Traditional ways of cloth and basketry
have connected the maker to the earth and rituals over
the ages. In this tech age we still need this connection to
sense of place to make meaningful contemporary art.
I chose 2 workshops at ContextArt 2017 by Judy
Dominic who takes two ecological principles – recycling
and reusing seriously in her work.
#1 ‘Bogolanfini’ (mud dyeing) 2 days
#2 ‘Pushing Basketry boundaries’ (weaving) 3 days
In the workshops I will expand my dyeing and weaving
universe.
It was a great experience to learn from Judy, a
master in her field and to spend quality time with her. Her
many layers of experiences included learning Mud cloth
in Africa, on site weaving in community collaborations in
USA & NZ with a genuine passion for the environment.
I immersed myself with a group of very experienced,
dyers and weavers who came from
the Blue Mountains and all corners of Australia.
Judy was very generous with her knowledge in visual learning,
discussion times and making.
The intense week workshop gave me space to find where
I are positioned in my art practice. I found it important to
concentrate, write and be open to new ways. I produced
some small works but importantly I have fresh insights in
why I make art.
As a professional artist it is important for me to play with
multi medias, exhibit sometimes, mentor, belong to an
interest group and work independently.
I was generously sponsored by Janet de Boer OMB
as the Flying Arts QRAA textile winner 2016.
Support with an RADF grant allowed me to have a refreshing
road trip to and fro to the Blue Mountains and a very
comfortable little house for us and THANKS to my
husband/driver Jaap.
Mieke den Otter's Blog 