Dear Jeri,
Thanks for your impressions of the World Lace Congress. I will pass your congratulations to all our organisers and helpers all over the country. Greet Rome Brugge 2018 vzw Van: Jeri Ames [mailto:[email protected]] Verzonden: zondag 16 september 2018 21:59 Aan: [email protected] Onderwerp: World Lace Congress of 2018 in Brugge, Belgium Here are a few comments about this event. It began by flying to Belgium on August 14th, and (for me) ended by flying to Hungary on August 26th. Arrived early, to adjust to time change and travel fatigue before the World Lace Congress began. This also meant time was set aside for visiting friends. Roommate and I stayed in a family-owned B&B, The Verdi, just steps off the main square in Brugge. One must be able to climb steep winding stairs to a suite consisting of sitting room, 2 sleeping rooms, bath, and a balcony facing the street containing 2 small chairs and a table. What more could traveling women want? Breakfast? Well, let's say it was far above normal in terms of quality, variety and service. Early arrival left time for touring the city with my Belgian friend, Annick, with whom I worked at AT&T about 35 years ago, and being given a private tour of the Brugge Beguinage by Sister Madeleine who normally lives in Massachusetts, but had been living in the Beguinage for 3 years. On the evening of August 16th, before the World Lace Congress opened in Brugge, I hosted a dinner in a private dining room at my hotel for 20 members of Arachne. The list of people who would attend was assembled last March, and not mentioned again on Arachne. We had the room for the night. Important lace personalities who correspond on Arachne had a great time meeting each other in person. There is no doubt that subjects discussed later into the evening will help lace makers of today and the future. Present were lace experts from Australia, Canada, England, Germany, and the U.S., plus Greet Rome of Belgium (organizer of the Lace Congress) and my friend, Annick, who located me last January by finding a New England Lace Group newsletter article that was posted to the internet. Annick was helped by NELG's web master to contact me. Our other special guest was Sister Madeleine. She was preparing for her next assignment - living in an Ireland Convent and learning to make Irish laces. She is a long-time member of the New England Lace Group, and I reached out to her. Everything clicked into place, because networking via the internet is so fabulous. 2018 marks the 100th anniversary since the end of WWI in 1918, a time when lace was generally no longer made by hand as a major industry. Belgian women went to work in factories which manufactured necessary things needed to rebuild their nation. Also, fashions changed completely at this time, and did not require the vast quantities of lace used before the war. Since 1918, lace has been made mostly for pleasure. We spent quite a bit of time focused on the famous War Laces - masterpieces that were made to commemorate this period in history. One could describe some of the finest lace elements as "thread whispers". The Congress had over 500 registered participants. The Sales Room was vast, and had many enticing lace-related items offered by vendors from various European nations. Exhibits were many, and large - I felt like I was swimming through waves of laces. Informative lectures were presented by prestigious scholars, and new books were introduced. This was definitely the most educational of all European Congresses I have attended in the past 20 years. On the 6-day World Lace Tour of Belgium that followed the 3-day Congress, I had the pleasure of traveling through Belgium with 86 others. Tour was conducted in French and English. Sitting in the front of the coach opposite my roommate Jen McNitt (very active in SCA) and me - at the front of the coach in pre-assigned seating determined by Greet Rome, the Belgian organizer - were volunteer Kim Davis of The Lace Museum in Sunnyvale CA and volunteer Karen Thompson who works with The Smithsonian's Lace Collection in Washington DC. Across the aisle were Evelyn McMillan, a librarian working with the Herbert Hoover (WWI) War Lace Collection at Stanford University in CA, and Greet Rome. (See Evelyn's article on page 26 of OIDFA Bulletin #3, 2018 for more information about WWI, Famine Relief, and Belgian Lacemakers.) In the 4 seats behind us were Devon Thein and her husband and Laura Bensley (Massachusetts member of NELG) and her husband. Devon has been a volunteer working with the Ratti Center's Lace Collection at The Metropolitan Museum of Art for many years. Aside from 2018 lace exhibits at The Lace Museum in CA, she has curated the only long-term lace exhibit scheduled to be open in the U.S. this year - at the Hunterdon Art Museum in Clinton NJ. (Search Hunterdon Art Museum Lace Exhibition for details.) Not so sure you will be interested in details of each of the 6 tour days, and need to leave something for others to write about. You just need to know it was wonderfully organized, no one got lost, it did not rain, the temperatures were moderate, and everyone sounded happy. The laces were exceptional. One memorable exhibit in Brussels was in a small 17th C. building shaped somewhat like an American Cape Cod house. The interior had been gutted and painted white. From the structural beams hung sheer white fabric maybe 10" wide, to each of which were.attached about 8 red strips of laces side-by-side made by lace makers of all ages and all skill levels. It was an effective, and simply lovely lace display, made joyful by the choice of color. An idea for you: At one exhibit a small plate of cookies was offered. The cookies were about the size of an American nickel, and the tops had a lace design of icing. Fun to make. Fun to share. I travel without phone, computer, or camera because of an old-fashioned preference for absorbing all that is around me. So, you will be seeing photos taken by others, many of whom seemed to never stop clicking long enough to emotionally "see" and "feel" the laces and the places where they were exhibited. I look forward to seeing results of all the photography that will document this lace adventure. There will always be more to learn about lace. Jeri Ames in Maine USA Lace and Embroidery Resource Center --- Dit e-mailbericht is gecontroleerd op virussen met Avast antivirussoftware. https://www.avast.com/antivirus - To unsubscribe send email to [email protected] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [email protected]. For help, write to [email protected]. 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