On May 11, 2005, at 12:13, Aurelia Loveman wrote:
Dear Tamara -- In principle, of course I think that "any" fiber is "fair game" for lacemaking. And if somebody produced a chain-link fence in Chantilly or any other lace technique that dazzled my heart, I would indeed produce poems of praise. It's __this__ fence, and __this__technique that I thought were so pedestrian (specially after all the fuss that got made!).
OK, I accept that (though have doubts about how well Chantilly could be made in wire of that size <g>) I also think that some of the fuss that was made about it was due to the fact that the thing got the lace "out" and visible, and we want to encourage that, no? Same as we encourage a novice's first correctly tensioned effort, notwithstanding that the pattern itself is "same old, same old", which those with more experience have left behind some years ago?
Yes, it is a bit galling that a boring pattern in fence-thick wire (or in even thicker rope) gets the public's attention and international acclaim, when more interesting (or even equally boring <g>) lace made in hair-thin thread sells for 50cents at yard-sales. But that's life, so lets be pragmatic and *use* the "curiositty factor" the best we can. "That fence", BTW, might have made a nice juxtaposition to the Cone exhibit, had it been availiable to us; it's in about the same scale as were the boards explaining how stitches are formed :)
Actually, I'm especially touchy on the subject of lace fences myself, at present, as I've been for a couple of weeks working on a gold lace fence for my green silk ferns to rest on... [...] Incidentally, my gold lace fence is not being done in Chantilly or anything like that, but it is a logarithmic grid done in Dieppe ground.
Dieppe ground, hovever "skewed" by the logarithmic grid, might also - by some - be considered uninteresting, *per se*. However, as a *background* (which a fence is), it's excellent; you don't want to focus too much attention on it, taking away from something else - more complex, more involved, prettier. But, whether done in miniscule scale (the way Sue Lambiris does her wire pieces) or in huge one (the way Joep V-whatever did his in "that fence"), there needs to be a balance between the "thick and thin", between the ground and the motif. With the ground (whatever it is) serving - simply - as a medium offsettting the point of interest (motif)...
It is pedestrian! Pedestrian! Uninspiring! Dull! Doesn't stir the heart!
Doesn't stir the heart, especially not that of a lacemaker, no. But it does stir the curiosity of the non-lacemaking public and that's a value we should not discount easily.
I can't say about Wal-Mart, but you might like to consider that CRLG-made lace bookmarks are selling in the Gift Shop for $30 apiece!
When did this happen??? After tax-time (April 15)?
Because, when I was there on April 2 for the Lace Day, the majority of the bookmarks in the basket were priced at around $10-12, with the nicer ones at $15 (Jeri must have bought the best there was <g>).
That's *a third* of the price you're quoting, for the pedestrian (Torchon) ones, and *half* for the really nice ones (saw a Honiton one and a Milanese one which were really eye-catching). Despite the fact, that they were all nicely stuffed into sleeves (more work on top of the making of the bookmarks themselves), and that the sleeves were donated (by Holly Van Sciver and by Susan Wenzel) and, as such, as free as the labour. *None* of the bookmarks I saw were *anywhere near* $30.
As a matter of fact, I was a bit ticked off by the prices in the BMA's Gift Shop...
A hand-made lace bookmark - hovewer simple - has to take *at least* 4 hrs to make, and that's discounting the time spent preparing the pattern and winding bobbins (one good reason to make multiples of the same pattern is to by-pass the "sandwiching" and the pre-pricking). I don't know how much a bookmark sleeve costs, but expect it to be no less than a dollar. Then someone has to put the bookmark into the sleeve - not an altogether easy task, though I suppose, with practice, one improves.
So, selling the result at $10-15 is - definitely - a concerted *charity* effort; nobody gets their "minimum hourly wages" doing this. At the same time, the Museum sells lace-edged (laser-cut, reproduction lace) note-cards (sets of 6, with 6 envelopes) for $10 (simpler sets) or $13 (more complex)... Sure, the lace, even on the simple note-cards is nicer (more complex) than that on the bookmarks, but, how much effort is involved in producing a single note-card? Everything from then on is profit, less the cost of paper and electricity...
-- Tamara P Duvall http://t-n-lace.net/ Lexington, Virginia, USA (Formerly of Warsaw, Poland)
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