Weaving

Wednesday the 15th October Basket weaving workshop in Hamilton today. The indigenous lady teaching us told us stories about her people and how she learnt to weave, as she wove, and this is how we were to learn: by the end of her story we should know how to weave. I really liked this technique of story telling to teach, and the combination of repetitive action entangled with words washing over you. It was a very satisfying process, and by the end of the day I had a substantially sized basket that is used to catch eels and fish; it has a small hole in the bottom so the little fish can carry on through and further down river. I love that mentality. Unfortunately your not allowed to fish with these anymore, unless you're aboriginal. I'm not sure why, but I'm sure its for ecological reasons, its just a shame; I think there is a lot to be learned from indigenous approaches to life. It was a very social event: sitting, weaving, talking and was really good to be out talking to people. It has been getting a little lonely working away in the museum or out walking alone. I still haven't had many visits from locals, but that’s pretty interesting in itself.