A visit to Harvest Workroom

I travelled to Melbourne recently for an awesome little bluegrass festival called Jamgrass. It happened to coincide with Finders Keepers and I managed to meet many contributors and past interviewees in person. I was also beyond excited to visit some of the places I have been eyeing up online for quite some time. One of my first stops was Harvest Storeroom, where I picked up some lovely treats which you will have the chance to win in the next issue. Lara from Harvest showed us around their huge workroom – it is so light and airy and full of an amazing creative buzz, and it's my dream to attend a workshop there one day. I went a bit nuts on the photos...

We went through to see the October artist-in-residence, Maryann Talia Pau. Weaving artist Maryann (originally from Auckland) weaves some fantastical objects using found and repurposed materials, with an obvious affinity for bold colour and texture. When we arrived she was working on a new project: Light the Night: 1 Million Stars To End Violence. The aim is to weave a million stars out of ribbon as a symbol of light and hope. She says, "weaving one million stars sounds huge and ambitious, but, many hands will make light work." The idea is that the participants she teaches will pass the skill on to others, and the project will culminate in a (no doubt huge) installation in Melbourne. 

Maryann is a brilliant and patient teacher, and if you get the chance to learn from her, don't miss it! (She promises a video tutorial soon, so anybody can weave some stars and send them in).

Lara in the store

Maryann teaching

Ladesha – who also put us up and drove me everywhere, thanks Desh!