Paperbark

I've just finished reading a biography of Oodgeroo, Aboriginal rights activist and poet. She took her name from the Paperbark trees of her homeland, Stradbroke Island. For me reading the biography brought a response that is becoming all too familiar when I try to learn about Indigenous affairs: "I'm sorry, I had no idea". Poems by Kath Walker (the name she had for most of her life) were a small, but significant part of my education. Their strong rhythms are like a heart-beat. But I don't remember anyone pointing out that this poet was fighting for basic human rights for her people; that the power of her words drew from deep loss and anger at injustice. That wasn't part of a 70's education in Queensland! With Oodgeroo and her land on my mind--visits to the beaches of Stradbroke Island were another part of my growing up--I picked up the silk hankies from last weekend's natural dyeing with a new set of eyes. I wonder if I could explore the paperbark tree with these fibres dyed with eucalypt and peach leaves. It wouldn't be Oodgeroo's paperbark tree--I don't know enough to claim that right--but some sort of response and exploration seems appropriate.

More Silk

One more silk picture: Here are some cocoons which have been stretched on a frame to turn it into a silk hanky. Here's how it works:

• The cocoon is degummed by boiling it gently in water and soap. That gets rid of all the goo which the silkworm uses to hold it together.
• That had been done a while ago and the cocoon had been dried again. So it was soaked in warm water all day to get it thoroughly wet.
• Then C, who was demonstrating just pulled the cocoon apart with her fingers. She hooked a bit of it onto one of the wooden spikes which you can see on the board.
• Then it was a case of stretching and stretching until the cocoon was entirely stretched over the frame.
• Several layers of cocoon later and there you have it.
• The hanky takes a while to dry. Then it's time for more stretching to get it ready to spin.

I always knew silk was remarkably strong, but my hands actually hurt after a couple of hours of spinning yesterday. Pulling those fibres apart so that they can be spun evenly is quite a task. I have a crazy image in my head of a textile gym--spinning wheels instead of exercise bikes, silk to stretch for arm strengthening and large cones of wool for weights . . . only kidding!