Inspiration Photos: Summer Work in the Country

Like many country kids, my summer is spent back in the country in a bid to earn some money to fund my studies (and life) for the rest of the year.

Usually I spend my time in the town in which my parents live so I have the opportunity to work as well as spending time with them. Being so removed from the city/study/fashion life which consumes the majority of my year, working in the country also seems to give me an interesting perspective on the world. It also acts as a fantastic inspiration for my conceptual and design work.

Since I left school in 2009 I have worked in a factory making farm equipment, in an office and also in a delivery job driving a truck all over the country side. This year I traveled further away from the city to a different town to work on a Merino Sheep Stud, something which acted as a fantastic reflection to my graduate collection 'A Life in Wool'.

Over the holidays I experienced the annual harvest, Chaser Bin driving for the Harvester as well as having a go at the Harvester my self. I also had the task of tending to sheep, feeding out grain and minerals as well as needling and drenching while in the yards. On the flip side, I lent my hand to catering for 12 workers and shearers over sheering, which lasted 6 days. Furthermore I spent a lot of time mustering sheep with a few dogs and a motorbike.

All of these experiences, and simply being out on the land, not only provided further perspective to life on the land but also a huge amount of inspiration. This I tried to capture moments whenever I could...

For more images and to catch up what I'm up to with fashion, Check out my Instagram at INK361 or follow @I_CordeliaGibbs

Cordy xx

Curtin Retrospective: 10 years of Fashion

Thank you to Le Fanciulle and Curtin University for the photos

A Life in Wool

Wool

Shearing Shed

Lifestyle

The air is full of dust, suffocating heat glaring from the land and the structures built within. The dogs bark and the men shout along with the regular buzz of engine and clatter of sheep. The space is dotted with wool, a pungent smell of lanoline and ammonia sweep the floors. The workers are a flight of activity, movements repetitive and precise, amidst the disarray of tin, machine, pipe and wood.

The shearing shed stands as an iconic representation of Australia, a building in which poems have been inspired, stories shared and life shown at its most raw; where stress is high, work is hard and anything can happen. The shearing shed is the heart of the Australian sheep farm, whatever the heart may be enduring.

My work is an encapsulation of the character of the shearing shed in an expression of the workmanship, ideologies, lifestyle and culture of the Australian sheep farm. The garments are inspired by the architecture, the work clothes and the human value of the shed to create a level of sensibility toward and celebration of culture of the Australian wool producer.