Paper Making at Curtin springs
Last weekend 5 Alice friends drove down to Curtin Springs, 80ks east of Uluru, to make paper from native grasses at the paper mill the Severin family have created in the Old Abattoir on the station.
Arriving at Curtin Springs just after 10am, Saturday was nearly a full day of paper making: it was cool, it was wet, it was endlessly fascinating and very productive. It was also a wonderful cooperative activity, as much of what we did required more than one set of novice hands. With Amee and Lydia’s expert guidance we made beautiful paper from Spinifex, Kangaroo and Kerosene Grass. To finish the day we drove to a vantage point to see the sunset over Mt Conner. We sipped champagne and I (Deb) drew the mountain, (on the beautiful paper of course). The next day we used the paper we had made to experiment further, make things … engage in creative play. I took along a host of tools and materials for this purpose and we set up a workspace in the original homestead, the Bough Shed.
It was a great weekend, not only as a creative escape, but for its insights into the life of a working cattle station; a glimpse at the tenacity, ingenuity and sheer hard work, that has kept this one family on that difficult, beautiful land for nearly 60 years. It is interesting to see those same qualities put to a creative end. The resulting paper is exceptional. It is the possibility of working with a material made from the land that is so inspiring.
Click any image to see slide show and captions.
