I expect.
If I had my time over again I would never have chosen to do basketry at Marleston, I would thus have avoided doing the book, and all the
work and time it involved. But how glad I am that it was otherwise. Those most closely associated with the book’s production survived with
a greater appreciation and respect for each other than the day they set out, and that in itself was an achievement. I wouldn’t have missed it for
anything.
‘Basketry’ has come a long way since those days, and I am in awe of the wonderful work that people come up with nowadays. I love the fact
that it is a craft which can cost nothing, accessible to one and all, using materials that can be grown or gathered for free, whether natural or
man made. And it is one of the first crafts, born out of necessity, and still flourishing today.
Fibre Basketry: Homegrown & Handmade book can be purchased
from the Basketry SA website.
Arnhem Weavers Visit
by Ann McMahon
Attracted to the prospect of visiting the Arnhem Weavers in Märpuru , a remote Indigenous
community, 18 women gathered in a Darwin park to embark on the two day 1000km road trip. Two
troopies each carried nine, the second hauled a trailer loaded with camping gear and food for ten
days.
The adventure ramped up when we pitched camp on the Central Arnhem Road in the dark on a cool
first evening. The location afforded a spectacular view from the escarpment on the second morning.
It was good practice. We arrived at Märpuru in the dark on the second evening; the last 40 Kilometres
of the trip took four hours. After the recent cyclone, our path wound circuitously around fallen trees,
through several creeks and the second vehicle with the trailer had to be extracted from a bog.
Our band was diverse and interested in the experience for a variety of reasons. Mostly from
Melbourne, there were a number of artists, others with environmental interests, a teacher, a student
of languages, experienced and novice weavers. The camp amenities, (also used by Ceres’ men’s and
Nature’s Philosophy mixed cultural tour groups) include a traditional bark shelter, a tap providing
clean bore water, access to the community school’s shower and long drop toilet block and a modified
chest freezer, run on generated electricity from one of the few houses in Märpuru.
Märpuru is a Yolnu (Indigenous people of the top end) homeland centre where the Gupapuyngu
dialect predominates, though I will remember it as a place of many crows. Crow calls announced the
dawn and varied, from alarm cries and animated chatter that preceded landings of the Mission Air
light plane, to mimicking of frog and toad calls. “He’s calling you to come back!’ my Yapa Wendy said,
when I was transfixed by a handsome bird and its low crooning.
Our Yolngu hosts include visiting Balanda (non-indigenous people) into their community by
adoption, which allocates a place in the kinship system. We mostly found that after a period of
time our weaving teachers addressed us in female Yolngu kinship terms such as yapa (sister), märi
(grandmother) ngandi (mother), waku (daughter), gutharra (waku’s waku - grandaughter). Pre-trip
notes provide by Ceres , the tour organizers, aimed to assist our understanding of the complexities of
Yolngu kinship, which governs everyday social interaction, marriage and familial obligation.
Some kinship concepts are familiar; others are more complex and specific. They are also interlinked with the broader cosmological concepts of Gurutu (or Moiety - the dualities of
Dhuwa and Yirritja) and Mälk, the generative cycles of the eight Yolngu skin groups. At Märpuru, we learned that everything and everyone is related through kinship including plants,
animals and places. After a foray to gather pandanus and yellow dye roots, senior weaver Roslyn Malngumba took a group of us to cool off in a nearby spring. After a time she pointed
out the appearance of grey mist in the sky above and explained that it was a sign that we had been recognised by resident spirits and would be able to revisit that place.
Yolngu connection to and understanding of country is deep and is reflected not only by intimate knowledge of the
local environment, but also by homeland centre movement . In communities like Märpuru, practices handed down
from ancestral spirits are part of ongoing culture. Weaving is a core tradition, with the making of twined “bathi”
bags and conical mats manifesting direct connection to an ever-present spirit world that transcends time. Weaving
in Märpuru is also an evolving, contemporary economically motivated practice that displays innovation in weave
and dye techniques attributable to individual weavers and specific communities.
This technical research is ongoing. Rebecca, a young Märpuru School teaching assistant and accomplished weaver
accompanying us on the return journey, collected campfire ash (with great excitement) from a wood not available
in Märpuru, to use in her dye experiments. Her weaving, offered for purchase, among many others at the end of
our stay, was distinguished by a brilliant pink made using dye stuffs obtained in Darwin. I noticed my Galay (my
husband’s sister) Roslyn used a distinctive colour palette -red, black white and yellow-, different to that used by my
Yapa Wendy. When I asked about it, she confirmed that brown, yellow, purple, green, orange and white are Yirritja
colours, used by weavers of that moiety.
We collected pandanus some distance from Mäpuru by chopping out the heart of the palm using an axe. In our
family groups, we gathered the prickly leaves, strapped them to the top the vehicles and returned to camp for
stripping. First, the centre rib and spiny edges are removed. Each leaf section is then split, the back and the belly of
the leaf are separated; a process that looked deceptively simple. The prepared leaves are boiled and dye stuffs added
to create a range of wonderful colours that dry in bunches hung around the weave shelter.
After campfire coffee and breakfast, we would join the Mäpuru weavers, who arrived once their children and
grandchildren were fed and off to the community’s school. We were encouraged to learn by observation, which
takes time and is the Yolngu way, rather than asking questions. We all created weavings with assistance from our
yapa’s. It was a privilege to spend time with weavers with expertise developed over lifetimes of practice.
The short ten day cultural tour with Ceres was a memorable experience. Though it was hardly time to develop an
appreciation of what the Mäpuru community shared with us or to comprehend the complexities and challenges of
homeland centre existence. Until I return, shared images and my weavings will recall the journey and the warmth
of the relationships made in Märpuru.
Ann McMahon 2015
Ann is an artist, arts administrator and writer living in the ACT.
Since 2003 annual cultural tours have created employment for weavers and brought income to the community.
For more information go to http://www.arnhemweavers.com.au
2
A Homeland Centre in North East Arnhemland, with a community established School and cooperative shop.
3
More info at http://www.naturephilosophy.com/
4
More info at http://sustainability.ceres.org.au/program/cerestour/
5
Go to www.cdu.edu.au/yolngustudies for more information
6
The Homeland Centre Movement dates back to the 1970s, when groups of Indigenous people left missions and
larger communities to return to their traditional lands to escape social dysfunction and uphold traditional duties to
country and maintain customs and languages.
1
Teaching on the road - the challenges and the things I’ve learnt along the way.
by Ruth Woods
I have been running basket coiling workshops for nearly two years but have been an adult educator for over 15
years teaching several topics such as clothing design, arts business, visual arts and various craft topics. It is my
full time business now and is something I love doing and hope to continue.
My daughter and grandchildren have recently moved to Byron which means I need to visit them
regularly as I don’t want to miss out on them growing up. When I visit I try to organise a basket coiling
workshop somewhere in the vicinity which helps off set the cost of the visit from Melbourne.
Last winter we decided to buy an old 1980’s caravan and take our time to drive up the east coast
and run workshops in a few different places. It was a good time to visit as the weather was dry and
warm; it enabled us to escape the Melbourne winter.
Making sure we had space for all these supplies and accessible was important. With eight
workshops organised it meant there was a substantial amount of materials needed. At first all the
materials were stored under the bed in the caravan but this didn’t work. It was then changed to the
back of the car which was much more accessible.
It was definitely a working holiday - I was constantly thinking and planning for the next workshop.
Then in between that I would spend
as much time as possible with my
grandchildren.
One of the challenges was getting access
to good internet to check emails and post
pictures on social media to promote up-andcoming workshops. This was essential for
enrolments. We used data on our phones but
rapidly used our allocation so we were constantly
increasing this. When we could we’d use Wi-Fi
in cafes and pubs - this was a great help.
Left: Ruth preparing materials for her next workshop
Above right: The Craft School Oz caravan hits the road!
We would have to find caravan parks near the workshops and a couple of times this was difficult.
However I did use a great app called Wikicamps which was invaluable. I would ring ahead while we were
driving to book spots. This app gives reviews of campsite by the users so you get an real idea of what the
sites were like.
There was one problem I had last year when I was teaching in Sydney; I had booked a venue through a
local council and we found that it had been double booked. Being the weekend no one was around at the
council offices – so I had to quickly think what I should do - I could have argued with the other group as
we had set up and even started, but I knew doing this would put me in a very different frame of mind and
affect the whole day. We were lucky that the weather was good that day and there was shade in the garden
so we took ourselves outside and continued the class - someone even went and bought a few beers in the
afternoon.
Teaching is my passion and to be able to teach something that is my hobby is perfect. It’s not easy, there’s
lots of planning and taking the workshops on the road makes your work constant. Being flexible and
organized I believe is vital - but the people you meet, the friendships you develop makes it an interesting
stimulating journey and I’m constantly learning from others and visiting beautiful places along the way.
Above: The groups of gorgeous people that Ruth has
had at her workshops; Works in progress from workshop
participants.
Right: A beautiful piece of Ruth’s work which was recently
auctioned to help disabled children in Cambodia.
How to use PR and marketing for an exhibition and art/craft event
by Catriona Pollard
For any exhibition, getting the marketing and publicity right is critical. Mentions in the media helps with
getting people through the door and also increases your exposure as an artist/crafter. You can’t simply rely on
the gallery to do the marketing and publicity; you need to develop your own strategy.
In the lead up to my solo exhibition I developed a marketing and PR plan as I wanted to get as much publicity
for my exhibition as possible and use my exhibition to increase my profile as an artist.
Here is an outline of the strategy I developed for my exhibition and how to successfully promote your next art
and crafts related event.
Get great visuals
The beauty of art and crafts is they are very visual mediums so invest in great photos of your work. This is so
critical. Images help your audience understand and relate to your art.
You will use the images across all of your marketing and PR material. Trust me; having high-resolution
professional photos on hand to send straightaway to any journalist who asks for them will be a life saver.
Don’t forget you can also do a video as well. In the lead up to my exhibition, I did a video on the making of one
of my baskets (http://theartofweaving.com.au/sculptural-basketry-random-weave/) which I shared on social
media.
Write a media release
Journalists need to receive information about your exhibition or event in a certain way – and a media release
is the best way to do that. In the release add images, where and when the exhibition is being held and details
about it. (The release for my exhibition is here http://theartofweaving.com.au/love-honour-cherish/ and for a
free media release template go to: https://unknowntoexpert.com/media-release-template-fute)
Local news love local talent
Local papers love writing about the latest local talent from their area. Research the details of the local
newspapers, magazines and even radio stations for where you live and where the exhibition or event is being
held. Then send the media release and images to the editors or producers at those outlets. Chances are they’ll
want to run a feature piece if the idea is interesting enough, either as a ‘profiling the local’ piece or a ‘What’s on’
piece.
List your event
Major and local newspapers and event sites are always looking for interesting events to put in their ‘What’s on’
sections. Do your research and provide generic information about your event: what, when, where, cost, and a
short description. Find the journalists that look after the ‘What’s On’ section and email them the information
directly, or many online sites have forms you simply fill in. This takes some time but it’s definitely worth doing
to boost the reach of your arts and crafts event.
Above: One of the
promotion items created for
Catriona’s exhibition.
Left: Just some of the
beautiful pictures taken of
Catriona’s exhibition.
Find media that relate to your art or craft
There are media outlets that write about the type of art and craft you do. Go to your local newsagent and take a look at the arts and
crafts magazines. Those are the ones you want to get into, so look at who the editor is and send the release to them. Don’t forget about
related topics, such as interior design.
Writing articles
You may not be comfortable writing, but if you are, think about telling your art stories by writing articles for publications. I wrote an
article about what happened when I stopped looking for balance and instead discovered my creativity for Women’s Agenda (http://
www.womensagenda.com.au/guilt-free-zone/health/what-happened-when-i-stopped-looking-for-balance-and-instead-discoveredmy-creativity/201509146260#.VfYwdtKqqko). I also wrote an article about my art practice and basketry process for Textile Fibre
Forum.
Other media angles
Think beyond your exhibition or event, what else would the media be interested in? Some other media angles I used were: Leading
female entrepreneur by day, inspiring sculptural basket maker by night; the rise of sculptural basketry – craft now viewed as a form
of art; art/sculpture as a form of mindfulness: the impact of the slow movement; and finally the shift from technology to grassroots
connections – using recycled material as a form of art.
To see the media coverage for the exhibition go to: http://theartofweaving.com.au/lots-of-media-interest-for-my-exhibition.
Marketing
Producing a flyer for the exhibition or event is critical. You need to be able to have something that has all the information about the
exhibition as well as visuals that can be easily shared. I printed postcard size flyers as well as created a digital version (PNG file). The
digital version was shared via email as well as on Facebook and Instagram. The printed version I handed out (I kept a stash in my
handbag) and also left them at local cafes and craft centres.
Social media
Ah, social media. Love it or hate it, it’s perfect to promote an art event. I used it to create excitement about my exhibition by posting
images of sculptures throughout the creating process. Each time I finished a sculpture I posted it on Facebook and Instagram.
On Facebook share your exhibition/event information not just on your page (and not just once – do it multiple times) but also on
niche pages. For me it was Basketry NSW, Australian Basketry group, interior designers, CraftNSW and others. Create an event on
Facebook and invite your friends and ask your friends to share it.
Instagram is so perfect for artists and crafters as it’s just a series of images. Share your work, use hashtags effectively and direct
message influencers. Follow other Instagrammers that are in your niche, many will follow you back. For basketry use the hashtag
#australianbasketry.
Putting your artwork on show for people to assess it can be daunting and promoting the exhibition/event and you as an artist or
crafter can feel self promotional. But you need to move beyond those feelings and understand that the more marketing and PR you
do, the more people can see the beauty of your work. If there were more art and craft in the world, the world would be a little bit more
beautiful.
Website: TheArtOfWeaving.com.au
Instagram: Catriona Pollard
Above: Some of the gorgeous work you will find
on instagram by @looselywovenbasketry,
@reedsandvines, and @craftschooloz - all
Australian basketmakers
Untethered
Out of Hand – the inaugural exhibition of untethered – a NSW-based fibre arts group formed under the Australian Textile Arts
& Surface Design Association (ATASDA) – was held at Wallarobba, Hornsby in November 2015. Brenda Livermore, President of
Basketry NSW, and fellow Basketry NSW members Mary Hedges and Desdemona Foster showed work in this exhibition.
Brenda’s Contained is an eco-dyed handmade paper wire vessel. Contained begins a series of work exploring the notion of
containing space. The form contains space but also occupies a larger implied space influencing the surrounds with complex
shadows and views through grid patterning.
Mary’s Australian native frangipani seedpods are like dainty butterflies, poised in flight free, flowing and unconfined. A bangalow
palm sheath cracked and curled is a dramatic backdrop adding to the drama of this freeform sculpture –Jewelled Native Frangipani
Pods.
Desdemona’s work is a wire and cotton ‘impression’ of an experience her father had as a soldier in the Highlands of New Guinea
during WW11. Bean Spill (3 x 0.5 x 1.5m) is a remembered fear in a dense fog – a distorted ‘memory’. There is also a companion
hand stitched work.
Untethered will exhibit Ebb & Flow
at Wallarobba in November 2016.
Above: work by Brenda Livermore ‘Contained’ - Photo taken by
Desdemona Foster; work by Mary Hedges ‘Jewelled Native Frangipani Pods’
- photo taken by Adam Yip; work by Desdemona Foster ‘Bean Spill’- photo
taken by Adam Yip.
The Benefits of Basketry Groups:
Musings from 2010
Australian Basketry Facebook group were asked what they
thought the strengths where of joining a basketry group.
These are some of the answers they gave...
by Meri Peach
These words were originally published in my “Notes from the Editor” in the
Basketry NSW newsletter of Autumn 2010. I was recently reading over old
newsletters and this article struck me as just as relevant today:
One of the (many) benefits of belonging to a basketry group is the opportunity to
exchange reference materials. The Sydney group seems to be developing an informal
tradition of bringing books to our monthly meetings, for perusal on the day and for
loan.
Last month Glenese lent me “The Basketmaker’s Art: Contemporary Baskets and
Their Makers” (published in 1986). It felt wonderful to read of the personal journeys
of these pioneering contemporary basket makers.
To some extent I think we all share the same struggles and joys in basketry. There
is the initial “light bulb” moment when you realise how amazing basketry can be,
and how you just have to do it. There is the journey of trying out new materials and
finding your own personal style and voice. There is the learning curve of exhibiting
and selling your work. There is the effort to be taken seriously as an artist, by
yourself, and by others. There is the discovery of the wider community of basket
makers and the pleasure of making personal connections with like-minded people.
For those who teach, there is the sometimes tricky balancing act of finding enough
time for your own creative journey, and attempting to ensure that students discover
their own distinct path and don’t end up cloning your own work.
This month I am enjoying reading “Tayenabe: Tasmanian Aboriginal Women’s Fibre
Work”... kindly loaned to me by Susie. Again this has made me realise how much
sharing and exchange is valued by basket makers. There can be few greater pleasures
than sitting around with a group of basket makers while conversations flow gently
and naturally. There is a rare sense of acceptance, connection and relaxation to be
found in shared basket making.
“Sharing knowledge, sharing ideas, help on a difficult project,
sharing resources and helping find resources. Friendship.”
“Sharing and caring. Women especially do it so well.”
“I have met and been inspired by the most incredible talented
sharing women. I needed this lucky break and I like many others
continue to experiment and be encouraged by what is within
our reach and more. I cherish my new friendships and it was a
hoot meeting both Instagram and FB [FaceBook] friends at The
Gathering this year.”
“I love the group thing, beyond friendship and sharing of skills
and knowledge it's just the encouragement to complete and to
raise the bar.”
So you want to be a basketmaker...
by Mary Butcher
reprinted with permission
How to set about it? Here are some tips and thoughts that
may help you approach work in this, or perhaps many other,
handskilled crafts.
Have you the passion?
Do you love making things and baskets in particular? You’ll be doing it a long time
and that is no good unless you find it all completely absorbing and every step a
fascination. That doesn’t necessarily mean that you find it easy or that it is not difficult
to start a project. Those blockages happen to us all from time to time, but it does mean
that, once started, you forget your coffee gets cold beside you and time moves swiftly
without you noticing.
This passion is usually built in, not manufactured, and you will know it when you
find it. I had no intention of being a basketmaker but I just loved that first unexpected
afternoon working with willow, making a round base. Being sent home with materials,
being told to make six more, leads me to the next tip for going into a great life as a
craftsperson.
Be excellent at what you do.
These hand skills are acquired by simply doing the same thing over and over again,
always concentrating on the tiny details to achieve the right end product. Build up
your repertoire slowly. Four or five objects perfected is better than a range not made
less well, while you are finding your feet. Chose your materials, refine your weaving,
be as neat with every join as you possibly can, all while keeping an eye on the overall
result. It is all about hand and eye co-ordination and training, so along with this
practice you need a really good, confidence-inducing teacher. Stick with one or go to
several for different things but grasp what is offered and have fun doing it. I hope you
will revel in it all, the examples, the books, the glimpses of a full craft life.
Versatility is a way of life.
When I learnt, willow basketmaking was a solitary business, the days of the big
workshops all but over, so it was hard work ‘on the plank’, making as fast as you could
while maintaining quality. Most basketmakers now enjoy being versatile, bringing
financial security and lots of contacts too. Many of us teach once we have reached a
good standard ourselves but beware, if you teach a lot you get less good as a maker.
Basketmaking is a highly repetitive skill, needing constant attention, so mix the two as
far as possible and don’t start neglecting the making if it is still in any way important to
you.
Below: Mary and baskets; Wall Drawing 2011 detail: Willow, cable ties, Assembly
Sainsbury Centre for the Visual Arts, Norwich, Photo Andy Crouch
Many of us now do more than one kind of basketmaking. Coiling or twining can be done
more at the drop of a hat with less planning for preparation of materials and may allow
you to enter different sets of events in a slightly different worlds, the 3D textile world, the
paper world, and so shift your career. Try things but don’t forget that passion! It will show
through.
Be good at the office stuff too. Reliability is a lot.
Being responsive to requests for work or exhibition pieces, sending off your CV or 100
words at the right moment, goes a long way and helps your reputation (why am I doing this
on a Sunday morning while on holiday?). Some of this is about learning to say ‘No’ so you
have enough work but are not over burdened. This is hard, as we never know if more work
is coming in and the administration can take over your life, these internet days. But being
realistic about what you can cope with, being honest with people who approach you, being
a pleasant person to deal with, are traits that should come naturally but maybe don’t in the
welter of work. And learn to charge properly – the hardest thing of all. Value what you do
while keeping an eye on the wider markets.
Confidence
In the UK we are notoriously bad at this! Try to be proud of what you do but don’t brag
about your successes – a fine line to walk. You can still be honest about them and build
on them. Be confident to try for projects secure in the knowledge you have ideas and
intentions. Don’t go in for anything half-heartedly. Any lack of commitment or vigour will
show in the work.
Look for Opportunities and enjoy yourself!
Now the world is your Oyster. Opportunities are everywhere, so go to
basket websites and their links, go to Museum sites and look for exhibiting
possibilities, ask colleagues and friends, search the Crafts Council and Arts
Council information, try Artists Newsletter. All these have given me amazing
experiences in the UK and many parts of Europe and the Americas. Start with
www.basketassoc.org
Mary Butcher MBE
Crafts Skills Champion 2013
Basketmaker
Above: beautiful images of
Mary’s work from her website:
Sea Creature: Willow, willow
bark, waxed linen thread, Binding
and assembly, ‘European Baskets’
Curated Mary Butcher, Joe Hogan,
Crafts Council of Ireland 2008, Photo Roland
Raschoff
Read more about Mary and her work at:
Mary’s work and CV
Mary’s blog
Contemporary Basketry: Our Island Our Ocean
A ghost net exhibition at ReDot Gallery, Singapore.
October saw Erub Arts an indigenous Torres Strait art centre, mount their first International show
of ghost net works in collaboration with non-indigenous artists who have worked alongside them.
After 3 years of planning with Giorgio Pilla director of ReDot Gallery in Singapore three Erub
artists Jimmy Thaiday, Lavinia Ketchell and Nancy Kiwat, travelled with Artistic Director Lynnette
Griffiths and Centre Manager Diann Lui to hang this show.
In the long gallery space, the joyous quirky works swim towards the viewer in a wave of beautifully
constructed, woven and stitched colour. Just as the larger predator fish chase down their smaller
prey this exhibition seeks to discuss the larger questions of greed, waste and human management.
Predators and prey swim in lineal formation while the ghost net shadows on the walls delicately talk
of the vulnerability and fragility of ocean life.
Giorgio Pilla says:
“In 2012 I attended the Cairns Indigenous Art Fair, and during my stay in Cairns I visited the
Regional museum and on entering the second floor I was greeted with one of the most inspiring
sights I had seen for some time, a sublime room of floating fish, all perfectly in harmony with their
surrounding.
On further research, the project of ghost nets captured my heart and I decided that, come what may,
I would one day replicate a room like that in Singapore to promote, educate and open the Asian eyes
to this stunning art form.
In 2015 we realised this dream with a stunning show of works, from Erub Arts finest collection of
artists, creating an aquarium in the middle of the humid and hot Singaporean city landscape. A
truly wonderful homage to this art centre and the fantastic work they do to keep our planet on a
sustainable path and raise awareness of the dangers of stray nets and their devastating effect on the
eco-system.”
90% of the marine debris entering the coastal regions of northern Australia is of a fishing nature
and originates from all parts of South East Asia. The nets drift aimlessly indiscrimately killing as
they travel with the ocean currents. The collection and disposal of this net has also become a huge
logistical problem, as the areas of Australia that are affected are sparsely inhabited by indigenous
people living in communities. As a solution that also raises awareness of the problem, ghost net art
has become a phenomenon inside the movement that is Australian indigenous art.
Erub Arts a small indigenous owned and run Art Centre on Erub (Darnley Island) in the North
East of the Torres Strait started making ghost net pieces in 2010 when Sue Ryan from Ghost
Nets Australia visited the island. Since then Erub artists have worked with Marion Gaemers on
techniques and under the artistic direction of Lynnette Griffiths have gone on to make large-scale
sculptures and installations. Their ghost net work is collaborative and seeks to remind people of
their connection to the sea and their cultural heritage.
Working together and with others is the ethos that has seen ghost net grow and grow on Erub. As
an extension of traditional weaving and construction techniques the artists have created some of the
largest ghost net works made in Australia to date. Every time they embark on a project the concept
grows stronger, delivering discourse not only around the content but what it means to be living
literally on the edge of a fragile environment. The message of ghost net art is powerful and often
tends to equal or overpower the work however if the works are viewed in context to their cultural
and historical backdrop then the ghost net story enriches the objects.
Erub artists seek to preserve culture – we want our community to have a strong Erubam le identity.
Our art centre works to revitalise our traditional culture and promote it to the world.
The Island
Erub (Darnley Island) is a tropical volcanic island located approximately 160km North of Cape
York in the North East of the Torres Strait on the edge of the Great Barrier Reef. Erub is home to
approximately 400 Erubam le (Erub People) whose seafaring heritage has traditions in elaborately
decorated canoes, carved stone, and intricately made dance costumes and weaponry. Stories of
creation and events are passed down through song and dance keeping cultural traditions vibrantly
alive.
Erub artists are from four tribal groups. They draw artistic inspiration from their identity,
connection to their totems through traditional and contemporary stories about their land, sea and
family connections.
Ghost Net works by Erub are currently in National and International touring shows and have been
acquired by the Queensland Art Gallery, Parliament House Collection Canberra, National Gallery
of Australia, National Museum of Australia, Australian Museum Sydney, Australian National
University Canberra, Cairns Regional Gallery.
For more information about Our Island Our Ocean contact ReDot Gallery
http://www.redotgallery.com/
Basketry NSW:
What we have been up to
by Meri Peach
Hello all. It seems we have been up to a lot in the last few months!
Our “Gathering” exhibition at the Mezzanine Gallery at Primrose Park looked great and
received many compliments from visitors. The Sydneysiders were thrilled that some of the
basket makers from Orange came to participate in the exhibition, and joined in our Open Day
activities.
This exhibition was followed up by a joint exhibition with other groups from Primrose Park
(papermakers, photographers and calligraphers) at Hutley Hall, North Sydney. There was a
steady stream of people coming through the exhibition, despite some wet weather. People
wandered in from the nearby markets and North Sydney Community Centre’s Open Day,
which included a 3 hour basketmaking session with an indigenous basket maker. Nanette
Goodsell distributed our Basketry NSW card to all the participants as well as brochures about
our exhibition.
Several of our members have been involved in other exhibitions recently. Catriona Pollard
celebrated her first solo show, Love.Honour.Cherish, at the beautiful space in Lane Cove Art
Gallery. Congratulations Catriona! Catriona, Nanette and Nicole Robins participated in the
Glenaeon Art Show (http://www.glenaeonartshow.com) where several sculptural baskets were
sold. Nanette has also sold several pieces at Craft NSW.
Carolyn Cooper, Roslyn Holmes and Jan Hook exhibited their baskets at “Celebrating Spring
with Ikebana and Baskets” in Hornsby Heights in October. The event included demonstrations
of Ikebana from the Sogetsu School, and I’m told it was quite an eye-opener to see how baskets
were incorporated in the arrangements.
Trish Castillo from the Far South Coast of NSW writes: Thanks to Shirley Lewis, who got
us started, we now have a very enthusiastic basketry group down here - the “Wyndham
Basketeers”. We have been meeting monthly for just over a year now and our November
meeting was at Warrawee Cottages, Wyndham. We spent the morning collecting Eleocharis
from their dam and after lunch we made a small Christmas installation to leave in the garden
for the holidaying visitors.
Basketry NSW is a small group that meets at Primrose Park in Cremorne. Most of
our members are Sydney based but we have a few remote members as well.
Social Media:
We have a Facebook page moderated by Catriona Pollard.
https://www.facebook.com/BasketryNSW
Primrose Park has it’s own site http://www.primrose-park.com.au/Basketry/basketry.
html
Members with their own basketry websites:
Meri Peach http://www.sharkchic.com.au
Catriona Pollard http://theartofweaving.com.au
Lanny Mackenzie http://lannym.wix.com/weaver
And on instagram:
Nicole Robins https://instagram.com/looselywovenbasketry/
Catriona Pollard https://instagram.com/catrionapollard/
Lissa-Jane De Sailles has just returned from an exciting trip overseas. Lissa writes:
“This year I had planned to focus on skills development as I have recognised that skill
and knowledge are the basis for developing a sustainable art and craft practice. I began
my year with an immersion with Tim Johnson and Jackie Abrams. Both of these
artists draw on years of honing and developing their art practices. I learned so much
from Tim in regards to local plant material and new techniques. Jackie’s workshop on
the other hand focussed on plaiting and creating surfaces with a number of mediums.
Just recently I have returned from an intensive workshop experience learning
traditional Irish basketry with master maker Joe Hogan. I also attended a workshop
with willow sculptor Caroline Gregson and then headed off to the United Arab
Emirates where I taught a workshop at the Dubai Theatre and Arts Centre. My
workshop in the UAE was very well received and I am booked to do it all again next
year with the aim of developing a larger project!
PS - I have been very blessed to have been able to take some time out for myself
this year as I have been caring for my elderly father for eleven years. Things have
been hard juggling caring for an elderly parent so I am grateful to those of you
who have been so understanding and patient with me in regards to social basketry
commitments.”
As for me (Meri) - my tree change is well under way, and I am facing the pleasurable
challenge of starting my basketry garden again, almost from scratch. I hope to write
more on that in the next issue. Meanwhile, I am being careful to limit the number
of workshops I teach, and ration my stockpiled basketry supplies over the next year
or two, so that they don’t run out before my new garden grows up. No more random
weaving for a little while!
Basketmakers of Victoria
The Muster
Every January the Basketmakers of Victoria hold a “Muster” where all members congregate at the
headquarters located at ‘The Cottage’ in Wattle Park, Burwood.
2016 will be no exception. On the 2nd-4th of January, we will be meeting, making, dyeing
(weather dependant), as well as collecting Cumbungi together.
See our website for more details: Basketmakers of Victoria
2016 is a big year for the Basketmakers of Victoria...
Along with celebrating our 30th anniversary, we have another busy and exciting year so to help
you plan your year here are a few dates which are already confirmed:
• The year starts with our annual Muster: January 2nd - 4th
• Melon Basket Workshop with Edit Meaklim: January 2nd - 3rd
• Another display of the Welcome Mat at the Backspace Gallery Ballarat: February 4th - 14th
• DRIFT exhibition (as part of the Herring Island Summer Arts Festival): February 6th-7th;
13th-14th; and 20th-21st.
• A stall at the Lost Trades Fair in Kyneton: March 12th-13th
• Stitched Mixed Plant Fibre basket Workshop with Margaret Balfe: April 31st - May 1st
• Willow Basket Workshop with Jed Gillian: May 21st - 22nd
• Landscape Basket Over a Mould Workshop with Edit Meaklim: June 4th - 5th and 11th - 12th
• Random Weave Basket Workshop with Lesley Hall: August
• Federation Square Workshops on the 5th Monday and 4th Friday of the month.
Contact details:
Website: http://www.basketmakersofvictoria.com.au/
Phone: 0409 023 029 during open hours only.
Mail:
PO Box 1467 East Camberwell Victoria 3126
Email: basketmakersofvictoria@gmail.com
Top to bottom: Stunning basket
made by Robyn Norris; Knotless
netting creations made at recent
Federaration Square workshop;
Gorgeous creations made by Jane
Henry; Exquisite collection of vases
and baskets made by Vicki Fowler.
ACT Fibre Basket Makers
At the October meeting of the ACT Fibre Basket Makers, a hen basket workshop was held at the
Downer Community Centre, our usual meeting place. New and established members were led by
Jean Egan, who prepared by making sets of cane rings and notes for participants. Many Thanks
Jean.
This follows on from successful workshops with Jackie Abrams in 2015 and Judy Dominic in
2014, which were held in the Woolshed at the Strathnairn Arts Centre. Also at Strathnairn in
the Homestead Gallery, the ACT group is planning to mount an exhibition from 8 September to
2 October. The group showed there in the past with Fibre Baskets from the Garden, which was
curated by Shirley Lewis in 2010.
Clockwise from left: Participants were aiming to have hen baskets which looked like these;
participants working hard; getting there!; more work underway.
Plants uncovered: Bangalow Palm
Archontophoenix cunninghamiana
(Genus)
(Species)
by Glenese Keavney
The beginning of knowledge is to call things by their right name
(Chinese Proverb)
This was a quote that Virginia Kaiser often used during her basketry workshops.
Each day when you arrived at the workshop there would be a new quote on the
board to inspire and/or give direction. I came across the quote while preparing to
give a basketry workshop at Sturt Craft Centre as part of a retrospective exhibition
of Virginia’s work.
The quote brought into focus how basket weavers describe the various parts
of the Bangalow palm that are used in basketry; and I realized that there was
inconsistency. It seemed time to obtain clarification to ensure that we are all using
the correct words - part of a getting of wisdom process.
Staff at the Sydney Botanic Gardens were very helpful with my queries and
provided links to the sources that the Botanic Gardens would use in their research.
These links are included at the end of this article. Thank you to Simon Goodwin
(Garden Information Officer).
Palms are used in basketry all over the world; and with the Bangalow collecting the
material to use is relatively easy because of its ‘self cleaning’ habit (i.e. it drops its
old leaves to the ground). We just need to pick them up. The materials are ready for
use after dampening/soaking to make the fibre more pliable.
Materials from Bangalow palms can be used for folding, coiling, weaving, twining,
and random weave
The Bangalow Palm is a native of the rainforests of the central eastern Australian
coast from Mackay to Batemans Bay. It is fast growing and fairly robust. It has a
single slender trunk, which grows to a height of 20 - 25 metres with feather-leaved
fronds. The trunk is smooth and ringed with closely spaced leaf scars. It is brown
to greenish-grey turning pale grey when older.
So what are the correct terms to use to describe the various parts of this palm
which basket makers use? I have also included some other terminology, which may
be of interest.
CROWNSHAFT: Bangalow Palm has a crownshaft.1 This is not the case for all types of
palms; and in some the crownshaft is indistinct. Above the trunk and below the crown
of leaves there is a shaft or column. It is usually greenish-yellow in colour but may also
be brownish or orange. This crownshaft is formed from the expanded bases of the leaves
in the crown. Thus it is part of the living leaves – the BASES of the leaves – on the tree.
These leaf bases are wrapped tightly around each other to form the column or shaft, which
means that the Bangalow palm has a very distinct crownshaft.
All crown-shafted palms are self-cleaners. The oldest leaf, forming the outermost layer of
the crownshaft, loosens up as it dies (this aging process changes the coloured appearance
of the crownshaft) and then the leaf falls to the ground.
SHEATHING BASE: When an individual leaf falls to the ground the base of the leaf is no
longer termed a crownshaft. The individual leaf base is called the sheathing base according
to the NSW Flora Online entry for Archotonphoenix cunninghamiana. So the sheathing
bases, while on the palm, make up the crownshaft – once they are separated from the tree
they are called sheathing bases.
Many basket weavers call this part of the palm leaf the sheath – and as you can see this is
a partly correct descriptor (which could perhaps be used when space is at a premium). It
is this part of the palm leaf that the aboriginal people used to make water carriers (and
the name Bangalow is derived from an aboriginal word meaning ‘water carrying basket’).
Examples of containers made by Aboriginal people can be seen in the Australian Museum
in Sydney.
The material of the sheathing base is such a beautiful, rich colour that it can be used as a
platter without any embellishment. Virginia Kaiser in her workshop notes said “The leaf
sheaths make beautiful containers by simply removing the leaf stalk with a pruning or
other saw, soaking the sheath in hot water until it becomes flexible and leathery, then fold
and stitch.”
ENCIRCLING BASE: Some publications (e.g. Palms of the World by Blombery & Rodd)
also name the extreme end of the sheathing base as the encircling base. As the encircling
base may be used by basket weavers for specific effects, such as creating a collar or neck on
a basket, it is probably appropriate to also include this name here.
PETIOLE: This is the part between the leaf and the sheathing base. It is the stalk of the
leaf. It is very hard – you need a saw to sever it. The aboriginal water carrying baskets
frequently had the petiole as the handle. It does not seem to be used very frequently by
basket makers today.
Left: Search for #bangalowpalm on Instagram and watch all the lovely work
appear...
SPATHE The developing inflorescence is initially ensheathed within a protective
bract. “A bract is a leaf-like structure, different from the foliage leaves…associated
with an inflorescence or flower”3 This bract is attached to the peduncle. ”A significant
and conspicuous feature of palm inflorescences is the presence of large, tough bracts,
or modified leaves, which usually enclose the whole inflorescence in bud up to an
advanced stage of development. The bracts are necessary to protect the young,
extremely succulent inflorescence, which has a high sugar content, from animals.” 4
INFLORESCENCE: This is a general term for the flower bearing system of a plant. It
is a specialized flower-bearing branch. Inflorescence “is a large much branched, fairly
dense panicle (see below) 90-150 cm long with a short thick, flattened, cream to pale
yellow main stalk and many long, slender semi-pendulous flower-bearing branchlets.
Several inflorescences are often present at the same time”.2 The inflorescence emerges
from the trunk just below the base of the crownshaft. According to NSW Flora Online the
inflorescence is 1 -1.5 metres long.
The term bract seems to be a more generic term than spathe. The authors of the NSW
Flora Online entry for Archontophoenix cunninghamiana, Wendyl and Drude, refer to
the large bract ensheathing the inflorescence as a SPATHE. They note that the spathe is
30 -40 cm long. The Bangalow spathe is boat-shaped and flattened. It can be thin and
papery or thick and woody. It splits open on one side to release the inflorescence. After
that the spathe may fall from the trunk, but frequently it will persist attached to the
trunk for long periods.
It is the branchlets that basket makers primarily use. When on the tree they appear a
creamy white but by the time the whole inflorescence has dried and dropped they are
usually more greyish or a sun-bleached colour. These flower-bearing branches (they are
not flower stalks) are suitable for weaving, twining, random weave and coiling.
Hopefully this has been helpful in clarifying what terms to use to describe the various
parts of Bangalow Palm you may choose to use in your creative endeavors. Some of the
mislabeling has been noted above. However, it is worth emphasizing that the sheathing
base has been incorrectly labeled in both scholarly sources and basketry books. The
sheathing base of the leaf should not be called a spathe or a crownshaft. Whereas the
sheath covering the inflorescence could be called a bract (it is a bract) the convention
seems to be to adopt a more specific term for a type of bract, namely Spathe. And
the use of the term inflorescence to describe a specific part of the inflorescence - the
branchlets – seems acceptable and avoids unnecessary pedantry.
The primary stalk of the inflorescence is known as the peduncle; with first order branches
called rachis. In a way these parts form the ‘skeleton’ core of the inflorescence, from which
the branchlets hang. This can also be used in basketry to form the structural base of a
basket, as an armature. This skeleton could then be coated with hand-made paper, or pig
gut. It could also be incorporated in a random weave sculpture.
Basket makers refer to the branchlets that bear the flowers and fruit as inflorescence
when they name the materials used in their basket making. In a way this is an imprecise
descriptor; as more correctly, it is a sub-part of the inflorescence that they are using. I
think we can live with this naming or we will become insufferably pedantic – and need
very long labels for our work.
PANICLE: This is a more specific term for the type of inflorescence on a Bangalow
Palm. It refers to a compound inflorescence with a main axis and lateral branches, which
are further branched, and in which each axis ends in a flower or fruit bud (NSW Flora
Online).
FLOWER and FRUIT: The flower of the Bangalow is pale pink to lilac. The fruit is round
and about 12 mm in diameter. The fruit is green initially but turns bright red at maturity.
REFERENCES
ABRS Flora of Australia
http://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/abrs/online-resources/glossaries/vascular/
index.html
Flora of NSW Online
plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/floraonline.htm
Australian Palms Ferns Cycads and Pandans by Leonard Cronin, page 16
A McCusker Flora of Australia Glossary
4
An Informative Practical Guide to Palms of the World by Alec Blombery & Tony Rodd
2
3
There are many basketry groups across Australia which you can join.
Most write their own publications specifically for their members.
If you are interested in joining a basketry group, please check out the
Australian Basketry website, where many of the groups are listed.
Grab their details and make a contact - it is great being part of a group
and you can learn so much about this wonderful artform.
We are updating and adding new groups, events and workshops on
the website often.
Australian Basketry
Images from #australianbasketry
Left: gorgeous raffia baskets by
Denise Stevens @denisebstevens;
@joannadarbyart special helper;
@lannymackenzie gorgeous jars.