ebb and flow

visited the Untethered Fibre Artists ATASDA members “ebb and flow” exhibition at Wallarobba Arts and Cultural Centre in Hornsby to see Jane Bodnaruk’s Rope Journey
Rope Journey Jane Bodnaruk 2016
Handmade rope constructed over a period of 37 weeks
dyed secondhand sheets blankets and tablecloths
Jane’s rope making began on February 16, 2016 and finished 258 days later for the opening of the exhibition tonight!
Jane’s artist statement
“I started this rope as a tribute to the convict women of the First Fleet. These women were incarcerated in the bowels of the ships, they had no idea how long the journey would be, no idea where they were going. They had to survive and endure for 258 days, from Portsmouth (May 13, 1787) to Port Jackson (January 25 1788)
The rope represents the rigours and monotony of the journey. The process of rope making has entwined my life with the memory of those women. It brings to mind the words of Tim Ingold (Life of Lines, 2015), ‘Minds and lives … are open ended processes whose most outstanding characteristic is that they carry on. And in carrying on, they wrap around one another like the many strands of a rope’.
No matter where, or when we live, as women we connect and carry on through the ebb and flow of our daily lives.”
Book of Rope Jane drew the rope each week as it progressed
Leòdhas Helen MacRitchie
Merino and corriedale wool, silk, flax, linen, jute, stones
wet felting and surface machine embroidery
Erasaid Helen MacRitchie
Merino and corriedale wool roving, wool gauze, silk, flax
wet felting and surface machine embroidery
Erasaid detail
Moon Shadow Kirry Toose
cotton drill, assorted yarns
digital print, hand stitched and painted
Moon Shadow detail
Life Was Not Meant to be Easy Barbara Schey (detail)
Silk organza, Shibori dyed
The Beauty of Australian Seed-Pods Mary Hedges
recycled coated copper wire, leather, hakea and waratah pods, dyed freshwater pearls, upholstery thread, wax crayons
Second Nature Brenda Livermore (detail)
Mulberry paper, wire
Continuous Life Elaine Witton (detail)
watercolour and acrylic inks, handmade paper, hand stitching on cotton fabric
SONG NEVERENDING
RHYTHMICAL RIBBONS OF LIGHT
CONTINUOUS LIFE
You can see more of the exhibition here