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Marie Cook

ATW weavers working on ‘Wattle’ 1979, designed by Marie Cook, woven by Marie Cook, Gordon Cameron, Ilona Fornalski, Kathy Hope, Jan Nelson, Cheryl Thornton, Wendy Webb & Irja West, wool and cotton, 3.66 x 6.09m. Photograph: ATW.
ATW weavers working on ‘Wattle’ 1979, designed by Marie Cook, woven by Marie Cook, Gordon Cameron, Ilona Fornalski, Kathy Hope, Jan Nelson, Cheryl Thornton, Wendy Webb & Irja West, wool and cotton, 3.66 x 6.09m. Photograph: ATW.
‘Wattle’ 1979, designed by Marie Cook, woven by Marie Cook, Gordon Cameron, Ilona Fornalski, Kathy Hope, Jan Nelson, Cheryl Thornton, Wendy Webb & Irja West, wool and cotton, 3.66 x 6.09m. Photograph: ATW.
‘Wattle’ 1979, designed by Marie Cook, woven by Marie Cook, Gordon Cameron, Ilona Fornalski, Kathy Hope, Jan Nelson, Cheryl Thornton, Wendy Webb & Irja West, wool and cotton, 3.66 x 6.09m, in situ at the Sofitel Hotel, Melbourne. Photograph: ATW.
Artists
Marie Cook
Size
3.66 x 6.09m
Location
Melbourne
Collection
Sofitel Hotel
Year
1979
Materials
Wool
Cotton
Weavers
Weavers: 
Marie Cook
Gordon Cameron
Ilona Fornalski
Kathy Hope
Jan Nelson
Cheryl Thornton
Wendy Webb
Irja West

Marie Cook designed Wattle in 1979, as a companion piece to Pink Heath, woven in the same year for the Sofitel Hotel in Melbourne.

As oppose to Pink Heath, which was woven on it's side, Wattle was woven horizontally. This allowed more weavers to work on the project and facilitated the decision to purchase a new 8m loom for the Workshop.

Wattle and Pink Heath have remained popular depictions of Australian flora and are still much loved by Melbournians.

Detail of ‘Pink Heath’ 1979, designed by Marie Cook, woven by Marie Cook, Mary Coughlan, Sue Hick, Andrew May & Iain Young, wool and cotton, 3.65 x 6.09m. Photograph: ATW.
ATW weavers working on ‘Pink Heath’ 1979, designed by Marie Cook, woven by Marie Cook, Mary Coughlan, Sue Hick, Andrea May & Iain Young, wool and cotton, 3.65 x 6.09m.
Cutting Off Ceremony for ‘Pink Heath’ 1979, designed by Marie Cook, woven by Marie Cook, Mary Coughlan, Sue Hick, Andrew May & Iain Young, wool and cotton, 3.65 x 6.09m. Photograph: ATW.
Artists
Marie Cook
Size
3.65 x 6.09m
Location
Melbourne
Collection
Sofitel Hotel
Year
1979
Materials
Wool
Cotton
Weavers
Weavers: 
Marie Cook
Sue Hick
Andrea May
Iain Young

ATW weaver and artist Marie Cook designed Pink Heath specifically for the Sofitel Hotel in 1979.

The choice to weave the tapestry on it's side limited the number of weavers that could work on the piece. Five weavers took nearly one year to complete the tapestry and it was the Workshop's most time-consuming project to date.

Pink Heath was created alongside Cook's Wattle. The Cutting Off Ceremony for Pink Heath in 1980 was a europhic occasion, with all the weavers dressed in pink to match the tapestry.