On the weekend I caught the last day of the Intertwined exhibition as the Koorie Heritage Trust. As well as the more traditional baskets and eel traps, Lisa Waup‘s little woven nest of feather and fibre really stood out. Lovely pastel colours interwoven with wallaby browns. Artwork like Lisa’s and that of Ruth Woods of Craft School Oz are so inspirational. It’s just amazing what you can do with found objects and plants from the garden, plants that I thought were rather useless, but grew where edibles refused.
I have a brown thumb when it comes to growing bush tucker. After years of doing nothing my Midyim berry was ended with a careless boot. My cranberry heath although they began promisingly lush and green, were taken with a sudden browning around the edges which in a matter of days engulfed the entire plant. Meanwhile the poa grasses, almost mockingly thrive on neglect, self-seeding and spilling beyond their allocated borders onto paths. The lomandra too are getting so long they threaten to fell passersby with a tentacle around an unsuspecting ankle. Nature will have its way, if I can’t eat it , I might as well learn to weave it.

A fortnight ago I had the opportunity to indulge in two passions: crafting and gardening. Ruth runs workshops all over Victoria, but the one at Alowyn gardens includes a wander through the silver birch forest garden and perennial border gathering weaving material as we walked. Such a treat! I couldn’t recommend it more, it is such a special place to learn from an especially talented lady.

Ruth’s work is a unique mix of all the styles shared by women from South East Asia to Arnhem land and no doubt her own particular panache. Her enthusiasm is infectious and I loved that she is always on the eye out for new materials to work with. Agapanthus may be too fleshy to use, but why not try succulent leaves? I was particularly taken with the cordyline leaves which although were once green dried to lovely obergine, just to show that you cannot judge a leaf by its colour.

It was a lovely day and at then end each basket reflected the personality of the maker, some were meticulous and small, some adorned with flamboyish sweeps of leaves or nuts. Mine was the biggest I think, not sure what that says about me? No time for timidity? Probably more that I thought making cordage was a particularly neat trick. Each basket was different, although from what I overheard, almost all destined to become a resting spot for kitchen eggs!

I hope you can find some inspiration from the beautiful collection that was whipped up in a day by a cheerful group of amateur enthusiasts. Let me know if you have any weaving tips, tricks or inspo, I’d love to hear about it.

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