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While the colouring-in craze has taken Australia by storm, Gayle Freemantle has been quietly doing her own “bit of therapy” – weaving ribbons into colourful little stars.
“I do them in the cinema, at home, in the workshops...” Ms Freemantle said.
“It’s every bit as relaxing.”
But weaving the stars is more than a past-time for Ms Freemantle, it is part of a world-wide campaign to end violence against women.
Each star takes her several minutes and it took her more than three months, but Ms Freemantle reached her target of weaving 1000 stars by International Women’s Day.
Bendigo Bank employees, where Ms Freemantle works and leads star-weaving workships, made a total of 3000. Bendigo Police Sergeant Margaret Singe also weaved 1000.
In total, Bendigo has now contributed 10,000 stars to the campaign which has the short-term goal to display one million at the Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast in 2018.
The Million Stars To End Violence project began in Brunswick in 2012 by Maryann Talia Pau in response to the rape and murder of journalist Jill Meagher.
The artist was inspired by a Martin Luther King Jr quite which reads: “Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that.”
“Since then, it has grown into an international weaving movement with 500,000 stars being woven by communities in Australia, New Zealand, the Pacific Islands, Europe and the USA,” Ms Talia Pau writes in her blog.
“Some of these stars have been part of stunning displays at the Royal Exhibition Building Melbourne, Queen St Mall Brisbane (G20), Myer Melbourne and the Sydney Opera House.”
The foyer of the Bendigo Bank can now be added to that list, after community organisers unveiled the 10,000 stars woven in Bendigo since the campaign launched in November last year.
But Ms Freemantle’s ambitions for the project don’t end there. She will continue to run monthly workshops at the Bendigo Bank throughout the year, and is inviting the general public to get involved.
“We’ll be holding several workshops throughout the Bendigo Easter Festival,” she said.
To get involved in the campaign, contact Sergeant Singe at the Bendigo Police Station.
