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CHAIRMAKING

A unique opportunity to learn the ancient craft of Windsor chairmaking, using the traditional hand tools and locally sourced mountain timbers.

The teacher, Howard Archbold, has over 25 years experience at crafting these beautiful chairs and teaches the process with passion, flair and a great sense of humour.

No previous experience is required, the first-timer will be amazed to produce a beautiful chair with his/her own hands. The hand skills learned will open up future ventures into furniture design and construction.

Dates: Saturday Sept. 21, – Sunday Sept. 30, 2012 (9 days full-time)

Venue: Koonwarra Village School
Cost: $1100., includes tuition, venue, materials, tools
To view further details: www.megviney.com, the link to ‘chairmaking’
Enquiries and bookings: E: meg.v@bigpond.com. Ph: 56642430
Course limited to six participants. Book early.

I was invited by Latrobe Regional Gallery to have an exhibition of Vessels, some borrowed from collections and some new works.  

I was delighted because the form of the Vessel has been revisited throughout my practise. Indeed it was pine needle baskets that were my first works, and I still love the rhythmic stitching and the flowing line formed by the stitches on the surface of the basket.  

However, whilst a basket is a vessel, and a container, people also have the capacity to contain one another. Although this is physically accurate, (the mother contains the baby in utero), it is of more interest to me to view this as emotional and spiritual containment (once born, the mother ‘contains’ the baby until he/she is secure enough to move beyond her). The work of D. W. Winnicott, English Pediatrician and Psychiatrist The Child, the Family and the Outside World, Penguin Books, 1957, centres around this concept.

For me the essential nature of the Vessel is female.

And the tiny Shamans’ mouths are shaped to blow healing breath on a tribal member, so they contain healing, although they look like containers of mirth.

At the opening, Maria Luisa Marino, the curator, said these words:
“Meg Viney is an admired and respected local artist. She has worked consistently over the years and has exhibited locally on many occasions, in the metropolitan area and overseas. She has lived and studied in America, completing a Bachelor of Fine Arts at the San Francisco University where her passion for fibre sculpture came to fruition.  Meg’s passion for natural materials is inspired by the Native Americans’ respect for nature.   She was so moved by the spirituality of these people, who consider all things equal and believe all things have a spirit, that, upon her return to Australia, she experienced a renewed appreciation of her local environment. She began to look at natural fibres and experimented with their flexibility to create form. Plant fibres, grasses, branches, felt and feathers are just some of the materials that inform her practice. Her work enlivens our senses through the aroma and tactility of her materials and draws us closer to the earth.”

An exhibition of works with Lorraine Connelly-Northey and Mandy Gunn. Each artist works with materials that have been recycled, or have taken years to grow and become ready for harvest, or to have rusted, giving the desired surface – thus ‘Time Warp’, and each uses the concept of weaving in our work.

Image 1: PUPARIA
Paper (cumbungi, ginger plant, red hot poker, philodendron), orchard prunings. From 1 metre high to 2 metres high.

Image 2: CONNICLES
Paper (parsnip tops, potato tops, sweet corn leaves). Height from 500 mm to 950 mm.

Image 3: VASCELLA
Paper (sweet corn, ginger plant, red hot poker. Approximately 100 x 100 x 20.

In Hopi Culture, the Shaman dwells in ‘a kiva’, an underground dwelling lit by fire, and a tribesperson wishing to speak with him descends through a small hole in the ground, called a ‘Sipapu’. The hole is filled with smoke from the underground fire. The descent through the smoky ‘Sipapu’ represents the transition from the physical world to the spirit world.

These ‘Sipapu’ pieces are my interpretation of the transition from the secular to the spiritual. The works are enclosed in Perspex boxes, which are a part of the aesthetic of ‘other culture’ as well as providing protection essential for delicate works in fibre.

Image 1: Sipapu (pine needles, silk thread, copper, feather) 70 mm diameter x 130 mm high.

Image 2: Sipapu (orchard prunings, raffia dyed with indigo)  150mm x 150 mm x 220 mm.

Image 3: Sipapu (orchard prunings, raffia dyed with indigo, shibori on cotton)  150 mm x 150 mm x 150 mm.

Image 4: Sipapu (maple twigs, cotton thread dyed with indigo, shibori on cotton for the base) 150 mm x 150 mm x 150 mm.

Image 5: Sipapu (maple twigs, cotton thread dyed with indigo, shibori on cotton for the base) 150 mm x 150 mm x 150 mm – detail

Image 6: Sipapu (paper (red hot poker), orchard prunings)  220 mm diameter x 600 mm high.

Marie Geissler, reviewed the exhibition:

‘Viney’s work picks up on the incorporeal qualities of spirituality suggested by the movement of kites and the experience of watching them. Her constructions in raw materials were exquisitely made as miniature kite forms enclosed in box frames. Tripartite, they consist of a flattened earthed component, a leaf of handmade paper, a gold thread that linked each paper sheet to an aerial form itself. Each aerial form was fashioned to resemble a kite, which embodied symbolically a feeling of ethereal spirit. This was conveyed by cloud-like, cigar-shaped or corrugated wave-form objects, made from soft white felt or feathers. Unearthly in appearance they glowed with an incandescent luminescence against the stark, black background of their boxed exteriors.’

Image 1: CRANES IN FLIGHT (Shibori on cotton, felt, kozo paper, sea grass, mollusk)
200 x 200 x 200 mm

Image 2: FLIGHT OVER AUSTRALIA (felt, silk, copper thread, feather)
200 x 200 x 200 mm

Image 3: A LEAF IN THE WIND (felt, silk thread, copper thread, feather)
200 x 200 x 200 mm

Image 4: ALOFT IN A BOX, (felt, silk, feather, gold thread)
200 x 200 x 200 mm

Image 5: WINDBLOWN BEAUTY (silk dyes on silk organza, felt, silk, feather)
200 x 200 x 200 mm

Image 6: VAMPIRE (felt (alpaca), paper (red hot poker) gold thread, feather)
200 x 200 x 200 mm

Image 7: PARAFOIL PARODY (Shibori on silk, felt, gold thread, feather)
200 x 200 x 200

Image 8: PARAFOIL KITE (felt, paper (red hot poker), gold thread
200 x 200 x 200 mm

Image 9: FLUTTERING BY (felt, silk, copper thread, feather)
200 x 200 x 200 mm

Image 10: A ROSE ARISEN (felt, silk organza, silk satin, silk thread, feather)
200 x 200 x 200 mm

Image 11: BONNIE’S KITE (Shibori on felt, ikat on cotton thread (woven), silk, feather)
200 x 200 x 200 mm

Image 12: JAPANESE CARP WINDSOCKS (Shibori on silk, hand-drawn stencil on silk satin, sea grass, mollusc shell)
200 x 200 x 200 mm

IMAGE 1: VESSEL FOR MOON JOURNEYING (felt, paper (iris), feathers, gold thread, brass beads)
400 x 400 x 370 mm

IMAGE 2: VESSEL FOR WOMAN SHAMAN (felt, paper (banana leaf), copper and linen thread, brass beads, feathers)
400 x 300 x 350 mm
Collection of Artbank, Sydney.

IMAGE 3: VESSEL FOR FRIENDLY SPIRITS (felt, paper (jonquil), feathers, gold thread)
400 x 400 x 350 mm
Collection of Stanthorpe Gallery, Queensland

IMAGE 4: VESSEL FOR SHAMANIC JOURNEYING (felt, paper (cumbungi), feathers)
470 x 470 x 400 mm
Collection of Karen Murphy.

IMAGE 5: VESSEL FOR HELPING SPIRITS (felt, paper (cumbungi), feathers)
170 x 170 x 220 mm

IMAGE 6: SPIRIT FLIGHT VESSEL (felt, paper (iris), feathers, linen thread)
400 x 400 x 380 mm
Collection of Ryllton Viney, Tasmania.

Image 1: AGGIARTOQ’S VESTMENT (felt, paper (New Zealand flax, red hot poker, sweet corn, cumbungi), gold thread, brass beads, eagle feathers, bamboo).
450 x 320 x 500 mm.
Aggiartoq, a novice shaman, was tied to a long tent pole and pushed through a hole in the ice so that he stood on the bottom of a lake. He was left there for five days, and when he was brought up again he was completely dry, proving his Shamanic status.

Image 2: KINALIK’S VESTMENT (antique lace, felt, god thread, copper wire, brass beads, paper (iris), eagle feathers, copper pipe). 420 x 380 x 450 mm.
Another young Shaman, Kinalik, was suspended from tent poles for five days, exposed to cold and snow, and was then shot with a small s tone. She lay dead for a whole night. The next morning, her instructor was to call her to life again, but she awoke of her own accord.

Image 3: UVAVNUK’S VESTMENT (felt (sheep’s hair), alpaca, paper (New Zealand flax), gold thread, gold beads, eagle feathers, copper pipe).
420 x 380 x 450 mm
Uvavnuk underwent a spectacular assault from her helping spirit – a ball of fire.  Whilst outside one evening, she saw a glowing ball of fire rushing toward her. Before she could flee, the fireball struck her and entered her body.  At the same moment she knew that all within her grew light, and, from that moment she became a great shaman.

Image 4: NIVIATSIAN’S VESTMENT (felt, gold thread, brass beads, paper (coastal sword sedge, cumbungi), eagle feathers.
Niviatsian was attacked by a walrus, when out hunting. He had many wounds, including a pierced lung. He was placed in a small snow hut of his own. It was believed that if he had gone to an unclean dwelling, he would have died. Alone in his igloo, Niviatsian completely recovered in 3 days, and thus became a great Shaman. The walrus became his helping spirit.

Image 5: TUNGRALIK’S VESTMENT (felt, handspun silk, gold thread, brass beads, eagle feathers, paper (iris), steel rod). 420 x 380 x 450 mm.
The Shaman, unlike his fellow Inuit, was capable of dealing with all sorts of spirits, but he had to have the support of helping spirits. Because life in Alaska was more precarious than other areas, a Shaman, usually called ‘angaqok became called ‘tungralik’, meaning ‘the one who has spirits’, which thus enabled him to deal with the tortuous nature of life as an Inuit.

Image 6: ANGAKOQ’S VESTMENT (felt, paper – mask and base – cumbungi, gold thread). 420 x 380 x 450 mm.
Angakoq is the name given to an Inuit who receives a spirit prior to becoming a ‘tungralik’.

Image 7: AMAJORUK’S VESTMENT (felt, paper (red hot poker), gold thread, brass beads, eagle feathers). 420 x 380 x 450 mm.
Niviatsian was also attacked by his two other helping spirits; whilst out hunting, a wolverine wrestled with him for a full day. His third spirit, the ogress Amajoruk, attacked and put him in her bag before he knew what was happening. After he managed to cut his way out of her ‘amaut’, she became his helping spirit as well.

Image 8: AUA’S VESTMENT (felt (alpaca), handspun silk, gold thread, brass beads, copper pipe, paper (New Zealand flax, red hot poker), feathers).
200 x 200 x 220 mm
Aua’s helping spirit was her namesake. ‘When it came to me it was as if the passage and roof of the house were lifted up, and I felt such a power of vision, that I could see right through the house, in through the earth and up into the sky; it was the little Aua that brought me all this inward light, hovering over me as long as I was singing’.

Image 9: IGJAJARJUK’S VESTMENT (felt, paper (red hot poker, cumbungi), handspun silk, gold thread, brass beads, feathers, copper pipe).
200 x 200 x 220 mm.
Igjagarjuk was the instructor of both Kinalik and Aggiartoq. He had become a Shaman by undergoing a lengthy exposure to hunger and cold. He fasted intermittently for six months, after which he was taken to a tiny igloo where he stayed for thirty days with nothing but tepid water to drink.

Image 1: SHAMANIC TRANSFORMATION 1 (felt (alpaca), paper (sweet corn), feathers)
320 x 320 x 450 mm

Image 2:  SHAMANIC TRANSFORMATION 2 (felt (alpaca), paper (iris), feathers)
320 x 320 x 450 mm

Image 3: SHAMANIC TRANSFORMATION 3 (felt (alpaca), paper (red hot poker), feathers)
320 x 320 x 450 mm

Image 4: SHAMANIC TRANSFORMATION 4 (felt (alpaca), paper (cumbungi), feathers)
320 x 320 x 450 mm

Image 5: SHAMANIC TRANSFORMATION 5 (felt (alpaca), paper (red hot poker & sweet corn), brass beads, feathers)
320 x 320 x 320

Image 6: SHAMANIC TRANSFORMATION 6 (felt (alpaca), paper (New Zealand flax), feathers)
200 x 200 x 200 mm

Image 7: SHAMANIC TRANSFORMATION 7 (felt (alpaca), paper (red hot poker), feathers)
200 x 200 x 200 mm

I noted a copse of long needled pines near my home and decided to teach myself how to make them. The process of collecting them, sorting them into bundles, washing them and laying them in the sun to dry is to recycle nature, and the gentle rhythm of stitching the forms is akin to meditation.

Image 1:  Collection of pine needle baskets (pine needles, raffia) from 1100 mm high to 120 mm high.

Image 2: Oval basket – 600 mm long x 250 mm wide x 250 mm high.

Image 3 Oval basket with guinea fowl feathers – 400 mm wide x 250 mm deep  x 150 mm high.

Image 4: Round basket with lid – 180 mm wide x 180 mm diameter x 180 mm high.

Image 5: Spiral basket (seagrass stitched with raffia) – 140mm diameter x 350 mm high.

Image 6: Pot with lid – 100 mm diameter x 140 mm high.

Image 7: Teapot with lid – 180 mm diameter x 180 mm high.

Image 8: Long necked basket with feathers – 130 mm diameter x 380 mm high.

I find something wonderful in gathering Nature’s cast-offs, and, through a number of simple processes, transforming them. The cast-offs that would otherwise decompose are recycled to become new materials, which have a life of their own – thus the beauty inherent in the plant and subtly concealed by the living plant is revealed as new form.

These vessels are an expression of my abiding interest in containment.

Image 1: VESSEL Paper (New Zealand flax), string (sweet corn leaves).
600 high x 500 mm diameter

Image 2:  VESSEL Paper (cumbungi), string (sweet corn leaves), stick covered with cumbungi
300 high x 380 mm diameter

Image 3: VESSEL Paper (cumbungi, sweet corn), string (sweet corn leaves), stick covered with cumbungi paper
500 x 250 x 250 mm