The yellow wattle blossom is found across the world. Enjoy stories of what we make from this gift of spring.
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Wattle Day is celebrated in Australia on 1 September. It is the nation’s only unique holiday that reflects local nature.
The tree has important meaning for the First Nations peoples of Australia. For Wurrundjeri, when the Muyan, or silver wattle, blooms it is a time when the greatest Elders “pass over”. The blossoms that fall into the Yarra River also provide food for the eels. From the east of Victoria, as Gunaikurnai Elder, Uncle Wayne Thorpe explains, “In pre-spring, when the silver wattles are blooming and people from across Gunaikurnai country are gathering for marriage, the water ribbons and wildflower tubers are full, the ducks and swans are laying eggs and the fresh water wetlands would be teeming with life.”
Wattle is important for other ancient peoples. In Egyptian mythology, the flower was associated with the goddess Nut and Isis. She was believed to be the sky that stretched over the earth to protect it and all life on it. Since the Acacia tree had an umbrella-like shape that offered shelter, it was naturally linked to such a symbol. The Greeks also assigned it similar meanings, with an Acacia at Heliopolis known as the Tree of Life and Death.
There is a longstanding custom in Hebrew history, where Acacia trees were often panted over the graves of family members or those who were incredibly close to the deceased. The acacia tree is one of the trees mentioned in the Bible and it was believed to be the source of wood used for building the table of the tabernacle as directed by God to Moses. The directions for the Ark were inscribed on the wood of the Acacia tree. Some scholars think that the Tree of Life and the Burning Bush were both Acacia, as mentioned in the Bible.
Acacias in Nepal and Tibet became popular for use in multiple ways in religious rituals. In Buddhism, the tree and its flowers are also symbolic of Tara, the female bodhisattva known as the “Mother of Liberation”. It’s often meditated on to focus on the traits of kindness and compassion. It was also a wood commonly chosen for carving Buddhist statues due to its fine grain and fragrance.
For the Victorians, acacia flowers symbolised sophistication and wit. It could also be sent to symbolise a strong friendship with someone and an appreciation for their support. In countries like Italy, a day is set aside to present the acacia flower to their loved ones as a sign of eternal love between them.
That wattle is acclaimed as the first flowering plant to resume flowering in Hiroshima’s bomb-ravaged zone. As such, it is famous in Hiroshima as a poignant symbol of hope of regeneration.
Thanks to Aishah David for mapping this feature. Image: Patrica Gardner, Wattle We Do, on Wattle Day, 2015, Photograph, 1200 x 937 pixels, photo: Patricia Gardner..
Stroll around Wattle Park…
Vicki Mason ✿ Canopy - In conversation with the Australian Design Centre, Vicki Mason describes the concern with the vandalisation of suburban trees that motivated her current work.
James Tylor ✿ In search of mai - Prompted by the experience of foraging in Europe, Caitlin Eyre accompanies James Tylor on a quest to recover the taste of native Australian bush foods.
Terra ferment: Three recipes - Ilka White shares three recipes that reflect the same grounded sensibility that she applies to her weaving practice.
Wattle Park - The yellow wattle blossom is found across the world. Enjoy stories of what we make from this gift of spring.
Vicki Mason ✿ Wattle it be? - Vicki Mason has created a reversible necklace that activates the bounty of wattle blossom enjoyed across the world in sprinter (late winter, early spring).
Kangaroo scouse - Niyoka Bundle shares a recipe that combines Gunditjmara and English stories.
Heron story - Ilka White is inspired to make work in response to the bird on behalf of whom she speaks.
When the lorikeets call - Storied objects by Elisa Jane Carmichael reflect the enduring synchrony of species on her island of Minjerribah.
Australia Phoenix: A Cosmology - Susan Purdy takes on a journey into deep time, using the medium of photogram to trace the history of a landscape from creation story to recent devastating bushfires.
Louisean King ✿ Solis - Roger Saddington explores the exhibition by Louisanne King whose sculptural fabrications reflect a mourning for the loss of nature.
Margaret Grafton ✿ Weaving power - The Australian tapestry weaver Margaret Grafton produced many important commissions in courts and parliaments. Her technique of weaving with metal was unique.
Island Welcome - Belinda Newick introduces Island Welcome, where Australian jewellers created leis to reflect on the quality of welcome currently extended by their country to refugees.
Talk of the town: How do you balance love and money? - Can you support yourself through art or do you have a day job? Maybe you're lucky to have external support, or have you chosen to live simply in order to create more. Perhaps you've remodelled your work to make it more creative. We hear from residents in the Castlemaine region about how they manage to still make things for love.
Jewellery for free - Vicki Mason discovers the power of jewellery as a currency to connect strangers together. She writes about her Broaching Change project and jewellery ventures done for love.
In Ernabella, doors open for Aboriginal jewellery - An ambitious Australian project has recently emerged. The Indigenous Jewellery Project was initiated by Emily McCulloch Childs and to date has involved Melanie Katsalidis, Kate Rohde and Melinda Young. We learn from Emily about its origins, values, methods and future ambitions.
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