Good Morning, friends and lacemakers!
I've just read (most of) Jeri Ames' comments about mixing threads, and am compelled to respond. Jeri, I really must respectfully disagree with you
on the issue of experimentation.
I respect your very extensive knowledge of textiles and embroidery.
Certainly we are all grateful for the advice you give us on caring for
our antique laces. But, you remind me of a professor I had when I
studied Art History... her specialty was Renaissance - specifically
Italian Renaissance - and she had no tolerance what-so-ever for the
living, breathing artist. In fact, she did everything she could to
limit the amount of time I spent in studio art classes! I believe that
you have made an assumption that all lacemakers should be making lace
which looks like and is used as it was two or three hundred years ago.
And you recommend that we use the threads which generations of
lacemakers before us have tested out. I happen to be one of those
lacemakers who loves to replicate the old laces, and believe me, if I
could buy 14 - 16 band linen, I would use it in a heartbeat!! However,
the fine linens used on that exquisite old lace is no longer available,
so I am forced to "experiment", that is, to substitute something else
for what was tried and true.
But beyond that, lacemakers today are not just interested in replicating
the old laces. As someone who enjoys working Binche lace, I also enjoy
working the modern designs - for example, by members of the Master Class
of the Kantcentrum. These patterns are challenging, incorporate the
traditional methods, and are designed to be displayed rather than worn
on clothing. The designers used Egyptian Cotton with silk for the
gimp. In Rockford, I studied with Anny Noben-Slegers (one of the Master
Class designers), and for the piece I am working, the gimp is reeled
silk, wound with two threads on each bobbin. Yes, she and her
co-designers experimented to find the size, twist (or lack of...) and
sheen that they were looking for. Numerous design elements were
determined "by committee", since there were twelve designs in the
overall collection (The Zodiac), and each was designed by one person.
If lacemakers did not experiment, then we would still be cutting threads
out of our embroidery... to get a more open appearance. Lace, by
definition, is an experiment in the twisting and crossing of threads.
We have lots of evidence that experimentation has been the norm since
lace was first invented... There are metallic laces, lace made with
horse-hair, linen lace, and as you observed, some of the lace that has
survived to the present is not very attractive or in such great shape.
That suggests that there was probably more lace made that simply didn't
survive because it was not prized. To say that we should not experiment
is to take away the creative muse that gave life to this art form in the
first place!
I am not a designer. I am content to make beautiful lace that someone
else has designed. But please to not tell our modern designers that
they don't know what they are doing!! THEY are pushing the envelope.
THEY are designing the lace of today. THEY are working with all of the
wonderful fibers and colors that are available today and sharing their
findings with others. They are learning the characteristics of various
fibers, and exploiting these characteristics in the new designs that
they develop. It takes a great deal of time and dedication to do
this... I remember several years ago, watching Tamara work out a design
in Milanese. This was when she discovered Tire silks, and bought the
whole line, if I remember correctly! Her designs did not spring from
the drawing board fully developed!! She had to work the first draft,
consider the problem(s), invent solutions, rework, change colors, modify
thread-paths to keep the colors where they needed to be... In summary,
the entire process was calculated experimentation. And until you've
seen a piece of Milanese worked in the lovely silk colors, you simply
can't appreciate how satisfying it is to work such a piece. Sadly,
Tamara is not still designing Milanese in silk... she is busy
experimenting on other things - such as how the Renaissance laces were
constructed... and yes, it takes trial and error to unlock those
secrets too.
So I think it's important for our newcomers to lace (and those of us who
have been at it a while), to remember that lace is a grand experiment,
there are no lace police, use whatever fibers strike your fancy, and
above all - enjoy your work!! Some of the best of the designs today
will be treasured in the future, lots of our lace will be discarded, and
like any other art, it is impossible to predict which designs will be
tomorrow's "classics".
Clay
Clay Blackwell
Lynchburg, VA USA
Jeri Ames wrote:
"For some reason, we have members who wish to
experiment-experiment-experiment,
without a foundation of the tried-and-true lessons learned and practiced
by generations of lacemakers before us. They learned the basics at the
knees
of experts. Some entrepreneurs must have attempted such experiments. If
they could stretch their investment-in-threads money, they would have. You
don't see illogical experiments in quality laces of great beauty. You do
sometimes see flimsy laces that will snag easily, and probably they are in
such poor condition that you will not invest in them for your lace
collections.
Lesson learned.
We all have to agree, I hope, that the old laces are very beautiful. They
did not make an emotional "statement". They strove for beauty and some
degree
of usefulness, and we respond with an emotional appreciation.
As I read about mixing two threads of different materials or twists on the
same bobbin, I could not but wonder what will happen the first time someone
washes or attempts to have such a lace item cleaned. Modern dry cleaners
just
cannot keep up with all the challenges of combined fibers and attachments.
Home cleaning by the experimenters or even conservators can lead to
complete
disaster when the threads tighten up at different rates.
It is puzzling that with so little time for making lace, today's lacemakers
would abandon all consideration of making lace somewhat permanent and
easy to
care for!
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