Night air

What's a 'common' thing? Something we all own or something that's too, well, common. This week the Night Air takes a stroll into the middle ages, across an ancient English Common (with writer Roger Deakin who founded 'Common Ground') to discover just what it was that made sure common land stayed common.
Listen.

We are finished!

Our residency in Ballarat has come to an end. The exhibition works are completed, and Zakir and Intekhab have mended a variety of textiles brought in from far and wide.

All that remains is to thank those who have made us welcome- Gordon Morrison and his very special team at the gallery, as well as members of the local Indian community and Dulcie Corbett, who hosted dinners for us. We also thank those who contributed to the project in various ways- the Trades Hall, Evan Evans, Hilton Fabrics, and John Dullus.

My personal thanks go to Dulcie who took me in and helped in so many ways, to ArtsWA for their travel assistance, and to Craft Victoria for inviting me to participate in this wonderful project.

Finally, my thanks to Intekhab, Zakir and Priya for their gift of friendship, and for sharing their cultural traditions. Their presence in Ballarat has enriched the lives of the many people who came to visit during our residency.

We are all eager to return home, but we are taking happy memories with us.

A royal presence in Ballarat

People have been bringing items for the rafoogars to darn. A gentleman brought precious gloves, worn by his father before him, and was thrilled to have them mended.

The rafoogars eyes really lit up when a large paisley shawl was brought for mending. This was a challenge worthy of their skills. Two days later the damage had been repaired, and there was virtually no trace to be found of the several small holes and one large tear.

The shawl's provenance made it even more exciting. It had been gifted by Queen Victoria to an unknown lady, subsequently spending time in (then) northern India before eventually making its way, from one owner to another, to Victoria.

And more to be seen

Last night, Niki Hastings-McFall opened her studio to the public, and it was evident that she had been up to something more...

Lei Lines

It is 'O' Week at La Trobe Uni where much of Kerri-Ann's and Niki's work is taking place. Under the theme of Hawaii Five-O, the Student Union is strewn with leis - symbols of welcome.

Things are afoot

After some days of getting to know each others work and trading ideas, and with Niki hitting opportunity shops searching out materials, something is afoot. Niki is stringing together Kerri-Ann's porcelain frangipani flowers, with shells from bead lengths she has found in the second hand shops of Bendigo. The shells, originally of course from the South Seas, seem to be returning there.

Article about Chandraguptha Thenuwara

Fresh on Craft Culture is an article about Chandraguptha Thenuwara by Damian Smith.

Hastings-McFall gets it together with Abbott

Kerri-Ann Abbott makes sculptural work from fine porcelain, incised, peirced and decorated. Niki Hastings-McFall most often uses found materials to construct body ornaments and decorations, based on forms borrowed from her Samoan cultural heritage. When they met, they had to decide how they were going to get it together. (What form would their collaboration take?)

Hastings-McFall arrives in Bendigo

Niki Hastings-McFall arrived in Bendigo and settled in with a visit to the 24 Coles. She was driven up from Melbourne by a friend - also called Niki.

Cultures meet through craft in Ballarat

Quiet times stitching became rare as the word spread, and more and more visitors arrived. It was good to recognise familiar faces, as people like Duncan and his family came back for return visits. Duncan is a very fine shoe-maker, who brought a large shawl owned by his grandather to show to the rafoogars. They found some areas which needed darning, and offered to undertake its repair. When Duncan returned to collect the shawl he, in exchange, demonstrated some aspects of his craft, with the rafoogars watching attentively.

Swapping lines

Hlengiwe Dube in the Craft Victoria library with local basketmakers Eric Collins and Wendy Golden, eager to learn the intricacies of the telephone wire weaving.

Finishing touches

Ahmed Nimad, the carver from the Maldives, is carefully inlaying pieces of rusted metal that Lorraine Connelly-Northey has found and cut for their piece. For Nimad, the accomodation of these elements into a traditional Maldivian form is a very important expression of cultural collaboration. Traditionally, bronze is often inlaid into tombstones. Barbed wire found by Lorraine has replaced the rope pattern of the original design. All the Common Goods artists are very busy putting the final touches to their collaborations, to be presented to the public on 28 February at the Melbourne Museum. 

Feeling a way of life

One of the great things about the Common Goods residencies at ArtPlay is the fact that the kids involved readily use their hands to make things. Mostly the things they are making are created using free or very cheap materials and result in high quality and rich artifacts. Encountering artists who use such materials in their everyday practice is important for the kids to see that in order to create things of beauty and cultural significance does not necessarily require going to a store and purchasing special materials. The sheer tactile quality of the clay or flax is something all the children approach with equal vigour. it is very likely that within the school environment kids would never use flax or found wire to weave but at ArtPlay they are able to play with such materials and create work of their own. Of course this project has wider objectives however on a simple level the handling of the craft materials themselves gives an insight into another way of working and living.

I really do exist

Someone pointed out that there didn't seem to be any pictures of me appearing in the blog messages from the Ballarat residency. I'm usually the person behind the camera, but here is an image caught when I was printing the fabric for my side of the stole I am working on with Intekhab, just to prove that I really do exist.

That's Zakir watching in the background. Although he is a very talented rafoogar, he actually comes from a family of block printers, so was intrigued by my very different approach.

Progress at Ballarat

Intekhab has finished his side of the Indian stole, or "Patka". Having selected the blues from the pashmina and fine cottons he brought from India, he arranged them then patched them together to form a ground, to which he added off-white borders. Finally came the main feature, of stars cut to the same 8 point design as the original Eureka flag from which he drew his inspiration. There are four stars used as corner motifs, and a central star surrounded by dark blue cross bars. These were tacked down, then appliqued. The final result is very striking.

I finished my side of the Patka on the same day as Intekhab, but only because he obligingly slowed down and I worked late into the night on several occasions. At the beginning of week two when he was close to finishing I had hardly started stitching, because up till then I had been out and about seeking supplies for the residency. At the time, Priya told me that the rafoogars were waiting with great interest to see what I would produce. I suspect the truth is that they were waiting with bated breath to see if I would actually stay still long enough to produce anything at all!

I had started by patching together a ground using old mended fabrics from my collection, supplemented by fabric sourced from one of Ballarat's op shops, but now the time had come to commit to the major design decisions. Once again Dulcie came to the rescue, tracking down the fabric ink I needed at a local art supply shop, and finding me a source of local native plant to use for the printing. As is always the case, once the decisions were made, the rest was easy.

Now all that is left to do is for Intekhab and I to embroider outlines around some of my printed leaves. Then comes the excitement of joining the two sides together.

Weaving and workshops at Geelong Gallery

Positioned in the Gallery foyer, adjacent to a large window that looks out to Little Malop Street, Hlengiwe Dube has received a great deal of attention from passers-by. Many have ventured into the Gallery to watch her weave colourful telephone wires into beautiful bowls and learn about the process. The response to Hlengiwe and her works has been fantastic and she has been extremely enthusiastic about sharing her skills with visitors to the Gallery. A recent visitor - the owner of a South African foodstore in Geelong - greeted Hlengiwe in her native language and delivered South African delicacies to ward off homesickness!

Melbourne-based artist Lucy Irvine recently joined Hlengiwe at the Gallery and both have been busy learning about their respective materials and techniques. While both weave with 'industrial' materials [Hlengiwe - telephone wire, Lucy - plastic piping and cable ties] they are also influenced by natural forms and patterns, particularly those found in plants. A day at Lucy's studio introduced Hlengiwe to additional influences that have inspired Lucy's practice - including the work of Australian artist Fiona Hall.

Back at Geelong Gallery, Hlengiwe has been extremely generous with her time and has held workshops with student groups from local primary schools. A visit to the Common Goods artist-in-residence has provided the opportunity for schools to extend their studies of conservation, the environment, recycling and other cultures. Hlengiwe has conducted beading and weaving activities and shared stories of life in South Africa with the students. As an extension activity, teachers have been provided with a power point presentation which includes images of South African life and culture. The excitement of working with Hlengiwe and learning new skills will no doubt remain with the students well beyond their experiences at the Gallery.