Building Structures for Erosion Control

Thoughts on Fate, Destiny and Determination tapestry project by Dorothy Clews of Australia.

Building small stone structures  for erosion control and stream bed protection seem to have little to do with tapestry weaving. But yesterday, as I was laying down carefully placed graduated sized rocks at a workshop in the middle of an eroded gully, I was reminded how like tapestry it was and how each rock when fitted into place would almost give a metaphorical click when put in the right place- rather like an area of tapestry will settle in once you have woven on top of it, when previously you were wondering whether you would have to unweave it because it did not look quite right. There is a place for every rock you pick up and in this weaving project there is a place for every tapestry shape. Somewhere in the grand plan of the tapestry there is a place for my shape, joining with all the other shapes that have winged their way to Line’s mailbox.

I can imagine a host of participants under Line's supervision carefully building this multi pieced work, directing the flow of colours. I wonder if the carefully thought out shapes and patterns will fit to the determined cartoon, or whether the shapes will find their own place, their destiny decided on by the structure, texture and shape of each idiosyncratic piece and the person placing them within the overall tapestry. How much is determined by the shape maker? And how much by the person who finds a place for the shape?.