The rope now

This rope journey will continue until
31st October 2016,
when it will be exhibited in
'ebb and flow'
with untethered
at Wollarobba, Hornsby, Australia

... and in it's early days ...

ATASDA Fibreline cover

my work
'convict cloth'
graces the front cover of the latest
Fibreline cover
the members only magazine from ATASDA

lace thinking 2

on paper

thinking

how to represent the over-abundance of men

(ratio of men to women on the first fleet was about 7:1)

Susannah Blanchet

Mary Bolton

Rebecca Boulton

Jane Bonner

Mary Branham

Mary Braund

Elizabeth Bruce

Margaret Burn

Sarah Bordeaux

Martha Burkitt

18 - 27

extrapolation from week 6

a design for lace?

Week 6 Fleet June 18 - 24 1787

I am trying not to be discouraged by my
less than inspiring drawing skills
the purpose of the exercise is the tedium of a repetitive task
so some weeks will show more attention than others
not that I specifically want perfection
but some sort of essence would be gratifying

tracing paper
initial group of names of convict women

Mary Abel

Esther Abrahams + Ester Rosanna

Mary Adams

Mary Allen 

Mary Allen 1765 - 1843

Susannah Allen

Tamasin Allen

Elizabeth Anderson

Frances Anderson

Sarah Ault

Martha Baker

Ruth Baldwin

Elizabeth Barber

Elizabeth Bason

Ann Beardsley

Elizabeth Beckford 1718 - 1787

Sarah Bellamy

List of convicts sourced from Mundle, Rob The First Fleet Harper Collins (2014)

Births and deaths from Fellowship of First Fleeters website (accessed March 21 2016)

week 5 fleet time 11 - 17 June 1787

mixed up in all this planning for a new colony, 

this solution to the problem of overcrowded jails

were the women

they were bound up in it all

a small but very integral part

extrapolation from week 3

I took the overlay drawing from week 3 and played with it
made new structures
joined things up
created something new

week 4 fleet time June 4 - 10 1787

Most of this week was spent in port in Tenneriffe. They stocked up on fresh water and supplies. A break in routine perhaps. Not the constant creaking and jolting/rocking of the ship. Maybe some time on deck, eyes drinking in the sight of land. How much longer? How many more storms to weather? How many more nights and days down below?

addition of watercolour - something a bit different

I have written about the exhibition I went to -
The Charged Object - at Gallery Lane Cove
deliberately un-readable.
The ebb and flow of my life
my art practice

week 3

What was life like for the 180 convict women on the first voyage to Australia. They had no idea where they were going. Day followed night followed day. Their days ebbed and flowed, slipped into and out of each other, the same thing, no respite, just their own thoughts.

each strand is a series connected shapes

overlay of tracing paper
just some of the detail picked out

week 2

I came to this project as I have been researching convict women. I am interested in the history that is left behind. We know a lot about the major figures (usually men) in history, but what about the people who lived their own significant lives and left nothing - ordinary people like me.

week 1

I am twining a rope, trying to add a bit each day for 289 days. Maybe I wont do it every day, but most days.This rope will represent the ebb and flow of daily life on board the ships of the first fleet to Australia in 1787. There are 11 strands in my rope - one for each ship in the fleet. Together with my twining work, I will make a sketch a week - of the rope. I will try to vary my techniques, while basically drawing the same thing over and over.

I don't necessarily like this, but it is a start