View CartAustralia's First EarthLoom
Mackay, Queeensland, Australia, July 2007 -- Australia's first EarthLoom™ weaving happened in Queensland, in northeastern Australia, in late July 2007, at the Mackay Festival of Arts. As happens occasionally, the festival location did not allow the installation of a typical EarthLoom with posts sunk in the ground, so participants wove on a large on-ground Earthloom. The event was dubbed a Community Weaving, based on the EarthLoom motto "Weaving the fabric of community." A letter and photos from the organizer of the EarthLoom event, Pamela Hutley of Mackay, Queensland, follows:
The Community Weaving was held during the Mackay Festival of Arts, an annual event in my home town of Mackay, in Queensland. The Festival is an 8 day event, usually consisting of marvellous music and amazing theatre events, with some creative/art stuff happening in amongst it all. It is held every July.
I applied to the committee to have my Community Weaving at the Wine and Food day of the festival, and was accepted!...
I worked between the hours of 11am and 4pm as designated by the committee. The loom was an instant drawcard. Weaving is not a 'given' in this area, but the curiosity of children soon drew many people to watch and a few adults tentatively wove a few threads into the warp. My friends of European birth happily wove away...they had learned to weave in school.
The children (as you can see from the pic) had a ball....there was always a couple on either side, and a few (im)patiently waiting a turn! The hours flew by, I was sorry to pack up and go home.
I just so applaud the concept of the Earth Loom and hope one day I can facilitate the actual building of one in a community area!