Loop

“Everywhere it’s the same, and everywhere it’s different: two hands with five fingers each (and other body parts), and a continuous loop of string”

Over time, Garland is gathering a creative community across the Indo-Pacific. This page is where you can stay in the loop with updates from our Friends and Circle. See here if you would like to be featured in this Loop.

Sreenivasulu ✿ A pen-ultimate world - Sreenivasulu is an Indian software engineer who combines classical dance with recreations of the world's architecture made from used felt pens.

The Gift of Time: Call for works - You are invited to submit a unique work made during lockdown in 2020 to an online exhibition in Garland magazine.

Ogene & Oja ✿ Talking instruments of a playful Igbo crew - For the second instalment in #africamade_n_played, Gary Warner is inspired by the flirtatious whistling and clanging of the Igbo crew, Ejyk Nwamba.

Enkarewa: The Maasai gift of gifts - Denis Odinga Okiya and John Kamanga share their knowledge of the magnificent Maasai beaded necklace.

Art for life ✿ The hanging garlands of Pompeii according to Dylan Rogers - We talk to Dylan Rogers about his discovery of the true significance of the garlands that feature in Pompeii murals.

The Mongolian snuff bottle pouch: Embracing aromatic culture - The snuff bottle pouch adorns a key ritual that binds Mongolians together: the exchange of smells.

Horst Kiechle ✿ Digital weaving inspired by a Thai basket - Selected by Garland contributor Gary Warner, our July laurel goes to Horst Kiechle for his constructed paper object 2020 vPattern Basket.

Kimono o’clock: The watchstrap artist - A striking example of "living craft" is Tong's incorporation of heritage Japanese textile into something you wear every day on your wrist.

The precious “ta leec” backpack from Co Tu village - We return to Vietnam to learn about a craft classic, the backpack of the Co Tu people known as ta leec which is considered a man's most precious jewellery.

Masahiro Sasaki ✿ Glass comes first - The glass artist Masahiro Sasaki follows the Japanese way of craft, or kogei, where materials comes before concept. 

uhadi & umruhbe ✿ a resonant Xhosa tradition - Gary Warner begins a series #africamade_n_played with a Xhosa stringed instrument that resonates through the body and is played today by a new generation of performers.

Canadian First Nations celebrate the longest day with a Social Distance Pow Wow - The growing significance of Canada’s Summer Solstice Indigenous Festival is challenged this year by lockdown. Like the Ojibwe "dreamcatcher", the spirit of this event is now being channelled online.

Ā Mua ✿ Crafting Aotearoa 2.0 - A dazzling new exhibition at the Dowse Art Museum features objects that look ahead to the past.

Maikel Kuijpers ✿ The future is material - In our series of interviews with key craft thinkers, we speak with Maikel Kuijpers about the "material turn" and the "Future is Handmade" documentary.

Terracotta at hand: The cool water bottle - Khushbu Mathur celebrates the latest evolution in Indian terracotta craft: the clay bottle to keep your water cool.

How dolphins guided me to rescue a suicidal girl… - Maddalena Bearzi shares a remarkable story of a circle of dolphins who led her to rescue a drowning girl, which she commemorates now as jewellery.

Shohre Fakhrejanali ✿ Chadorshab waist wrap - Our June laurel goes to Shohre Fakhrejanali, a weaver from the village of Qasem Abad in the Guilan province of Iran, on the Caspian coast. Khosro Mahinroosto tells her story.

Fleeting moments: Responses to Transference and Common Thread - Julie Bartholomew writes about two exhibitions that reveal the mysteries of making.

COVID: An opportunity for the handicraft sector in the long run? - LOkesh Ghai interviews artisans and finds there is more to consider than the immediate problem. This includes challenges but also a Garland of Hope and Wisdom.

Rites to Writing ✿ Ishan Khosla links craft and graphic design - Indian graphic designer Ishan Khosla is presenting a model for creating typefaces from craft on 14 June 2020 at 1:30pm IST.

For earlier posts, see here.