The new UTAS River's Edge building is host to the textile art of Michael Kay. He shares his unusual road to art with Duncan Bailey. Video Rod Thompson.
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00:00 I was in Melbourne and I was a classical percussionist there and got the job as the principal percussionist
00:12 of the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra.
00:14 So I came down here and this was kind of like an interest and then the balance changed.
00:22 So I'm still a musician but yeah, the textiles took over.
00:28 Have you always worked with textiles and fabric?
00:31 Yes, I've had an interest like way back as a kid.
00:36 If I'd need anything fixing my mum would go, "This is how you do it once and now you do
00:42 it, you fix your zip, you do your..."
00:46 And being at college over there I can remember getting into knitting and we'd go on tour
00:51 and I'd pass this thing around to all the other students and we'd all be sitting there
00:55 making this giant...
00:56 So yeah, there's been an interest all the way through.
00:59 So being introduced to sewing from your mum kind of spurred that on?
01:02 Yeah, it did.
01:03 I remember all my mates, I think there was a thing in the Women's Weekly which was how
01:11 to make a hood out of a blanket.
01:13 So I made all these, so we were all like something out of Lord of the Rings or whatever with
01:19 our hoods on.
01:21 So yeah, there's always been an interest in textiles in one form but yeah, it turned into
01:26 my main whatever in the end.
01:29 [BLANK_AUDIO]