Wadja Wadja woman Vivianne-Lee Watson was working at her local community's women's shelter when she was asked to attend a weaving workshop.
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she → work → workshop
And the rest — as the saying goes — is history.
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saying → go → ?
"My only aim was to transport the ladies out that day, and one of the facilitators came and asked me, 'Do you want to learn how to weave?'"
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you → transport → me
Ms Watson reflected.
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Watson → reflect → ?
"I had in my head, 'No, I don't have an artistic bone in me.'
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I → have → me
"
She started with a bracelet and, within 24 hours, she had made a basket.
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she → start → basket
That was six-and-a-half years ago, and it quickly became more than a hobby.
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it → become → hobby
Earlier this year, Ms Watson resigned from her stable full-time job to take her side hustle further.
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Watson → resign → hustle
"I found that it [my job] wasn't filling my cup as much as I thought it would, which is why I chose to resign … [and] step into my business full time," she said.
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she → find → business
"I'm just shocked by the many doors that have opened for me."
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that → shock → me
Over the past few months, she has held workshops, which are free for anyone to join, in her hometown of Woorabinda, an Indigenous community 170 kilometres south-west of Rockhampton in central Queensland.
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anyone → hold → Queensland
"It's been very rewarding for myself, but also for the women, seeing the ladies come out … having my elders here and teaching them something, when they've been the one that has been teaching me," she said.
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she → see → me
It's also created a safe space for locals.
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It → create → locals
"It's a good time out for us ladies to be together, a good yarning circle," Woorabinda resident and Mayi-Yapi woman Annie Asse said.
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Asse → say → ?
"If someone doesn't want to do something, they can simply just sit here and have a yarn.
"
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they → want → yarn
We don't judge nobody, we're all here for each other, and it's good for our mindset.
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it → judge → mindset
For Bwgcolman woman Veronica Johnson, who is from Palm Island and moved to Woorabinda this year, it has been a way to make friends.
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it → move → friends
It's brought me out of my shell … it's very lovely," she said.
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she → bring → shell
"It's given me that inspiration, consideration with the women, how to connect within ourselves.
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It → give → ourselves
"
Sharing crafts, traditions and culture is an important part of ensuring ancient Indigenous ways don't get lost in a modern society.
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ways → share → society
"It keeps people grounded for who they are, where they come from, why they matter in life, basically," Woorabinda resident and Wadja Wadja woman Patricia Rankin said.
"
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Rankin → keep → life
We want them all here just to learn something, and any little problems they may have, they might connect with someone.
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they → want → someone
"
Indigenous weaving practices date back tens of thousands of years, with ancestors crafting baskets, dilly bags, nets and fish traps from natural resources like reeds, bark and plants.
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ancestors → date → reeds
"Something I'm very passionate about is to help people reconnect to their roots, because that was something that I struggled with for so long, wanting to know who I was and where I came from," Ms Watson said.
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Watson → help → where
It has been a way for her to connect with her family heritage, not just the Woorabinda Wadja Wadja mob she grew up around, but the Mayi-Yapi in the Gulf country.
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she → connect → country
"I'm not just an Aboriginal woman, but I'm a Torres Strait Islander woman too, and weaving is a part of that side of my family as well," Ms Watson said.
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Watson → say → family
While she has taught people of all ages, being able to pass her skills onto her two daughters, aged seven and 10, has been extra special.
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being → teach → daughters
Her eldest was recently commissioned by a local health service worker to weave a pair of earrings.
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eldest → commission → earrings
"The smile that she had on her face … and she got paid for it, so she thought that she was deadly with it," Ms Watson said.
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Watson → have → it
The Aporia