By CASEY NEILL
A former Dandenong girls school will inspire embroidery that will hang between Heritage Hill’s famous fig trees during Cultural Threads.
Artist Thea Jones came up with the project, titled All Her Thoughts Are So Tactile.
“It’s a direct response to the site of Laurel Lodge at Heritage Hill,” she said.
“I put together a proposal that related to the history of the building as a girls school.
“A lot of my work uses traditional craft techniques that highlight the femininity involved, or the tradition of female-based craft, or mother-to-daughter tradition of passing those skills down.”
Ms Jones said the title “refers to an unspoken female thought, or history of silencing young girls, especially in educational spaces where they were only allowed to learn things like sewing and housework”.
“I’m going to make it with people in the community, so I’ll be going to their sewing group on a Tuesday for three weeks and then I’ll also be in the actual building, Heritage Hill, in an open studio format so people can come in and help,” she said.
“It’s a very open-ended educational experience, which contradicts the history as well of more strict forms of education.
“That’s why I wanted it to be more free.”
The installation will be on display at Heritage Hill throughout August.
People can drop in and contribute to sewing elements of the large-scale embroidery from 10.30am to 12.30pm on Friday 8 July.
Ms Jones will run workshops with The Open Door at Springvale Neighbourhood House on Tuesdays 12 and 19 July from 10am to noon.
Also as part of the project will be workshops where participants create thread dyes using elements from the Heritage Hill gardens, held from 10.30am to 12.30pm on Tuesday 5 and Thursday 7 July.
The month-long Cultural Threads will build on its 2014 incarnation and celebrate textile art and cultural diversity.
The City of Greater Dandenong-hosted event will feature knitting, crocheting, dyeing, weaving, needlepoint, yarn art and more.
People of all ages and backgrounds will be guided by some of Australia’s most celebrated artists to forge connections, trade skills, share stories and interweave cultures.
There’ll be activities at multiple venues including the Walker Street Gallery and Arts Centre, Heritage Hill Museum and Historic Gardens, the Drum Theatre, the Dandenong and Springvale libraries and Harmony Square.
Intricate and colourful installations will adorn the municipality throughout Cultural Threads, which is a satellite event of Craft Victoria’s Craft Cubed Festival.
