Basket Gathering odds and ends

Before moving on to my adventure in Papua New Guinea, here are some bits and pieces, odds and ends from the Basket Gathering that I didn’t mention earlier:

-I got to hold a baby wombat!  So cute and furry. Rosie was her name, 8 months old. She will eventually be released back to the wild.

-The guild from Canberra made a pitch to host the next Gathering in 2013 – and got the nod from the group. Lots of exciting plans in the works for that. Now, how can I get back for that one?!?!?

-I taught a small group how to do jiseung – Korean method of handspinning hanji (Korean made paper). Some caught on quickly, some not so quick, some decided this was definitely not something they would do again, others were delighted.

-Anne showed me how to do the wire technique from Africa – it is like doing row after row of simple rims, just very tight and close.  Kinda cool.

-Had a  laundry routine for the week – wash/rinse out while taking a shower and then let the breezes do the drying.

-One thing that they have in Tas is kelp! Lots of folks were trying their hand at using bull kelp to make containers of various sizes (necklace to table).

-The Gathering typically holds a basket exchange for anyone interested in doing it. Anne talked me into submitting one of my little twined sculpture class samples – funky looking, but kinda cute.  I was delighted with the hanging kelp piece I got in exchange. The gal who got my piece wasn’t quite as sure… LOL

-A wonderful range of basketry techniques and materials on display in the ‘gallery’ – really quite inspiring.

-I used some New Zealand flax in a couple slapped together baskets with the hope that the customs folks in the US wouldn’t mind baskets coming in with me. The official didn’t even ask to see them. The intent is to cut them apart and use the material for papermaking!

-One of the Tasmanian members (Karen G) did  a presentation on her work with school kids in Sikim (sp?) in India near Bhutan. The most inspiring part of it all was that she is retired and on a whim clicked on a website ad for ‘an adventure helping others’ (or something like that). Her family was aghast but she goes to Sikim for three months at a time (visa restrictions) teaching English and then has been doing some fundraising when she is home. She raised enough at the Gathering to put in windows in the new school being built – a terrific response from the group.

-I hitched a ride with Karen back to Hobart at the end of the Gathering and found out that she plays violin and viola professionally in local orchestras. Coll lady!

-Reunited with Beth from my trip to New Zealand in 2004 – great fun!

-Had a chance to get to know Tasmania Di (a friend of some of my other US basket friends) – what a hoot! And a hard worker.

-Connected with Suzie, Carolyn and Genease from Sydney – they will be waiting for my return from PNG!

-Had trouble getting an internet connection: the local internet cafe had a new owner and was just getting in service the Monday right before we were to leave.

-Native chooks (hens) roamed the camp grounds regularly. Bright green poop in  the grass!

-Love the range of ‘arty’ clothes in AU – lots of slanted hemlines on tops and skirts, layers and leggings.

-The other US attendee, Sandy W, was on a hunt for colors of dirt – which was right up my alley! We drove out one day with Di and Tracee, finding a local young farmer, Ben, who thought we were quite daft but gave permission to roam his property. Collected five different colors of mud.

-Karen had a cushion from her ‘family’ in Sikim which she presented as  challenge one evening: how was it made? A half dozen people with about as many bottles of wine and we came up with a very plausible solution to the technique challenge. No one actually did more than a start, though, which was probably a good thing! I MAY give it a shot, now that I”m home…

-The last day of the Gathering dawned with a storm warning for the east coast – which we were close enough to worry about. Lots of rain and wind but nothing more. It did make the clean-up rather soggy.

-A truly wonderful experience at the Basketry Gathering – many thanks to all the hard working gals and guys! It was lovely to just attend!

-Di and Chris came by for a late dinner (pumpkin soup and veggie tortellini – yummy) at the Airport Hotel in Hobart when I got in – and another round of good-byes.

A day of sights and smells and flavors

Easter and family got in the way of continued blogging – sorry about that!

Just a few miscellaneous remarks first:  We saw a bandicoot crossing the road one night – a little furball scooting along. Very few wild animals were sp0otted during my whole journey- in Papua New Guinea as well as Australia. Not sure what that means…

And while with Di and Chris, I pitched in and did a bunch of the cooking and cleaning up and laundry duties to give them time to work on some art grant proposals with looming deadlines. I’ve since heard that both proposals were accepted and grants allocated!

One of the meals I prepared was  fresh pumpkin soup – not too bad for working without a recipe!

On March 16 we headed to the northern coast of Tasmania so I could participate in the biennial National Basketry Gathering starting on the 17th. Along the way we saw and experienced:

– black cows with a wide white band around their middles – quite the sight!

– evidence of earlier bush fires and logging/burning activity

-lovely lakes in the Central Highlands

-an old salt of a fellow at the Bothwell coffee shop – postcard perfect!

-a helicopter taking off next to the road – we weren’t too close, thank goodness!

-Steppes sculptures in the middle of nowhere

-the pub and hotel in Miena with a special on fish and chips and the first unfriendly Tassies – I think they didn’t like the fact that we were coming in at the very end of their lunch hour shift

-miniature ferns and pencil pine and ice age rock fields along the boardwalk of a national park

-the Tasmania Regional Arts Council offices in Latrobe and a great visitors center with museum

-an excellent little motel in downtown Devonport where we stayed in and had a great Indian take-out dinner

-great fresh ice cream – I think it was blackberry – along the rode to Devonport

With some time to kill the next morning, we drove over to Burnie to visit the Makers of Burnie center – based on the papermaking mill that used to be central to the city, the new center had a large papermaking display and working area plus a number of spaces for various local artists to display, sell and demo their work. We each made some recycled papers with embossed Australian animals of our choice. I also picked up some regional papers – wombat and kangaroo poo paper! Can’t make that back home, now can I?!?!?

Next up – the National Basketry Gathering experience!

Relevant pics now online!

Windy Wednesday

The winds were blowing this morning and are at it again tonight. Mostly sunny clear skies today which was grand as last night was REALLY chilly (I think I heard in the 40s) – a four blanket night. I’m in a room with four bunk beds – three of which have become my desk/dresser/table for the duration – so there are four wool blankets available. I’ve added one almost every night and was so glad for that fourth one last night! And then this morning at breakfast we realized there was a heater in the building… duh!

Tonight is noticeably warmer even though the winds are blowing. Still won’t be turning the heater on.

Our workshop space is in the Whale Room of the Brambuk Cultural Center. It is a lovely building, very thoughtfully designed with a lot of input from the aborigines. The main overhead beam in the room is the whale’s backbone while the side ceiling beams are its ‘ribs’ – so we are sort of in the belly of the whale! I’ve been told the roof is in the shape of a bird in flight (I’ve forgotten which bird) with graceful dips and curves.

Most days we have had visitors come through the classroom interested in either what we were doing or the artwork and artifacts on the walls. Today’s host of visitors was busloads of kids – maybe 7 or 8th graders? – taking guided tours through the center as well as around the grounds. There is a lovely winding ramp from the bottom level (where we are) to the top level (which houses a super basketry exhibit) with lots of historical info along the ramp. I hope to actually get a chance to read the info tomorrow!

Spent a not-too-rowdy evening with my patanque team members in a house they have rented for the conference. Really tons of space in the house. A delicious meal of Chicken Grampians complete with cashews,  a couple bottles of wine and some lovely conversation liberally laced with laughter – quite nice! I’m already missing their easy  camaraderie.

Ed.: pics from the soft sculpture class now online.

A lot of roos

Who ever warned me about seeing a lot of kangaroos in Halls Gap was spot on – they seem to be everywhere! One local home even had one in their front yard – within their fence, so I’m not sure if it was a pet or just jumped in.

Mostly visible in the evenings from late afternoon on, they start at the edge of the woods and then gradually make their way into the pastures, lawns, green spaces. Tonight there were maybe 35 in this one field above the place we had dinner. Lots of joeys – they birth more babes when the weather has been good. The last two years have been flood years so there is a proliferation of roos due to the abundance of foilage. I was told that a mum roo can be pregnant for up to 4 years (OH, MY!) waiting for good growing conditions, then the naked tiny roo basically crawls out and up the pouch where it is carried and cuddled and nursed till it is able to get about on its own.  Or something like that.

Laughed a lot at dinner – Louise and Jan are a hoot together (they were in my mud cloth class and Louise wore one of her mud pieces tonight – quite the fashion statement!) Margaret and Jeanette are just as bad (chums from an art program, going through it together).

A very filling dinner (deep fried fish, pan fried chicken patty thing that looked like the continent of Australia, fried potatoes wedges, mixed veggies and salad) and dessert (apple cobbler, fresh fruit and cheese cake – a bit different from ours – with fresh whipped cream and mango sherbet on the side) buffet at a reception center – some of the decorations for wedding receptions were up. Lovely veranda on which to enjoy the sun, which finally came out, and the roos.

Class was really good and challenging.  I love not telling people what might be hard to do if they are set on doing it – they usually don’t have any problems if they don’t know they are supposed to have problems. Well, I did have to steer a student in a different direction just so she wouldn’t be disappointed. Lots of design quandaries to overcome and options to explore. They still seem excited, so that is the best part. And our finished projects tables are looking spectacular.

Really beat tonight – almost fell asleep standing up while listening to the panel discussion on being a financially successful fiber artist that was held before dinner. Probably should not have had that glass of wine first.

Two more days to enjoy Halls Gap and the Grampians!

American expert!

What started out as a drizzly day did clear up to be quite nice, temp and humidity-wise.  Oh, the weird noise last night was a koala in the tree outside, so I was told.  Although someone else was certain it was a possum.  I’m going with the koala.

Eleven new students today and most of them basketry virgins as we started the four day soft sculpture twining class. And the virgins are outproducing the old hands so far!  Really some nice work with all sorts of materials being used.

Had a bit of a stop in at the traders (vendors) after class today and found some really cool big safety pins.

And then went to the evening activity thinking I would just watch. Well…

I am now an American expert on patanque (not quite sure of the spelling, but it is pronounced pa tunk’).  Sort of like bocci ball only played on pea gravel with solid iron balls, a cush (sort of like the golden snitch from Harry Potter), a pitch (although I sure thought they were saying a piss), two teams of three each, a judge with a tape measure and lots of fanfare. We played on the local club grounds and the club members were delighted by our presence – actually they think this whole group is hysterical and they can’t wait for the fiber conference to come back each year!

The whole idea is to have one or more of your team balls closest to the cush by the time all balls have been thrown/pitched/rolled  – however you want to do it. First team to reach nine points wins. Great fun, especially after a glass of wine on an empty stomach.

I really was tired after class and just thought I’d watch, but the reigning champions from last year were desperate for another player – their third person had a bad case of tennis elbow and didn’t want to throw. So, under pressure from one of my students, I joined their team replacing Sharon who then took on the role of team manager.

Penny, as team captain, was the most expert at the game – she actually knew how the scoring happened. Pam and I held our own with some good pitches far outnumbering the number of wild ones. Our opponents hung in there – lost to one team and then beat the second team when they ceded to us so they could go eat dinner! (Which was a BBQ – grilled hamburger, chicken strips, sausage links, potato salad, cole slaw, red beet slices and a ginger/pear cake.)

Although we were sadly disappointed that we missed being in the playoffs (they actually had prizes of wine and club wine glasses this year for the winners!), we vowed to practice regularly and be ready for next time.

One of the cool things about the whole experience was the kangaroos jumping around and watching us play.  Pretty awesome evening all around.

And now I really am tired!

Ed.: pics of patanque and roos now online.