THERE is nothing quite so sobering as watching the sun arc into its final resting place of an evening – the same mechanical loop it follows each day, without fail.
For many, finding beauty in the mundane brings with it a sense of calm purpose – and for Loani Prior, this materialised in the form of a saggy old tea cosy.
Now working on her fourth book, Pretty Funny Tea Cosies, to be released in June – following Wild Tea Cosies, Really Wild Tea Cosies and How Tea Cosies Changed the World – it is safe to say Loani thinks this humble household item is pretty important.
Loani said her love affair with knitting began at her first book launch in 2008 when a complete stranger named Joan brought along her special tea cosy – 80 years old, threadbare, tannin-stained and well-loved - and narrated its story.
“Her grandmother had made the cosy when she was a young bride and used it every day of her life,” Loani said.
“Joan’s mother had whisked the cosy away proprietarily on the grandmother’s death and now it was Joan’s.”
Loani said as Joan stood there bravely sharing a bit of herself, her memories, all bundled into a funny old tea cosy, she knew deep down that like other ordinary items, they were extraordinary.
After meeting Joan, Loani figured there must be an abundance of others out there with a similar story.
This simple idea snowballed into an emotive exhibition called Portraits of a Tea Cosy, and after being launched at the Jumpers and Jazz Festival in Warwick in July 2013, the exhibition will have travelled to eight regional galleries in Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria by mid-2015.
“Most importantly, we found a very enthusiastic and supportive driver in Karina Devine, the Director of the Warwick Art Gallery,” Loani said.
“She gave us legs, found our funding and launched the Portraits of a Tea Cosy exhibition.”
Teaming up with Mark Crocker, who photographed her first book, Loani travelled to six cities and towns across three states, in search of people with stories to share.
Recording 70 people in total, Loani said people rushed at the chance to tell the story of a loved one and to show the evidence of that love.
“I had to have a box of tissues with me – for me – those stories were so precious,” she said.
“There is so much to love about the making of Portraits. After all, it was not about the tea cosies, but about people.”
Despite being endowed with a Papua name meaning beautiful flower, this bush kid was keen to ensure her stories reached regional Queenslanders.
“I was born in Innisfail in North Queensland but grew up in Port Moresby, then went to boarding school in Brisbane with all the lovely country girls from Roma and Longreach and beyond,” she said,
“Yep - I’m definitely a proper Queenslander.”
While having never studied art or textiles, Loani said she is not an artist but a “funny knitter.”
One thing Loani will calim is a penchant for good design - something she has seen evolve throughout her projects.
“In the beginning, for the first book, Wild Tea Cosies (published in 2008) design ideas were few and far between,” she said.
“I was bound by the shape of the teapot – when it occurred to me that I might leave that shape, a light bulb came on and there was a great leap forward in ideas.
“And my knitting skills were limited and each new sculptural shape that appeared in my imagination required a lesson – or three – and a great deal of trial and error.”
With form and function front of mind, Loani said ideas came from everywhere - Lady Gaga, Art Deco lamps, tribal masks, a coral reef or Melbourne Cup Day.
