Women’s shed: A proposal

I am a craftsperson with over 50 years of experience. In the 1970’s I remember participating in a crafts council initiative to spread the idea of craft, called the craft train. A carriage was simply set up as a basic studio, different craft practitioners travelled to rural towns where the carriage would be put on the siding and local residents were invited to come along listen to the tutors talk about their practice and then get involved in making something.

Watching the news and seeing the devastating impact on local communities and wondering if craft could be used to help heal and become a focus for communities to share and come together.

Men’s sheds are a great example of this. I wondered if a room or community hall could become a meeting place, I’m thinking for women but it may not be gendered. simple benches and tables, tools for Clay, painting, sewing, jewellery. A few mugs an urn.

Craftspeople may have equipment or materials they could donate, there may be local craft practitioners willing to share their skills. A community may band together with a grant to invite someone to demonstrate or run a workshop, using the grant for materials and to pay the craftsperson.

I wonder if ‘women’s sheds’ is a possible craft intervention. My niece Chloe writes about her grandmother’s crafting shed built in the garden when she retired.

I know some councils have clay studios and women come together to sew boomerang bags or volunteer in opportunity shops

Men’s sheds are essential but I do not know if sewing or ceramic groups operate in regional Victoria and elsewhere. I believe Women’s sheds could be useful in communities affected by the recent fires.

Marian Hosking
Silversmith
January 2020

Australian bushfire support

Thanks to generous support from the World Crafts Council – Asia Pacific community, WoCCA has some funds to offer short term assistance to those craftspersons struggling to recover from the devastating bushfires.

Our expressions of interest in funds for bushfire relief have closed. We’ll be in touch with the recipients on 6 April 2020.

Meanwhile, see below for information about how you can assist in bushfire recovery.

World Crafts Council – Australia would like to offer ways in which you can give support to those affected by the bushfires that have devastated so much of Australia.

The tragedy is immense. In the broad scale, it has taken many lives, killed millions of wildlife and destroyed the habitat in which they live. Specifically, it has directly affected many craftspersons who are drawn to the bush as an environment to make beautiful works. Some have had their workshops destroyed, and many more will struggle to recover their lives.

Your support is much appreciated. There are general fundraising campaigns to assist in community recovery and also specific initiatives to assist individual studios. We will keep a list of these on this website. We encourage you to submit any further information about initiatives, goods or services you may wish to offer, or requests from those affected. You can add a comment to this page, post on our Facebook group, or email us. 

General fundraising

Craftspersons raising funds for general purposes

Clay for Australia an online auction where ceramicists offer work for sale on Facebook. They specify which charity the proceeds will go to.
Burnt shed on ceramicist Steven Harrison’s property

Ways of offering goods or services for humans and wildlife

Campaigns for specific studios

  • Fran Geale, near Tumbarumba, Snowy Mountains, NSW: 31 December 2019; Fran’s pottery studio has been destroyed; People can post donations to Fran (any tools – cutting wires, glaze tongs, books, underglaze colours, glaze ingredients, cones, bats) at PO Box 318 Tumbarumba NSW 2653.
  • Peter and Vanessa Williams, Mogo Pottery, NSW: lost everything 31 December 2019; Their home and studio and all the contents have been lost. They aren’t insured. Their home and studio were two heritage churches they had relocated and renovated. St Mary’s was 120 years old and St. Bernards was 130 years old.
Individual campaignsGoalCurrent
(27/1)
Elizabeth Andalis $5k$7k
Steve Harrison and Janine King $100k$53k
Melissa Gabelle$3k$7k
Gabrielle Powell$32k$28k
Kees Staps$23k$5k
Vanessa Williams$30k$20k

Petition: Support Australian Craft Education

In August 2019, the Hon Dan Tehan MP, Minister for Education delivered a report titled Performance-Based Funding for the Commonwealth Grant Scheme. This report included a recommendation to tie university funding to “overall employment rate”. 

Employment for craft graduates is not typical of other vocations, such as accounting or engineering. Rather than a salaried position, craft often involves self-employment in running a small workshop. These make a concrete contribution not only to our economy but also the community which takes pride and enjoyment in what’s produced.

Traditionally, craft was taught in workshops by masters. Since the 20th century, these have gradually been replaced by formal institutions such as universities. Tertiary craft courses offer a level of sophistication that is important to a nation’s skill set. 

Craft is a key strength in any society. Our craft skills reflect qualities of commitment, creativity and purpose. Civilisation is largely an evolution of the techniques used to fashion our world into a space of utility and beauty. With the use of natural materials, each society develops its unique capacities to transform its environment. Our museums offer testaments to this endeavour. In recognition of this, support for a nation’s craft capacity is growing in most governments around the world. 

We call on the Minister to ensure that the “overall employment rate” takes account of the vocation outcomes for the craft sector.

Statement

I believe that craft education plays an important role in Australian life. Any changes to funding for universities should reflect the employment styles of craft practitioners. 

You can sign the petition here.

Mel Douglas PhD installation in Australian National University

Uzbekistan opportunity

The First International Handicrafters Festival will be held in Kokand, Uzbekistan, 10-15 September 2019. This coincides with the special issue of our Garland magazine on Central Asia.

The organisers are calling for craftspersons to apply as participating artists in this event. Travel and accommodation will be covered by the festival.

Applicants are required to submit:

  • Resume
  • Three images
  • Letter of Recommendation on having enough experience in the field of handicrafts , and participation in competitions and festivals held in their own country or abroad, issued by authorities of corresponding field
  • Ten photos of craft products and or video of the technical process

More information and the online submission form can be found here. Applications are due 30 June 2019, but the sooner you enter the better. Email us if you are interested and we can advise.

Spotlight: Albert Tse

Albert Tse, Momento Australia, 925 oxidised sterling silver, Top: Height 21mm Width 21mm; Bottom: Height 12mm Width 12mm; Post length: 14mm

This is the second in a series of Australia craftspersons who are eligible for the World Crafts Council – Asia Pacific Award of Excellence. These include finely made and innovative objects that are designed for everyday use. The objects in this spotlight show the value and appeal of Australian craft today.

Albert Tse is a Sydney-based metalsmith who employs 3D technology to make bold unisex jewellery.

3D printing allows me to create a 3D topographical view of Australia in fine detail with four different height layers that give you a view of what Australia looks like.

Albert Tse

The Memento Australia cufflinks are designed and handcrafted in Sydney, Australia by Albert Tse. They are 3d printed in wax to maintain the sharpness in the layers, and then cast in 925 Sterling Silver and oxidised to enhance the detail.

Albert Tse can be found on Instagram at @alberttsemetalsmith

Mae Adams @ Gippsland Art Gallery

Mae Adams, Deep Space Dark Universe, 2018, Sheoak needles, poa grass, dyed cotton cord, artificial sinew, 60.5 x 60.5 cm

We’re very pleased to celebrate the acquisition of an important new fibre work by Gippsland Art Gallery. To contributes to Australia’s Heirlooms for the Future.

The artist Mae Adams provides some background:

Deep Space Dark Universe is one of several stitched and coiled wall mounted works I made in response to space exploration. In this work the natural colours and textures of Australian she oak needles and poa grass are combined with commercially dyed yarn. My work with plant fibres has evolved through my interest in restoring bush land, especially the indigenous grasses and sedges of South Gippsland in Victoria, where I live and work.

Venus Bay grasses and sedges

I am delighted that Deep Space Dark Universe has been acquired by Gippsland Art Gallery in Sale for their permanent collection. The work was acquired through the newly established Gippsland Textile Collection, which has come about through the generosity of a private farming family in Gippsland. The Gippsland Textile Collection is dedicated to Australian textiles in all its forms, with a focus on items created in or about Gippsland. The Collection was established to provide inspiration and enjoyment for visitors, and to become an educational resource to encourage knowledge and appreciation for textiles of all periods.

Mae Adams, Deep Space Dark Universe (detail), 2018, Sheoak needles, poa grass, dyed cotton cord, artificial sinew, 60.5 x 60.5 cm

Robert and Eugenie Bell Decorative Arts and Design Fund

meldouglasglass.com

At the October 2018 National Gallery of Australia Memorial Celebration for Dr Robert Bell AM, NGA Director Nick Mitzevich announced the creation of the Robert and Eugenie Bell Decorative Arts and Design Fund. The Fund will support the acquisition of 20th and 21st century decorative arts, design and crafts for the National Gallery’s permanent collection.

Robert, who died in July 2018, was well known to the Australian and international craft communities as Senior Curator of Decorative Arts and Design at the National Gallery of Australia from 2000 until his retirement in late 2016, following 22 years as Curator of Decorative Arts at the Art Gallery of Western Australia. He and wife Eugenie provided an initial financial contribution to establish the Fund.

The Fund’s first target acquisition is Liminal, a major glass work by Canberra artist Mel Douglas, exhibited in the 2018 Hindmarsh Glass Prize. A serenely poetic work, Liminal has two elements which can be arranged in various configurations.

To make a tax deductible contribution in Robert Bell’s memory towards the purchase of Liminal, please visit www.nga.gov.au/giving

Spotlight: Bic Tieu

Bic Tieu, Garden brooch

This is the first in a series of Australia craftspersons who are eligible for the World Crafts Council – Asia Pacific Award of Excellence. These include finely made and innovative objects that are designed for everyday use. The objects in this spotlight shows the value and appeal of Australian craft today.

Bic Tieu proposed a lacquer brooch.

She describes the process:

The surface graphic design was developed and then etched onto copper sheet metal using an acid etch process. The metal was then cut and constructed to form the brooch box form. The work is then polished completely before it undergoes a patination process which turns the copper surface to a pink/red colour. Urushi is then carefully painted onto the surface within the etched channels. Eggshell is then carefully inlaid. The work is then left in a humidity box for about a week to cure. The last stage is adding on the brooch finding.

The meaning draws on the long history of lacquer as an art form:

A myriad of cultural symbolism from the East and West combined with materiality are primary elements applied in the design and making of the jewellery and objects. I particularly use the language of lacquer, a natural material which comes from the tree sap distinctive in Asia to discuss transnational ideas of my identity.
Lacquer is a special medium discovered over 5000 years ago from China. Through trade routes is spanned across the Asian continent. I have spent many years starting in Vietnam and then Japan to learn the traditional processes and techniques.

You can find Bic Tieu on Instagram at @bictieustudio.

Australian Heirlooms for the Future

Helge Larsen and Darani Lewers, Brooch ‘The Australian Dream’ Sterling silver, Gold, Acrylic 1974, 52mm National Gallery of Australia collection

When visiting museums and galleries today, we enjoy seeing the best of the works produced in the past. We learn about the styles of those times and what was considered valuable.

Despite the increasingly short-term focus of our digital lifestyle, it is critical that we invest in acquiring representative works from our time so they can be enjoyed by audiences today and into the future. Works crafted by hand give expression to an enduring sense of who we are and where we live.

Australia is blessed with a network of substantial state and national galleries. WoCCA seeks to support their work in acquiring Australian craft by promoting recent purchases. We are calling for information and images about purchases of Australian contemporary craft works from across the continent and its islands, specifically including works purchased since 2017.

These will be profiled on our website and shared through our social media. We hope in this way that we can instil pride in the skills and creativity of Australian craft artists and ensure their legacy is sustained into the future.

Information about acquisitions can be submitted here.

See recent acquisitions below:

 

WoCCA fires up Bhaktapur

In April 2015, an earthquake devastated Nepal, killing more than 9,000 people. WoCCA board member Jane Sawyer led a fundraising campaign to help rebuild potters workshops in the town of Bhaktapur. All up nearly $24,000 has since been raised. WoCCA members in Nepal toured Bhaktapur to look at the first round of constructions, guided by the ebullient Pushkar Shakya. The new kilns appeared to have had a transformational effect. They not only restored capacity but also replaced the dirty wood-fired kilns with much cleaner electric versions. This reduced the number of breakages and increased the production rate. Nepalese expressed their sincere thanks for your support. Australia has a very good name in Bhaktapur.