From Artisan to Art...

Step 1- Strip the chair

       Its again been a few months since I tapped out my last post.  I have been trying to stay on topic but  my frustration with the lack of respect for an artisans' work keeps crossing my path and I'll continue to fall over it until I say something..

      I have been trying to get signatures for a petition to get the Government to set aside the old Parramatta gaol for a second campus of the NSW art gallery.  I wrote about it back in May and in the mean time I have sent copies of that post to, what I thought would be interested parties, meaning people in departments who have some say about the arts in one form or another.  I got little or no response, so I decided to ask the general public what they would want, and if they would support the idea of an art gallery in the old gaol.  Of the hundreds of signatures in only a few days I have only had one objection and He thought more race car venues is what the west needs ..which underscores my point that we need to strengthen and advance the knowledge of art and artisans to as many people as we can.

Step 2-  Replace the springs

Its not enough that we leave the introduction to the arts to be experienced on the internet, as one, sageless politician suggested  (re the new rollout of the broadband network ) I think most people understand the importance of art in our society and the need to experience it in person. To stand in the hallowed halls of the Louvre in Paris and soak up the light and smell and sounds of the place could never be reproduced by a virtual tour of a gallery over a broadband network ..so I'm sorry Simon ..not good enough!! and while we can't bring the Louvre to Parramatta, we could have a place secure enough that at some time, the art in the Louvre may come on tour and we can ask that the privileges of the city be shared with some of the rest of us out west ..We have at our doorstep a venue that lends itself to being equal to the Sydney Art gallery site.  The building is historical to not only Parramatta but to the whole of Australia as its Australia's oldest prison, built in 1842.

Step 4- Prepare for stuffing 

Step3- Tie in the springs 

        The surrounding area of the prison is the old Cumberland hospital ..another area full of historical buildings that are under-utilised and would make an enormous contribution to the area .. and this is were the artisan connection comes in, if the area was dedicated to the arts as a true 'Arts precient' then a good part of the old hospital grounds could be dedicated to the teaching of the crafts that we are losing to the modern factory standard ..Artisan work takes time and effort , and I think if people of all ages were shown what goes into a piece of hand made labour they would perhaps be more inclined to pay for that work to be done and buy a quality piece of whatever it is they want, than to buy cheap imported, low quality products that are only going to end up in land fill in a short time..
The importance of value often has to be shown or taught ..

Step 5- stuff with pure unbleached cotton 

 A quality product, once owned, kept and restored, re-polished , reupholstered and relived by future generations ..that! is the importance of recycling ..falling in love with beautiful hand made products over and over again and never losing them to the sidewalk or landfill.
 As raw materials become rare, then employment opportunities must come from recycling and that doesn't mean always breaking down the material to remake another product ..it can mean restoring and reusing an already existing product ..One of the benefits of a restored piece of furniture is the lack of toxic chemicals that are often used to treat imported goods ..you can see what is going on inside ..you can have a say as to the products used ..all this helps to rid the environment of unwanted chemicals

Step 6- cover with cotton calico

This chair ( one of four ) that I have pictured here is nearly as old as the gaol,  1850 or there abouts .. its difficult to know for sure what the wood is as its been ebonized ( blackened ) but the whole suite has been hand carved .. The hours of craftsmanship, the beauty of form and elegance of style.  All that labour was discarded because the fabric in the seats was outdated and the springs gone .. yes it takes time and effort to restore something beautiful but well worth it ..We as a society may never have the time to produce these works of art again and that is why it is so important to teach the next generation how to restore and reuse them

For those that read my blog and agree with me I would like to invite you to sign my petition to do some thing about it and the start  is to get the Government to set aside the old Parramatta goal as a second campus of the NSW art gallery and I believe that will start the ball rolling in the development of the whole site, into something we could all be proud of.
Go to ..GoPetition .. click on ..A second campus of the NSW art gallery for Parramatta .. and follow the prompts .. and thank you ..

Step 7-pull tight 

Step  8- cover with fabric and finish with piping 

  A list of some of the artisan crafts we lose to modern wasteful production ..
bookbinding
upholstery
french polishing
glassblowing
woodturning
fine furniture making
felting
rug making
shoemaking
Forging, Weaving,  Lapidary, Stained Glass, Toy making , Candle making ...this is but a few of the crafts we could be passing on to the next generation .. most of who don't even know they exist ....