Indrani Perera

poet, publisher & mentor

Category: Craft

Storylines: Voices in the Street

Exploring new places is one of my absolute favourite things to do. All those new little nooks and crannies to explore. Those new cafes and bookshops to discover. The hidden gems just waiting to be found. On the weekend I was lucky enough to be able to combine my twin loves of exploring and writing when I caught public transport to the Voices in the Street: Storylines poetry workshop hosted by Mothertoungue, a long running Naarm poetry night.

It was a rare, sunny day here in late winter and I had an enjoyable stroll from the station to the Ivanhoe library where the workshop was being held. I found the cutest ever bookshop that almost took all my money (but not quite) and a bulk food store that had the best trail mix ever and gorgeous mini white Persian figs. Oh my. They were so good that I went back and bought more after the workshop!

When I walked into the workshop room I was greeted with a table filled with art supplies, flowers, leaves, feathers, an emu egg and a couple of coolamons made by Aunty Sharon. It was my first clue that this workshop was going to be anything but ordinary!

Aunty Sharon Hughes and Kristen Munro from the Storylines Aboriginal Writers Group were our facilitators. We started with a beautiful movement practice led by Kristin that called on the land and the elements. We were guided through a fabulous writing prompt to create five lines of poetry. We then learnt how to make mini books and spent the rest of the afternoon happily collaging and decorating our mini books with the art supplies on the table.

It was so wonderful to be making something with my hands again. Poetry, art and books? I was in heaven!

Thanks Aunty Sharon, Kristin and Mothertongue for a fabulous afternoon!

August 26, 2024
Cabinets of Curiosity

As you know, cabinets of curiosity (or Wunderkammer as they were originally known) are my latest craft obsession.

Cabinets of curiosity originated in the Golden Age of Exploration (1400 – 1600s). Intrepid European explorers were discovering 'new' lands and bringing back all manner of curious specimens. Wealthy collectors displayed their collections of exotic and rare objects from foreign parts in special rooms known as cabinets. The collectors would share their curios with their guests. These collections were the precursor to modern museums. In fact, Hans Sloane's collection was so huge it ended up being the start of the British Museum.

These collections were organised into categories of: artificialia (manmade objects), naturalia (shells, skulls, monsters), exotica (exotic plant and animal specimens) and scientifica (instruments and tools).

I've always been a collector of curios, nick-nicks and gadgets. Now that I'm keen to make my very own cabinet of curiosity I have an excuse to indulge in this passion hobby obsession. Collecting the bits and pieces is half the fun!

June 21, 2021
Gratitude

It's been a long time since I've made anything with my hands. So long in fact, that I can't remember the last thing I made. Terrible for someone who professes to be a maker! I've been caught up in getting ready for the launch of my second collection of poetry, Pas De Deux which happened last week and haven't had any time for craft. Shocking!

Today is a public holiday and there's nowhere I have to be so I am using this little window of time to get a few things made. The first is some thank you cards to send out the lovely people who helped make my book launch such a success.

I went through my card making stash this morning and found these strips of eco dyed paper which I am turning into some concertina style cards. I"d chucked them in the drawer straight after dyeing so they needed a lot of ironing to get out all the creases. I know – ironing paper seems like a bizarre thing to do. The first time I ironed paper I was freaking out, afraid that I would scorch the paper or set it on fire. But no, neither of those things happened. Before you all go out and iron paper you need to know that I'm talking about heavy duty watercolour paper here, not your standard printer paper. I'm not sure how that would cope with being ironed.

I'm really chuffed with the vintage toast rack I picked up at a local market bazaar shop. It's prefect for holding pieces of eco dyed paper that are drying out or books that are waiting be bound.

What are you doing this long weekend with your extra time? Making something I hope!

April 2, 2021
Out of My Head

For most of this year I've been smitten with the poetry bug. Writing it, reading it, talking it. Dipping my toe into the beautiful world of spoken word and open mics. Having my first feature as a spoken word artist. Entering competitions and submitting to journals. It's been amazing and incredible and hectic and challenging and rewarding. All the things, all the time.

Meanwhile, my body's been telling me I'm run down and need a break. Like all good artists, I ignored it until I couldn't any more. Some time last week I reached saturation point. To be honest, it's been coming for a while. For the last couple of months, I've felt stressed and tense. I longed for a break from the routine. I went to Bali which was wonderful but when I came home I was still carrying stress around with me.

What I needed to do was get out of my head and into my body. Use my hands to create something I needed. Take some time out to follow my curiosity. Give myself a day off to do whatever I felt like, even if it wasn't achieving anything on my 'to do' list. Especially if it wasn't achieving anything on my 'to do' list.

So this weekend I did just that. Sat in the sun and read a book. Ate yummy food. Made a mess of my study then tidied it up again. Played lots of games with my girls (Citadels Deluxe, Seven Wonders and Coup if you're wondering). Made a little notebook with an eco-dyed cover. Sawed a tree branch into little counters to turn into runes. Fixed a journal for my girl. Got lost on the internet looking at growth mindset posters.

It was so good, I want more. More of that relaxed feeling of flow. Less of the feeling of obligation and woe. (When you work for yourself, from home, it's so very easy to fall into the trap of always working and never switching off). I want to be more nurturing with gentle, nourishing acts of kindness towards myself and those I love.

Maybe I could make a day off a week a regular thing. What do you reckon?

October 7, 2019
Handmade

There's just so much to love about Bali. The warm, tropical weather. The patient, friendly Balinese. The bustling streets and chaotic traffic. And for me, all the beautiful handicrafts. People are still using traditional methods to make the things they need.

The Balinese still use their hands and time to create objects of beauty. From the everyday palm leaf offering baskets to my favourites – the elaborate penjour lining the streets at festival time. Handmade is part of life. It is valued and respected. It is important and necessary.

When you travel around Bali you get to see people making their wares. From the statue seller carving wood in his stall to the woman sitting at the loom at an historic site, weaving sarongs the traditional way.

And it has so much heart and soul. You can feel the spirits of the makers peering out at you as you browse the souvenirs in the street stalls. Wood carvings, silver jewellery, sarongs, scarves, chocolate, coffee all bear the idiosyncratic marks of their makers.

Visiting Bali was balm for my maker's soul. It was so wonderful to be in a country filled with makers. It's this heritage we need to reclaim. This connection to our bodies and our creative spirit. Let's make the things we need!

September 18, 2019
Doing Business

Wool blankets aren't the only thing I've been up cycling lately. My latest foray into reusing saw me turn a previous design into an updated business card. The original business card was created by my super talented friend Amy. She's the one responsible for the lovely banner you see at the top of my blog. Everyone needs a friend who can tell you straight out – 'Those colours hurt my eyeballs,' when you're trying to dip your toe into the world of design. Design is not for the faint hearted I tells ya!

I drew the sun logo almost twenty years ago when I was backpacking solo through Europe. My name, Indrani, means goddess of the sun and moon and I originally intended it to be a tattoo. It never quite made it on to my skin but has already done time as the logo for my now defunct Easy shop, The Esoteric Sun. It's great seeing the logo in its latest incarnation.

I read a long time ago about successful people having a string of failed attempts (or interesting adventures depending on your point of view) behind them. I think the term was something like 'Fail fast and often.' The idea being the sooner you try things and discard them, then refine your ideas and try again, the better. Eventually, you're sure to hit gold. I may not have a string of failures (life moves pretty slowly around these parts) but there are a few diversions in my history for sure. I haven't hit gold yet but I'm having fun making and writing.

I created the images for the front and back of the cards with the free app, Canva. It's a great tool for novice designers like me. I then sat on the floor and cut them out by hand using a guillotine while waiting for my daughters to finish their craft class. #feelinghappy

June 26, 2018
Doing Business

Wool blankets aren't the only thing I've been up cycling lately. My latest foray into reusing saw me turn a previous design into an updated business card. The original business card was created by my super talented friend Amy. She's the one responsible for the lovely banner you see at the top of my blog. Everyone needs a friend who can tell you straight out – 'Those colours hurt my eyeballs,' when you're trying to dip your toe into the world of design. Design is not for the faint hearted I tells ya!

I drew the sun logo almost twenty years ago when I was backpacking solo through Europe. My name, Indrani, means goddess of the sun and moon and I originally intended it to be a tattoo. It never quite made it on to my skin but has already done time as the logo for my now defunct Easy shop, The Esoteric Sun. It's great seeing the logo in its latest incarnation.

I read a long time ago about successful people having a string of failed attempts (or interesting adventures depending on your point of view) behind them. I think the term was something like 'Fail fast and often.' The idea being the sooner you try things and discard them, then refine your ideas and try again, the better. Eventually, you're sure to hit gold. I may not have a string of failures (life moves pretty slowly around these parts) but there are a few diversions in my history for sure. I haven't hit gold yet but I'm having fun making and writing.

I created the images for the front and back of the cards with the free app, Canva. It's a great tool for novice designers like me. I then sat on the floor and cut them out by hand using a guillotine while waiting for my daughters to finish their craft class. #feelinghappy

June 26, 2018
A Few Of My Favourite Things

I thought I'd pop on the other side of the camera for a change and say "Hi! How are you doing?" I really hope you are well as we dive into the darkest, coldest part of the year.

It's time for me to slow down and reflect on my journey so far. I find it so easy to look forward to the next project, the next creation, the next challenge. I rarely look behind and take the time to say, "Wow! Look at all the amazing things I have done, the places I have been and the people I have met." In this post I'm going to share some of my favourite things with you; most of them I have made myself.

In the first photo I'm wearing a cardigan made for me by my wonderful friend, Catriona the crochet queen. Trina does incredible things with wool and a crochet hook. I'm in awe of her talents. And very warm when wearing one of her handmade pieces! I'm also wearing a pendant I carved from bone during a bone carving workshop held here in Melbourne a couple of years ago. The bone is from a cow and was prepared by the teacher prior to the class. Using bone as a material fits with my ethos of using the whole of an animal we have killed to eat and wasting none of its precious gift.

The green bag you can see in the second photo is from The Village Continuum festival where I have taught shoe making and Introduction to Leather Craft to lots of lovely folk. I got the bag the year I was part of the crew organising the festival and it was a wonderful experience to be co-creating such an amazing event. The bag holds some of my favourite pieces.

Peeping out of the bag on the right are a pair of orange leather shoes. I was inspired to make them after teaching shoe making and seeing the amazing designs created by my students, They're a little scuffed and worn but I love them just them the same. They are my favourite pair of soft soled moccasins. When I wear them my feet feel so loved and held.

Next to the shoes is a wool scarf I dyed at the very first Wild By Nature Village Camp run by Firekeepers. It was my first time teaching eco-dyeing to a large group of people and the first time I dyed wool on an open fire. Lots of firsts! There's been a lot of scarves since then (you can never have too many scarves, right?) but this one is still my favourite!

The basket at the back of the bag is made from raffia given to me by Meli, a very dear friend. Learning a new craft is always a wonderful experience and basket weaving is the most recent addition to my craft skill set.

All these handmade items are wrapped up with memories, song, laughter and love. It's wonderful to have things to wear and use that I have made with other people. Using them connects me to my past, the people I shared it with and the place where we made beautiful and useful objects together.

The third photo is a tiny Australian wildflower. I love the way our native flowers are unobtrusive. To see them you really have to look closely or you will miss them. Like a lot of beauty in life – sit still and look and you will see.

I hope you're well and I really appreciate you taking the time to read my musings on the creative process. Thanks for joining me on my adventures!

June 18, 2018
A Few Of My Favourite Things

I thought I'd pop on the other side of the camera for a change and say "Hi! How are you doing?" I really hope you are well as we dive into the darkest, coldest part of the year.

It's time for me to slow down and reflect on my journey so far. I find it so easy to look forward to the next project, the next creation, the next challenge. I rarely look behind and take the time to say, "Wow! Look at all the amazing things I have done, the places I have been and the people I have met." In this post I'm going to share some of my favourite things with you; most of them I have made myself.

In the first photo I'm wearing a cardigan made for me by my wonderful friend, Catriona the crochet queen. Trina does incredible things with wool and a crochet hook. I'm in awe of her talents. And very warm when wearing one of her handmade pieces! I'm also wearing a pendant I carved from bone during a bone carving workshop held here in Melbourne a couple of years ago. The bone is from a cow and was prepared by the teacher prior to the class. Using bone as a material fits with my ethos of using the whole of an animal we have killed to eat and wasting none of its precious gift.

The green bag you can see in the second photo is from The Village Continuum festival where I have taught shoe making and Introduction to Leather Craft to lots of lovely folk. I got the bag the year I was part of the crew organising the festival and it was a wonderful experience to be co-creating such an amazing event. The bag holds some of my favourite pieces.

Peeping out of the bag on the right are a pair of orange leather shoes. I was inspired to make them after teaching shoe making and seeing the amazing designs created by my students, They're a little scuffed and worn but I love them just them the same. They are my favourite pair of soft soled moccasins. When I wear them my feet feel so loved and held.

Next to the shoes is a wool scarf I dyed at the very first Wild By Nature Village Camp run by Firekeepers. It was my first time teaching eco-dyeing to a large group of people and the first time I dyed wool on an open fire. Lots of firsts! There's been a lot of scarves since then (you can never have too many scarves, right?) but this one is still my favourite!

The basket at the back of the bag is made from raffia given to me by Meli, a very dear friend. Learning a new craft is always a wonderful experience and basket weaving is the most recent addition to my craft skill set.

All these handmade items are wrapped up with memories, song, laughter and love. It's wonderful to have things to wear and use that I have made with other people. Using them connects me to my past, the people I shared it with and the place where we made beautiful and useful objects together.

The third photo is a tiny Australian wildflower. I love the way our native flowers are unobtrusive. To see them you really have to look closely or you will miss them. Like a lot of beauty in life – sit still and look and you will see.

I hope you're well and I really appreciate you taking the time to read my musings on the creative process. Thanks for joining me on my adventures!

June 18, 2018
Plants Are People Too

I'm sure it will come as no surprise to learn I took along my pots, rusty bits of metal, leaves and scarves to the Wild By Nature Village Camp last week for a spot of eco dyeing! I couldn't pass up the opportunity to dye outdoors with a group of people, foraging from the land and over an open fire. It's my favourite way to eco dye. Next time I want to get the water from the creek – then it will be the perfect craft connection to place.

Forty adults and kids came along over two sessions to learn the magic of eco dyeing. It is such a wonderful craft for all ages and a great way to connect to nature on a deeper level. As well as connecting to place, we also connected to plants. I asked the lovely Annie and Genevieve to speak about plant connection practices before we all went out foraging.

The key is to talk to the plant first, establish a relationship and then ask if there is something you can trade (hair, fingernail, saliva, a song) for some leaves, seed pods or bark. Saying thank you for the gift is also good manners.

I usually forage from the ground when using native plants because I don't want to harm them by picking leaves from the tree. After doing the plant connection I felt more comfortable about taking leaves from a plant.

Responsible wild crafting and foraging means harvesting from healthy plants, taking 10% or less of the plant and only taking if there is more than one plant of that type in the area.

When using natural materials and harvesting them straight from the land, we must remember plants are alive and they can feel pain. We need to honour their gifts and treat them with respect.

April 19, 2018