Page 83 - To know things we have to have the world inside us

“I cut some harakeke flax and look on You
Tube to find out how to start to weave the
Whariki. It can’t be too hard. It’s just a square
of woven flax mat. I cut the flax and sort the
pieces into two piles of 12 strips the same width
and length. I place some of the flax on the
right and the others on the left and start to fold
and weave. It gets harder and more
complicated as I bend and fold the flax. In the
end it is an odd shape, not square. I ask a Maori
friend how to weave evenly so I can try again.
She tells me that the first woven mat must
be a gift, given away. Now I know the first mat
must be the gift to my tree.”

A scarf, ‘arm knitted’
with a child.

“My present is still a ‘present in the making’ as I continue to arm
knit for my tree despite this project being ‘finished’.”

The gift became not just about the tree but also about the giver, almost as if it was acting as a mirror. Something of
the teacher’s identity was revealed through the gift: their interests, their family, their preferences… Each
person learned things about the other that wouldn’t have been discovered without the gift.

For many the process offered insights into the creative process, changing their view of themselves as creators and
makers.

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