RED HOT FIBRE - PAPER & STRINGTHE THREAD CONTINUES
What's with Queensland? Is it the water, the fertile soil or the air? Graham Hay wonders after a week with the Red Hot Fibre team in Queensland.
In one week there I have never seen, or heard of, so many fibre artists and fibre artists' groups. To coin a phrase: So many life strands spun into threads and woven into a rich knotted cloth.
Let's take up one thread, created through the Red Hot Fibre team, established in 1996 and consisting of Lesa Hepburn, Gavin McCullagh and their many volunteers. This story concerns the Paper and String exhibition held at the Redcliffe City Art Gallery from 3rd May to 1st June this year, and the Red Hot Fibre Bee at the Cascade Place Community Garden, just near the gallery over the weekend of May 11-12.
These two events celebrate the completion of the Botanical Book project, a two-year exercise in building paper and bookmaking communities and markets. Combined, the three events are the latest chapter to Red Hot Fibre '97, Red Hot Fibre '98, and ScissorsPaperStone (a touring exhibition).
As a participant in both May events, without a fibre or paper-making background, I found the exhibition in an intriguing proximity to a huge store of fibre, the new Redcliffe City Library and its books (if the long-heralded digital age ever arrives, it offers a fibre feast). In contrast to this collection of highly processed fibre, the exhibition predominately featured hand worked fibre.
First impressions of Paper & String exhibition: A well presented show with a wide range of techniques, styles and ideas from the selected artists.
In the foyer, small swamp monsters created by Judy Barrass faced off the Botanical Book information stand opposite.
The information stand provided a historical and social context to the curator (Lesa Hepburn) and for the exhibition itself. The invisible links between professionals, and their recreational arts communities was made transparent. As artists we sometimes forget that we are a part of society, mutually dependent upon our peers and recreational artists for support, opportunities, inspiration, income, advice and other services.
Exhibition catalogues sometimes provide an indication of such informal and professional networks. By viewing the book project work alongside the exhibition work, viewers see the extent of the curator's informal and professional networks.
I wondered if perhaps the vibrant Queensland fibre arts community is a result of professional and recreational artists each actively fostering and supporting each other?
Back to the exhibition: To give an idea of the variety of approaches, these works are cited: A twisted hanging rope tale installation from Ross Barber (QLD) provided a subtle insight into Manet's private life. A more complete story was in the accompanying Braille book.
Colleen Drew (NSW) pulled strings, laminated between/into handmade paper, to create torn relief.
Mandy Gunn (VIC) showed reconstituted bus/train ticket spirals. While Anna King (Scotland) wove information by shredding documents and combining them into a wall tapestry.
Rachael Lee (QLD) combined the two and three dimensional by stitching grub tracks onto her realistic drawing of Scribbly Gum. Anne McNeill (VIC) used a fauna/flora theme to examine grief with a large handmade paper cocoon.
Vishna Stanuga-Collins (NSW) re-exhibited her crowd stopping hand-crocheted raffia costume, first seen in the Hooked (crochet) while Paul West considered mortality.
Following the exhibition opening, weekend workshops were held at the Redcliffe State High School, the site of a new art studio, and the Cascade Place Community Centre (Cerebral Palsy League) which included an open access community permaculture garden.
Over 50 people participated in workshops on book carving, fibre montage, shibori, beetle kites, weaving, plant-fibre paper-making and no-dig gardening.
The Sunday Bee attracted over 300 people to stalls, workshops and talks by artists and facilitators linked with community culture development, the venue and the Euraba indigenous community paper mill (Boggabilla).
These well-funded and organised projects foster a widespread community interest in fibre art. The Red Hot Fibre team hired Red Neptune Web Designers, CDE Communications Media Consultants and Rinzen and Carmela Ruffino, graphic designers.
On to this team was grafted their friends, blow-ins and people referred by Volunteering Queensland. Creative funding or in-kind deals with Avantcard, American Book Store, Edward Dunlop Paper, and the Redcliffe, Queensland and Federal Governments provided the resources. Galleries were opened longer, daily numbers were up, people travelled longer distances to participate, local critics were ecstatic and many friends were met or made ... what more could you want?
For more complete details visit http://www.redhotfibre.com.au
In one week there I have never seen, or heard of, so many fibre artists and fibre artists' groups. To coin a phrase: So many life strands spun into threads and woven into a rich knotted cloth.
Let's take up one thread, created through the Red Hot Fibre team, established in 1996 and consisting of Lesa Hepburn, Gavin McCullagh and their many volunteers. This story concerns the Paper and String exhibition held at the Redcliffe City Art Gallery from 3rd May to 1st June this year, and the Red Hot Fibre Bee at the Cascade Place Community Garden, just near the gallery over the weekend of May 11-12.
These two events celebrate the completion of the Botanical Book project, a two-year exercise in building paper and bookmaking communities and markets. Combined, the three events are the latest chapter to Red Hot Fibre '97, Red Hot Fibre '98, and ScissorsPaperStone (a touring exhibition).
As a participant in both May events, without a fibre or paper-making background, I found the exhibition in an intriguing proximity to a huge store of fibre, the new Redcliffe City Library and its books (if the long-heralded digital age ever arrives, it offers a fibre feast). In contrast to this collection of highly processed fibre, the exhibition predominately featured hand worked fibre.
First impressions of Paper & String exhibition: A well presented show with a wide range of techniques, styles and ideas from the selected artists.
In the foyer, small swamp monsters created by Judy Barrass faced off the Botanical Book information stand opposite.
The information stand provided a historical and social context to the curator (Lesa Hepburn) and for the exhibition itself. The invisible links between professionals, and their recreational arts communities was made transparent. As artists we sometimes forget that we are a part of society, mutually dependent upon our peers and recreational artists for support, opportunities, inspiration, income, advice and other services.
Exhibition catalogues sometimes provide an indication of such informal and professional networks. By viewing the book project work alongside the exhibition work, viewers see the extent of the curator's informal and professional networks.
I wondered if perhaps the vibrant Queensland fibre arts community is a result of professional and recreational artists each actively fostering and supporting each other?
Back to the exhibition: To give an idea of the variety of approaches, these works are cited: A twisted hanging rope tale installation from Ross Barber (QLD) provided a subtle insight into Manet's private life. A more complete story was in the accompanying Braille book.
Colleen Drew (NSW) pulled strings, laminated between/into handmade paper, to create torn relief.
Mandy Gunn (VIC) showed reconstituted bus/train ticket spirals. While Anna King (Scotland) wove information by shredding documents and combining them into a wall tapestry.
Rachael Lee (QLD) combined the two and three dimensional by stitching grub tracks onto her realistic drawing of Scribbly Gum. Anne McNeill (VIC) used a fauna/flora theme to examine grief with a large handmade paper cocoon.
Vishna Stanuga-Collins (NSW) re-exhibited her crowd stopping hand-crocheted raffia costume, first seen in the Hooked (crochet) while Paul West considered mortality.
Following the exhibition opening, weekend workshops were held at the Redcliffe State High School, the site of a new art studio, and the Cascade Place Community Centre (Cerebral Palsy League) which included an open access community permaculture garden.
Over 50 people participated in workshops on book carving, fibre montage, shibori, beetle kites, weaving, plant-fibre paper-making and no-dig gardening.
The Sunday Bee attracted over 300 people to stalls, workshops and talks by artists and facilitators linked with community culture development, the venue and the Euraba indigenous community paper mill (Boggabilla).
These well-funded and organised projects foster a widespread community interest in fibre art. The Red Hot Fibre team hired Red Neptune Web Designers, CDE Communications Media Consultants and Rinzen and Carmela Ruffino, graphic designers.
On to this team was grafted their friends, blow-ins and people referred by Volunteering Queensland. Creative funding or in-kind deals with Avantcard, American Book Store, Edward Dunlop Paper, and the Redcliffe, Queensland and Federal Governments provided the resources. Galleries were opened longer, daily numbers were up, people travelled longer distances to participate, local critics were ecstatic and many friends were met or made ... what more could you want?
For more complete details visit http://www.redhotfibre.com.au
Opposite page. Clockwise from top of page left: Graham Hay (W.A.) appears with his work, Journey (boat) 200107,
H: 40O, W: 18O, D: 19O mm, gardening and other journals compressed, hand carved, sanded. "The paper vessel form illustrates the compounded mass of paper collected over almost a lifetime (A gardening journal subscription.) I inserted a human form into the paper while pondering the first death in my family, of my parent's generation. Photography by Pete Johnson
This is a copy of the article; Red Hot Fibre-Paper & String,Textile Fibre Forum, The Australian Forum for Textile Arts, 21, 3, (67) 2002, 48-49
Reproduced with permission from Janet De Boe, Editor, Textile Fibre Forum, (Email: September 01, 2002 6:08 AM).
Reproduced with permission from Janet De Boe, Editor, Textile Fibre Forum, (Email: September 01, 2002 6:08 AM).