Helen Ganalmirriwuy ✿ The magnificent gunga mat-Our November laurel is bestowed on Helen Ganalmirriwuy, who has produced a magnificent mat from gunga (pandanus). She shares the excitement of seeing this work grow over the month of weaving.
Nicole Robins ✿ It’s all in the loop-The Sydney exhibition Totes Serious…who made your bag features unique baskets from Nicole Robins, made from a common indoor plant.
Catriona Pollard ✿ A basketmaker’s holiday-Australian fibre artists draw from the world at hand. Catriona Pollard's story shows how this adds a particular sense of place and time to the work.
Baskets for lemurs ✿ An epic challenge-Our second article by Wendy Golden describes an epic fibre construction for the new lemur enclosure at Melbourne Zoo. The needs of these primates from Madagascar are met by one of the largest basket projects in Australia.
Baskets for spider monkeys ✿ Wendy Golden-Wendy Golden describes the commission to make feeding baskets for spider monkeys at the Melbourne Zoo, inspired by the teardrop nests of Oropendola birds.
Women’s Wealth Project: Biruko and Tuhu hoods-Sana Balai and Ruth McDougall write about the precious fibre objects, biruku and tuhu hoods, that arose from a series of workshops in Bougainville and Solomon Islands.
Anxi: A city of rattan and iron-During a visit to the southern Chinese city of Anxi, I learnt that China was much more than the world's factory. Behind the scenes is a rich culture of folk craft and ritual. It seems that China is saving the best for last.
Anne Jillett ✿ “Sitting on a milk crate each week…”-To celebrate the beautiful and thoughtful works that are made across the Indo-Pacific, we're introducing an "object of the month". The first of these laurels goes to Anne Jillett for her Salt Pot. Anne lives in Babinda, Queensland. You can see more of her work at Ellis Road Fibre Arts
4,000-year-old string discovered in Egypt-At Garland, we love stories of string. This rich article from a publication about coastal cultures includes the story of how perfectly preserved papyrus rope was discovered in a man-made cave in the ancient Egyptian harbour of Saww. String-lovers will enjoy this.
Wickery and place-Ray Norman reveals the hidden world of wickery and its role in our musing places
Where the weaver left off-Gwen Egg discovers an ingenious fibre "needle and thread" used in traditional Tasmanian Aboriginal basket weaving
Building a better dome-Greg Lehman discovers tunapri knowledge involved in the construction of the palawa Tasmanian Aboriginal shelter
Fibre to metal: Mudlark Jilinbirri Metals from Carnarvon-Jilinbirri is the Yamatji word for an Australian bird, also known as the mudlark in Western Australia. It is the title of an exhibition by Yamatji fibre artists whose work was transformed into bronze.
Wakuwal: Threads of reconciliation-Peter Botsman's Wakuwal braids together the fibre traditions of Yolngu like Batumbil Burarrwanga with the journey of Irish prisoners to Australia
How much has your year been worth? Bridget Kennedy exhibition-Our Love and Money issue identified the importance of non-monetary value in what we make. One of the themes emerging from the Garland journey is the value of labour in its own terms, not only as an expression of love but also as a way of thinking and being together.
A revolution from the kitchen at Rumah Intaran-We chat with Gede Kresna about his place in north Bali, Rumah Intaran, which practices a "revolution from the kitchen' in reviving traditional Balinese ways of living.
From Sumatra to Bellbrae: A Jenny Crompton story-Jenny Crompton travelled to Sumatra where she learnt wood carving from a traditional datu spirit man. This gave her an appreciation of culture, but it wasn't her own. On discovering her Wadawurrung ancestry, she has developed a unique language of art from the kelp of the coast that is both her inspiration and rediscovered Country.
The plaited craft that holds a Dayak village together-Stephanie Brookes visits the Dayak village of Bukit Rawi where she finds Mina Herta who shares her knowledge of rattan weaving that is so important for the Ot Danum tribe.
Bridewealth of the Dayak Lundayeh-Karen Macdonald with Paulus Kadok describe a marriage ceremony in a Dayak village of Kalimantan. With help from John Boyd McDonald's photos, they show how the adat rituals involving textile and fibres crafts remain a vivid part of their cultural life.
Quarterly Essay: Remembering the string figures of Yirrkala✿-Robyn McKenzie discovers a mysterious trove of books about string figures. To understand their meaning today, she travels to Yirrkala and learns slowly how to create these figures for herself. But it is only by making them into a static art product, through printmaking, that she is able to engage the community. What unfolds is a revelation of thinking through string.
Weaving land and people: the Gwen Egg story-In the third article about contemporary fibre artists, we venture south to explore the world of Gwen Egg. Egg’s life in fibre testifies to its power as a medium for binding the land with its peoples.
An invitation to create: The Deeper Voice of Textiles-Tim Johnson tells of a project inviting men from widely different businesses to "play" with the materials of their trade, using timeless basketmaking techniques.
Remembering the string figures of Yirrkala-Robyn McKenzie discovers a mysterious trove of books about string figures. To understand their meaning today, she travels to Yirrkala and learns slowly how to create these figures for herself. But it is only by making them into a static art product, through printmaking, that she is able to engage the community. What unfolds is a revelation of thinking through string.
Paying the school fees: Bolga baskets in Ghana-NGO TradeAid is based in Bolgatanga, in the Upper East region of Ghana. Its goal is to end poverty in the northern regions. We hear from the weavers about the value of Bolga baskets in the lives of themselves and those they care for.
Fragile threads: Baskets reborn in north Queensland-In the first of a series of articles, Kevin Murray takes an overview of fibre practice in north Queensland. He finds a number of remarkable individuals who, despite lack of support, sustain unique fibre techniques to produce work of remarkable beauty and personal meaning.
Craft classic: Jawun-We learn from Abe Muriata about the making of the “Jawun”, a bicornual basket, which is a handsome object made from cane found in the rainforest and revered icon of Australian material culture. We also hear from Brisbane architect Christina Waterson what it is like to live with a jawun.
Objects for an Unknown Future Museum-Sally Simpson's Venerated Remains are powerful evocations of an ancient world, yet one that happens to be from a recent manmade lake returning to its natural state. Kim Mahood finds in Sally's work an important expression of the non-indigenous relation to land, which reflects both the desire for a foundational history and the settler sense of non-belonging.
The Bolga basket: Ahmedabad comes to Accra-The purpose of the initiative is to adapt sensitively basket-making traditions, practices and challenges facing Africa’s women basket weavers, through drawing on the experience and knowledge of India’s traditional craft and highly developed design sectors.
