25,266 Female Convicts Transported to Australia

While in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia, recently one of the most moving experiences we experienced was visiting the place where female convicts and their nursing babies were transported to Australia from the British Isles from 1788 to 1853. The story of the Cascades Female Factory has only recently begun to be told.

Above is an image of an artwork in one of the reconstructed yards in the prison...

...the place where the babies were kept until they were sent to an orphanage. Many of them died while living in the cold, damp, windy conditions within the eight-foot high walled prison located in the shadow of Mount Wellington.

The aim of the prison's harsh conditions and treatment of the women was to break them down then mold them to be suitable wives to procreate and populate the new colony. 

On arrival, their hair was cut off and sold. Throughout their sentence, they were forbidden to speak, they had to share the sleeping hammocks and they worked 12 hour days spinning fiber, weaving cloth, washing and mending laundry and as punishment unwinding strands of worn out, tarred rope for reuse, while in solitary confinement.

Actors from Live History Hobart, Her Story, "offer an immersive theatrical experience" where small groups follow convict Mary James around the prison as she tells her story - in 1833 she was shipped from Ireland to Australia to serve a 7-year term for stealing a square of cloth. For the participants, it is an emotional roller coaster as Mary tells of her life in the prison. So few have heard her story or the stories of any of the other women.

A friend, Jo Ann Allan, through her family genealogy research, found a family member who served a sentence in the Female Factory. Jo Ann has written about her relative,  Mary Anne Nankivel, on her website, Fibergenea. She has shared this extensive research with the Female Factory's research centre.

Honourary artist-in-residence, Dr. Christina Henry decided to tell their story to the world by inviting over 25,266 women to each to create a bonnet to pay tribute to these women, each bonnet named for one woman. The project was launched on International Women's Day on March 8, 2007, in Hobart.

While living in Calgary I can remember the night at the Calgary Guild of Needle and Fibre Arts monthly meeting when we were told about the project and members were offered the chance to pick a name and make a bonnet for her. Jo Ann Allan made bonnet for her ancestor, Mary Anne Nankivel, and contributed to Dr. Christine Henry's project.

While a few of the bonnets are on display in the Matron's House in a restored part of the prison, the project is ongoing as the majority of bonnets travel between Australia, Ireland, and England and continue to tell the women's stories wherever they are displayed. For more about this project check Christina Henri - Roses from the Heart Facebook page

As a tribute to the work the women did, there is an art installation within the prison walls.

Cotton garments have been hung on a line with metal clothes pegs.

The only reference I could find to this installation is a plaque about convict Mary Kennedy serving 7 years for stealing a gown. Her occupation is listed as a washerwoman.

 Maybe these garments will hang on the line for 7 years in remembrance of Mary's time in the prison.

On another level, I was also intrigued by the installation as it is so closely linked to my current body of work in preparation for an exhibition with Laura Feeleus, Laura's website called 'The Laundry Room' where Laura and I are exploring the nature of women's work.

After several hours exploring this World Heritage Site, we came away emotionally exhausted. We walked back to our rented cottage and rested quietly for the rest of the afternoon, not up to doing any more exploring that day. We were emotionally drained and needed to reflect on what we had experienced and learned.

'Earth Repair' - 3 Years Later

2014

3 years 3 months after the emergency while living outside wrapped around the Indian plum I brought the 3 afternoon tea cloths inside. 

They were carefully washed, dried and ironed. I was hoping the laundering had stopped the decay processes.

There is much staining and decay and large holes had appeared.

How to preserve this cloth? The usual way to repair a cloth is to darn it but the whole cloth is in such a fragile state didn't think it would support darning. Another way to repair cloth is to add a patch. When I thought about it, adding patches is the way the soil is repaired each year. Leaves fall from plants and trees and cover the soil. Organic processes work on breaking down the leaves to return them to the soil.

I was thinking about this soil repair idea when while out on a walk I noticed the Tulip tree had a skirt of leaves reflecting the shape if its branches. It was using its leaves to replenish the soil it grows in.

I looked more closely at those fallen leaves and saw the majority had decayed in such a way that only the veins were left. They were leaf skeletons.

I collected them up and soaked them in water to remove the soil and pine needles.

I left them to dry.

They are quite lovely in their fragile state. I had this idea to repair the tea cloth with these fragile leaves. I hand stitched leaves directly onto the cloth over the holes. At the top of the cloth I stitched a row of eyelets, wove a jute string through them and inserted a stick I found near the Tulip Tree. 

The cloth hung on my design wall for the year, still too delicate to do anything with.

2015

When the Tulip tree was dropping its leaves again the next year made me look again at the still fragile afternoon tea cloth.

I wanted to add more leaves but I wanted to make the skeletons stronger while still appearing fragile. It was time to sample. I coated leaves with various mediums but they tended to fill the holes and look a bit shiny. I ironed on a fine fusible web. I liked the look.  

I added the bonded leaves but I couldn't iron them in place. I decided to machine sew them in place using the finest thread I had with the finest needle.  I liked what was happening and decided to add another layer of leaf skeletons next fall.

 

2016

I added another layer of bonded leaves using a combination of hand and machine stitching.

The cloth with its leaves was stronger looking but getting very dried out and brittle. I added a thin layer of liquid Min Wax. I thought this last effort had ruined the whole thing. It was shiny and stinky and ugly. I just left it hanging thinking I would throw it away when I got around to it.

But one day it caught my eye because it had taken on a transparent glow and the layers of leaves were more visible giving an interesting depth. And it wasn't stinky anymore. 

I was going to add yet another layer of leaves until it got accepted into the World of Threads Festival. Once our work is accepted we have to promise the work shipped will be exactly the same as the images we sent in with the application. 

I can add the next layer of leaves after it returns home.

PS This is what the Indian plum tree looks like fall 2016

Still alive...

...but the bark doesn't look very healthy where the deer ate it.

The fungus growth on the middle trunk indicates the tree is dying.

Maybe the deer knew the tree was old and on its way out.

Studio Footwear and Laundry Centre

I received lots of comments and questions about my choice of Studio Footwear, as seen in this previous blog post.To answer you all, here are the details.

Outside: (Left) Suede, Danish-style clog. Brand - 'Simple'. The best feature is when I step in soft soil the heel print says 'past' while the toe part has a forward pointing arrow and says 'future.'

Inside, winter: (Middle) Shearling sheepskin suede, backless moccasin. Brand - Nuknuuk.

Inside, summer: (Right) Thong/jandle/flip flop with moulded sole and cloth straps. Brand: 'Axign'. (Thank you sister for putting me onto these. And for letting me wear yours until you took me shopping to get my own pair.)

All are easy to slip on and off as I move in and out of the studio.

So there you have it.

Now to the Laundry Centre.

Regular laundering of cloth I will continue to do in the house.

Wash-out of dyed cloth I will do in the studio, beginning with the cold rinse in the big, deep tubs.

Since learning about Carol Soderlund's wash-out method, the next step will be to simmer the cloth in a stock pot filled from the instant boiling water tank.

Out of the cupboard under the tubs I will lift out the spin dryer...

... and set the outlet spout over the tub. I put the cloth in the top, plug it in and away it goes, spinning out all excess water into the tub.

It is one of those appliances with lots of names all over it - The Laundry Alternative Inc., Nina Soft, Mueller Electrodomesticos (the best name). They also make/sell? a small, bullet shaped manually operated washing machine - appliances for those who live in small spaces.

After the spin, I will steam-iron cellulose fibres dry, a technique known as polishing. Protein fibres such as silk and wool I will dry on a rack in the shade before lightly steaming them.

This is the studio laundry process. 

I didn't want 2 big machines when there is a set in the house. I didn't want to make the studio plumbing more complicated than a single tub area. And I didn't want to take up valuable studio space with machines at the expense of the horizontal work surfaces.

I'll keep you posted on how this laundry system works out.