Page 3675 - Week 10 - Thursday, 19 September 2019
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Bill, as a whole, as amended, agreed to.
Bill, as amended, agreed to.
Adjournment
Motion (by Mr Gentleman) proposed:
That the Assembly do now adjourn.
Jeannie (Fay) Skyring OAM—tribute
MR RAMSAY (Ginninderra—Attorney-General, Minister for the Arts, Creative Industries and Cultural Events, Minister for Building Quality Improvement, Minister for Business and Regulatory Services and Minister for Seniors and Veterans) (4.09): I rise this afternoon to celebrate the immense contribution that Fay Skyring made to the arts and crafts community of our city and our nation.
Fay died on 11 August this year at the age of 87, after a long and fruitful life of creativity. I extend my sympathy to Fay’s husband, Graham, and to her daughters, Fiona, Sally and Melissa, during this difficult and sad time. I also acknowledge Graham and a number of other family members, friends and colleagues who have joined us in the Assembly today.
Recently I was privilege to attend a memorial service for Fay at CMAG, and I was able to hear many tributes to her, including from Graham, whose love for Fay and her achievements was so evident in his moving words, which remembered Fay as a loving wife and mother, a great photographer and colourist and a weaver of very significant note.
After Fay moved to Canberra with her family in the 1970s, she was introduced to weaving. She was taught by Pam McDougall, one of the early members of the Canberra Spinners and Weavers, and became a member of the group herself, exhibiting and attending classes and workshops. Fay was awarded a grant by the National Capital Development Commission to study textiles in Japan, and returned eager to establish a weaving workshop where the Canberra community could learn this craft.
She was a generous mentor and a wonderful teacher. Fay’s students have spoken of her meticulous attention to detail, and her great patience and friendship while they were learning the complicated skill of weaving at the Skye Workshop, when she established the space in 1985 at Ainslie Village, funded by a commonwealth employment program grant. Several of her students went on to develop careers in textiles.
Fay was an active member of Craft ACT and she participated in a key exhibition of theirs, Office Environment, which aimed to showcase local craftspeople during the planning for Australian Parliament House. Fay’s skill as a weaver caught the eye of
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