Stitched, coiled cumbungi dianella, sword sedge, raffia - 40cm x 120cm

Mae Adams - BFA. Dip. Ed. I work with plant fibres sustainably grown and harvested from my bushland property at Venus Bay, Victoria, where I live and work. With a background in contemporary painting and sculpture, I am now interested in creating innovative fibre works that convey an affinity with the landscape interpreted through a personal aesthetic.

The fibre works are each a unique item responding to the inherent qualities of the plant materials and the moment in time. They are designed to be both decorative and functional, and to bring the natural elements of the landscape into our everyday lives.

Mae's art work can be found in state and national collections including the National Gallery of Australia in Canberra, the Pat Corrigan Collection in Sydney NSW, the Museum of Contemporary Art in Santiago, Chile, South America and Latrobe Regional Gallery in Victoria. This Work - The plants used are: Coast Sword Sedge, Spiny Headed Matt Rush, She oak needles, pampas grass, watsonia, NZ flax, lemongrass, corn, ginger lily, water iris, day lily, red hot poker. The stitching for all the works is raffia.

All the indigenous species listed above are harvested from my bushland property at Venus Bay. The non-indigenous species are either harvested from roadsides (as they are potentially weeds) or grown in my kitchen garden at Venus Bay.

All the plants have been prepared for weaving by drying for up to 3 months (for some plants), stripping and shredding ready for weaving. The colours and textures are permanent and will not alter significantly over time. The fibres are pre-shrunk (through appropriate drying) and stitched with sustainably harvested raffia, a very strong natural fibre. No artificial dying or other treatments are used in this series, all the plant fibres appear in their natural or unaltered state.

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