Summary

Feather flower pins for hair and adornment have been made by First Peoples for many generations. One of the earliest in the collection is from 1830s from Victoria.
Glenda Nicholls is from a family of artists renowned for their skills in basket weaving and feather-flower making. This includes her mother, Lettie Nicholls, and grandmother Emma Karpany who was famous for her pine needle baskets. Both of them influenced Glenda:
'I learnt feather-craft at an early age by watching my mother make feather flowers and bouquets. It wasn't until later in my life that I attempted to make feather flowers and was surprised that I was able to pick up the craft so quickly. This craft is important to me because it was handed down from generation to generation and the craft modernised over the years, which shows the diversity of a traditional craft, and Aboriginal cultural change through time.' Glenda Nicholls, 2010

Glenda curated the exhibition 'Weaving the Waterways: Women and Fishing' at the Koorie Heritage Trust which opened on March 11, 2017. In the catalogue Glenda reflects on the importance of the skills passed to her by her family as not only expressions of culture, Country, knowing and belonging, but often as a means of staying financially afloat.

Physical Description

Brooch of feather flowers, (fourteen stalks), combined with sprig of dry flowers and one feather, All bound together with green tape. Yellow dry flowers, feather is yellow and black, multiple feathers are yellow and black striped, with gold paper centres.

Significance

Glenda Nicholls is a Waddi Waddi/ Yorta Yorta/ Ngarrindjeri artist who has won many awards and accolades for her work including the highly prestigious Deadly Art Award at the 2015 Victorian Indigenous Art Awards. Her Aboriginal name is Jule Yarra Minj which means 'little river girl'.
Throughout her childhood, Nicholls observed her mother and grandmother crochet, knit, sew and make beautiful items using feathers and weaving techniques;

'I grew up watching my Mother and Grandmother and my Father when they were making things. Mum and Nan were never idle, they were always doing something with their hands, whether it was knitting, crocheting, making feather flowers, making baskets or other crafts. We were encouraged to watch and learn and do with coaching here and there until we were able to, for example, knit something. I also loved watching Dad making the crayfish nets and boomerangs. I was always amazed to see Dad's finished crayfish net especially when he caught something in it.' Glenda Nicholls, 2015.

Glenda's parents and grandparents taught her to forage plants and feathers and to sit, watch and learn. Camping, fishing and expressing culture and connection through art using the skills taught to her by her elders is still a large part of Glenda's life. Glenda, now a grandmother herself, is committed to passing on these skills to the next generation.

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