Re: [lace] Re: Fiber Familiarity
Dear Devon, I have received a couple of private responses from people who agree with what I wrote, but not with responses to my questions, which I thank you for answering. I too began lace making with a couple of other little girls who gave up shortly after... so it seems it has always been a problem. There is a problem with the divide between artisans, designers, artists and the world of amateurs which in the case of lace is filled with very knowledgable people and many resources. There has to be better communication (particularly visual communication; no mobcaps!) and less judgement from all quarters... lace makers are not dowdy old ladies and artists/designers are not necessarily chic, fashionable and snobby. There are so many aspects of life that would be easier if we could get beyond setreotypes! As for off-loom techniques; it is a whole fascinating world and as a handbook there is nothing better than Noemi Speiser's Manual of Braiding, it contains an excellent introduction to braiding techniques including loop manipulation. When I am not teaching textile and costume history I have the rather curious role of teaching textile techniques which are neither industrial knitting or weaving; that means I am responsible for teaching dyeing, printing, embroidery and what I term alternative structures which includes lace as well as decorative braids, basketry techniques that are relevent to the design world and non-woven fabrics. It is an enormous amount of information to convey in a limited number of hours and I choose to teach the students how these techniques work at both a manual and industrial level and to simply be available if a student wishes to deepen their knowledge of a particular technique. In the end it is more important for my students to understand what is possible than to be able to complete all the work themselves. When I have groups of students at my school I begin with a sampler of different stitches to analyse the structural qualities and visual effects of each so that the students begin to build a vocabulary of stitches with which they will express their own ideas. Then I pass immediately to an analysis of how to construct individual moftifs and each student chooses a form and has to use their vocabulary to fill it in, it is a very free exercise of drawing with threads, from there I pass to techniques for joining such pieces together and in the second half of the course we look at the more complicated task of working the ground and motifs together. I have had very good results with this approach and in the coming years I hope that my students will begin to contribute to the various competitions that are around. Speaking of competitions it was very interesting to hear about the kind of work which has arrived for the Powerhouse competition and how many, even if the Powerhouse defenition of lace speaks of fabric and structure, still presented objects with lace patterns often realised with laser cutting... White stuff with holes in it! Must go for the moment - Have a good weekend, Angharad - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachnemodera...@yahoo.com
Re: [lace] Re: Fiber Familiarity
Dear Anharad, I don't know if anyone else has answered your email. I was hoping to see some informed responses. But, as none seem to be forthcoming, I will offer an uninformed response. My remarks deal with the US, where there is no lacemaking tradition. 1. How dramatically have enrollments of young people, say under 20 fallen in recent years? How dramatically can you fall from practically zero? I started making lace in 1971 when I was 16 years old with another friend. She lasted for about two lessons. I was unique at the time and a visit to the local IOLI chapter resulted in much excited discussion of young blood. I will point out that I am still unique, as I never meet another person my age who started as young as I did. So, if there were others, they haven't kept it up for 38 years, or they aren't involved in the International Old Lacers in a way that I would run across them. I started my daughter in lacemaking when she was 6 or 7 and for a while she seemed to enjoy it. She took some classes at the lace convention where she met the only other two young lacemakers, two sisters from the west coast whose mother was in charge of one of the conventions. My daughter stopped lacemaking and took up oil painting, sculpture and now jewelry making. The sisters were still at it into their late teens, I know. For one thing, my position as publicity director of the New Jersey Convention in 2004 resulted in several newspaper reporters asking if there were any young people at the convention, since newspaper reporters have a particular interest in posing people of different ages together. I started asking if there were any young people at the convention which resulted in a rather hilarious series of people reporting the sighting of young people to me in hurried communications in elevators or while running past me in the halls. There were the two sisters, who were, in fact, interviewed, and there was another young woman who had green hair and piercings who was reputed to be an excellent lacemaker. I caught sight of her, in an elevator, but too late for the reporter to interview and I estimated that she might be in her twenties or thirties. As I recall, this was a huge convention, possibly on the order of 350 people, but no men enrolled as students, and only 3 people younger than, let's say, 45. The Lost Art Lacers starts a few children in their children's classes every year and perhaps one will continue for a while. People have noted, here and elsewhere, that those who continue often tend to be home schooled. Whether this has to do with a greater ability to focus as a result of home schooling, an ability to chose to spend ones time more flexibly since one is not in a formal school curriculum which dictates activities, more parental support for the activity, or the fact that often the home environment of home schoolers is different, ie. perhaps less TV, is a matter of debate. 2. How many professional lacemakers/artists/designers are there among you who use bobbin lace as one of your techniques, even if only to make prototypes? The fact that you have not received any responses on this one suggests that if people are professional artists and designers they may not be on this list. One professional lace designer I met at a lace factory probably had no understanding of hand lacemaking technique, never consulted historical lace for ideas, and certainly never made a prototype in bobbin lace. She said the way she designed lace was to look at advertisements in magazines and see what motifs were popular, ie. roses, and then draw a design that could be carried out by Schiffli machines. I am finding a new interest among twenty something young people from the design schools around NY, and there is a young practicing artist in one of the lace classes I attend. She was of the opinion that she was the only person learning lace for the purposes of using it in art. This reflects another interesting thing that I am observing in young people who do want to use lace in art, which is that they don't have any money, so they don't join lace organizations or receive lace publications or attend lace learning opportunities such as the convention, so they have no idea what other lace artists from around the world are doing. I just met a person who actually supports herself making lace jewelry. She has been making lace jewelry and selling it at high end craft shows, and she did not know of the International Old Lacers or the entire world of lace resources until about 2 years ago. She took one course at a craft school, 15 years ago, and had one lace book, (Nottingham or Southard, can't recall) and has been making her own solutions to problems not addressed in those sources. There seems to be a huge divide between the hobby lacemaking world and the artistic world. The hobby world has classes, books, lending
Re: [lace] Re: Fiber Familiarity
To Devon and everyone I have the privilege of examining a new publication from Deutscher Kloeppelverband, Spitze im Raum, Lace in 'space' - it is entirely a 'spatial' theme. Here is serious lacemaking - technically excellent; visually interesting; art-y, well crafted; creatuve wall art, 'sculpture' or lighting fixtures. I see it as Applied Design. Made entirely by bobbin lace technique that we would recognize, cross-twist and variations, but beyond that, for the hobby lacer 'here', in such interesting ways! The creativity of those in the DK organization knows no bounds; I'm impressed to bits. I notice the first pattern of the 32 offered is by one Ilske Thomsen, a mood piece entitled 'Departure' (Aufbruch), featuring leaf shapes placed on an interesting roseground/dieppe/Mayflower background, approx. 10 x 7 inches. It is in German, but if there is ever an English translation, I'm first in line to get one. Offered in English, the usefulness of the publication to the greater lace world would increase. On 8/19/10, dmt11h...@aol.com dmt11h...@aol.com wrote: There seems to be a huge divide between the hobby lacemaking world and the artistic world. The hobby world has classes, books, lending libraries, but the artists seem to be going it alone. -- Bev in Shirley BC, near Sooke on beautiful Vancouver Island, west coast of Canada - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachnemodera...@yahoo.com
[lace] Re: Fiber Familiarity
Hello all, I too am finding this conversation very interesting. There are a couple of things that I would be interested to know: 1. How dramatically have enrolments of young people, let's say under 20, fallen in recent years? 2. How many professional lace makers/ artists /designers are there among you who use bobbin lace as one of your techniques, even if only to make prototypes? And a few thoughts from my personal experience: - I started making bobbin lace when I was 11 (now I'm almost 32), and when I began it was already considered difficult to find children who wanted to learn the technique. Perhaps this has ALWAYS been a problem? Certainly the most part of the thousands of young lace workers in here in Italy - and indeed Italian immigrant lace makers in the US - in the late 19th and the first half of the 20th centuries practised this craft out of economic necessity rather than private passion. So perhaps deep down it has always been a technique that only appeals to a certain kind of person... - I also agree that there are lots of things to which other people devote their time and concentration, one which I and other lace making/historian friends find absolutely fascinating is that of folded tessellations - if you google that you will find amazing things that speak directly to that puzzle solving part of the brain that has been mentioned by many. Another more closely related field is that of braiding and knotting which I find is extremely useful for getting people started with off-loom techniques. - In fact I have had very good results with loop manipulated finger braiding as a way of getting fledgling fashion and industrial textile designers to work with their hands... why? Apart from the incredibly strong link that exists between our fingers and our brains, it is something that appears complicated but once you start it becomes surprisingly natural. The students also work with threads that are as long as their forearms, so once they have got into the rhythm they have completed their first piece within 20 minutes! That is very encouraging!! There are similarly satisfying samplers that can be made in bobbin lace, but the beauty of LM is that since a beginner cannot put the threads down and pick them up again later it forces them to stick with it. I have found that once they have gotten over their initial inhibitions they are more open to other techniques from the off loom family. - Another point I would like to raise is that of quality; both of design and workmanship. When I was at school my sisters and I always sang in the school choir, one year many of the key voices graduated and the numbers fell as there were few beginners. The choir mistress, wishing to increase numbers and become more cool changed the name from St Patrick's College Choir to St Pat's Singing Group reduced the complexity of the repertoire and introduced (really embarrassing!) dance moves. The result was disastrous. The fact is that many people like to dedicate their time to activities that require practise and study in order to do them well, and sometimes with the desire to make something that we love popular with others we reduce its quality and in the worst cases decline into kitsch. Lace was born as a highly refined fashion textile, and (Please, nobody is to take this personally!!!) the most part of what we see nowadays simply does not reflect that. At last year's Cantu' biennale the entries for the competition (despite the offer of 1000 prize money) were few and did not give a good impression of contemporary lace at all...entries close for the Como Silk Museum's biennial bobbin lace award on October 30 you can find details at http://www.museosetacomo.com/attivita_concorsi.php so let's show the world that high quality bobbin lace still exists! - Speaking of design, I was talking with a lady at a dinner party a few weeks ago and it turned out that her grandmother had a bobbin lace workshop in Chioggia (near Venice) in the first half of the 20th century. On the subject of the collapse of the industry she simply said the taste for such things no longer exists... is it a question of taste or our ability to evolve with it? Lace evolved very successfully as an art form from the Renaissance to the Baroque to Rococo and to some extent Neoclassicism but in the post-industrial age has suffered greatly except for the occasional bright light. More than other arts, decorative arts rely on a series of relationships in order to remain relevant; relationships between artisans, designers, artists and industry, when these connections die the art becomes endangered. If we want lace to be relevant it we need to think about what we wish to communicate; in this sense the Lace Fence project of Dutch designer Joep Verhoeven has been an important step forward. These
[lace] Re: Fiber familiarity
On 8/12/10 12:09 AM, robinl...@socal.rr.com robinl...@socal.rr.com wrote: When someone ask if it's tedious, I say, I do this for fun--by definition, it's not tedious. WHen they say it must take patience, I say, I have no patience. I don't do things that take patience. If they say it's too hard to see, I tell them about my friend who is blind and makes lovely bobbin lace. The patience comment always comes up whether I am tatting, bobbinlace or whatever. I, too, tell them I have no patience. And my wife reiterates that statement emphatically LOL!! I only have patience for what I want to have. Example: tools that don't work, operator error, inanimate objects that get in my way. I am one to hold it in and then blow up my temper at the silliest objects. I then state that I acquire the patience to do what is fun and bobbin lace to me is fun. And therapy after having a fit with some inanimate object HAH ;) -- Mark, aka Tatman website: http://www.tat-man.net blog: http://tat-man.net/blog Magic Thread Shop: http://www.tat-man.net/tatterville/tatshop/tatshop.html email: tat...@tat-man.net Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/tatmantats - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachnemodera...@yahoo.com
Re: [lace] Re: Fiber familiarity
A couple of years ago, at a Society for Creative Anachronism Arts Sciences event for the Kingdom (region), I had entered some reticello I'd worked on. As I was sitting and talking with people, one man came up to me (who is really into making chain mail items), picked up my piece of lace, and told me how he could never have the patience to do that. All the intricate work, all the time put into it. He'd be throwing the thing across the room in no time! I knew he made his own chain mail armor, and asked him how long it took him to do that. Did he make the rings himself, or did he buy them pre-made? He started talking about how to make the rings (as he made them himself) and how long it took to make a chain mail shirt. Then I brought the conversation back to the lace by saying, See, I could never do what you do. I would never have the patience to cut the rings and make something as huge as your armor! And when my lace goes flying (which it does), and it hits the TV, at least the lace is soft and it doesn't break the TV screen! He understood. Most people have something they love doing that takes a lot of time and effort to do well. They just don't realize that whatever it is that somebody else is doing is their thing that they love and takes a lot of time and effort to do well. Branwyn On Thu, Aug 12, 2010 at 8:27 AM, Tatman tat...@tat-man.net wrote: On 8/12/10 12:09 AM, robinl...@socal.rr.com robinl...@socal.rr.com wrote: The patience comment always comes up whether I am tatting, bobbinlace or whatever. I, too, tell them I have no patience. And my wife reiterates that statement emphatically LOL!! I only have patience for what I want to have. Example: tools that don't work, operator error, inanimate objects that get in my way. -- Per pale argent and purpure, two phoenixes counterchanged sable and argent each rising from flames proper. It is sometimes the most fragile things that have the power to endure and become sources of strength. - May Sarton Only a life lived in the service to others is worth living.- Albert Einstein Out of clutter, find Simplicity. From discord, find Harmony. In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity. - Albert Einstein And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom. - Anais Nin Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined. - Henry David Thoreau - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachnemodera...@yahoo.com
Re: [lace] Re: Fiber familiarity
Hello All, all those remarks you mentioned you could hear in Germany too. It depends on what place and in what time of the year one does demonstrating. Beside these remarks I often heard positive ones but can't say for sure which more which less. All this doesn't bother me because each of us is an own character. I show, I explain and I try to give all those peoples something to think about. What happened later when they are back at home we mostly never find out. Why do I like bobbin lace making or embroidery or pottery or photographing to be honest first I had to think about. I like to do something with my hands. I prefer lacemaking because, after a learning period, I could do things I design, I like the wooden things in my hands and their lovely noise in my ears, it is a nice feeling having produced something own. Another wonderful effects of this doing is that after a while all problems go out of the door (for a while) and so it is relaxing poor. And last but not least, I like to show other people how to make such things, how to find out how to design an own idea, to look what color what stitches will fit. And I like to find out about all those people making lace a long time before us, how lace was used and so on, and so on... Ilske - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachnemodera...@yahoo.com
[lace] Re: Fiber Familiarity
I really am enjoying this conversation. And Devon's slogans are clever. Some are downright funny. ;) I am a puzzle solver and find that BL is a puzzle to solve at times. If it is in repetition then it is more zen like. I like the movement of the fingers and clicking of the bobbins. It is like the lacer is the conductor, the bobbins are the instruments, the pins and pricking are the music score and the lace that abounds out from it the music of a siren(Greek mythology). -- Mark, aka Tatman website: http://www.tat-man.net blog: http://tat-man.net/blog Magic Thread Shop: http://www.tat-man.net/tatterville/tatshop/tatshop.html email: tat...@tat-man.net Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/tatmantats On 8/10/10 3:16 PM, dmt11h...@aol.com dmt11h...@aol.com wrote: In a message dated 8/10/2010 4:04:52 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time, lhal...@bytemeusa.com writes: As for me, not only is it the puzzle solving aspect, but I find the actual working has an effect on my emotions. It is soothing and satisfying in a way that is hard to describe. The movements are hypnotic. So, we are really finding altered consciousness when we do this. Like zen, or using mind altering substances. Bobbin Lace: Tripping out, but legal Bobbin Lace: Better than Glue Sniffing Bobbin Lace: The Fiber Art that Blows your Mind - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachnemodera...@yahoo.com
Re: [lace] Re: Fiber Familiarity
What a truly lovely simile. lrb -Original Message- From: Tatman tat...@tat-man.net Sent: Aug 11, 2010 9:25 AM To: Lace list lace@arachne.com Subject: [lace] Re: Fiber Familiarity I really am enjoying this conversation. And Devon's slogans are clever. Some are downright funny. ;) I am a puzzle solver and find that BL is a puzzle to solve at times. If it is in repetition then it is more zen like. I like the movement of the fingers and clicking of the bobbins. It is like the lacer is the conductor, the bobbins are the instruments, the pins and pricking are the music score and the lace that abounds out from it the music of a siren(Greek mythology). -- Mark, aka Tatman website: http://www.tat-man.net blog: http://tat-man.net/blog Magic Thread Shop: http://www.tat-man.net/tatterville/tatshop/tatshop.html email: tat...@tat-man.net Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/tatmantats On 8/10/10 3:16 PM, dmt11h...@aol.com dmt11h...@aol.com wrote: In a message dated 8/10/2010 4:04:52 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time, lhal...@bytemeusa.com writes: As for me, not only is it the puzzle solving aspect, but I find the actual working has an effect on my emotions. It is soothing and satisfying in a way that is hard to describe. The movements are hypnotic. So, we are really finding altered consciousness when we do this. Like zen, or using mind altering substances. Bobbin Lace: Tripping out, but legal Bobbin Lace: Better than Glue Sniffing Bobbin Lace: The Fiber Art that Blows your Mind - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachnemodera...@yahoo.com - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachnemodera...@yahoo.com
Re: [lace] Re: Fiber Familiarity
From: Tatman tat...@tat-man.net ..the pins and pricking are the music score.. I have often used this analogy when an observer tells me they could never learn to make lace. I ask, Can you read music? If they say yes, then I tell them the pricking is like musical notation and you simply learn to interpret it as when reading music. I, too, am enjoying this thread. I'm also one of those who is more process oriented than product oriented. I love the learning and the problem solving. I'm a detail person and lacemaking definitely appeals to that bent. Vicki in steamy Maryland where we are still setting records for heat (A thermometer we have registered 104F yesterday!) - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachnemodera...@yahoo.com
[lace] Re: Fiber familiarity
I get the tedious comment no matter what handwork I am demonstrating(tatting, embroidery, etc.) General public want quick, fast, no fuss type of projects that somehow just get done by themselves and only require just a glance. Have you seen such a project??? LOL! Short attentions spans for sure. Such is this world where it is so fast you don't give time to slow down between life's episodes. As to this instance of kids not interested in bobbin lace, I think it is just the venue. Normally I demonstrate in period costume at our tent and it is a learning environment. But interesting to find the comments and interests in different venues out of the norm. Good slogan, Devon. Tatting does have a sloganTatting is KNOT a Lost Art ;) -- Mark, aka Tatman website: http://www.tat-man.net blog: http://tat-man.net/blog Magic Thread Shop: http://www.tat-man.net/tatterville/tatshop/tatshop.html email: tat...@tat-man.net Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/tatmantats On 8/10/10 11:46 AM, dmt11h...@aol.com dmt11h...@aol.com wrote: I find it rather discouraging that the children are not interested in bobbin lace and the adults say it is too tedious. Is there some way we could demonstrate bobbin lace that would not provoke the tedious response? Mind you, these people are attending a county fair, not a rave, or a convention for people with short attention spans. The IOLI has professed a desire to recruit more members, especially youngish ones. I suggest that we adopt the slogan, Lace, it's not tedious. Devon - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachnemodera...@yahoo.com
Re: [lace] Re: Fiber familiarity
In a message dated 8/10/2010 1:04:01 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time, tat...@tat-man.net writes: I get the tedious comment no matter what handwork I am demonstrating(tatting, embroidery, etc.) General public want quick, fast, no fuss type of projects that somehow just get done by themselves and only require just a glance. Have you seen such a project??? LOL! Short attentions spans for sure. Such is this world where it is so fast you don't give time to slow down between life's episodes. But, then, why do we like it? There is something in the pleasure of it that we are not conveying. When I was the publicity director of the Secaucus convention, the reporter asked me again and again if we made lace because our grandmothers made lace. It was clearly the story she wanted to write, but I don't think that is the primary reason anyone makes it. I think I make lace because I like solving puzzles, just as my mother who never held a needle or bobbin in her hand was a dynamite crossword puzzle worker. In one lace class I attended, it seemed that everyone was a compulsive puzzle solver, even attending puzzle conferences. A friend of mine calls it The Mensa of the craft world, not a bad slogan in itself. I also like bobbin lace because it is like weaving, but you don't need a loom and the warp isn't fixed. Unlike embroidery, you actually make the fabric, creating it out of nothing. I like it because of the interesting fibers you can use, and the limitless shapes you can make. I like the feel of the bobbins swinging like pendulums So, what is it that we like about lacemaking and how do we convey it to other people? I think one massive barrier is that the word lace does not bring in the people who would be interested in a quick, portable, loomless weaving with endless possibilities for color, shape, weave structure and three dimensionality. Instead, the people who are attracted to lace lessons are imagining that they will make yards and yards of beautiful white lace of the refinement of the 18th century, or even yards and yards of lace like they see mass produced, only somehow nicer. Often, it is only a massive change in expectations that allows them to continue after they see what it is really like, and how unlikely the making of yardage is. Many, of course, quit as soon as they realize what they have really signed up for. Meanwhile, there must be people who would be attracted to the activity of making modern bobbin lace, but are not interested in making yards of white stuff, so they are not responding to advertisements for bobbin lace lessons. More and more, people are opting for contemporary looking lace, such that old stereotypes about what a person will be doing with their lace making hobby are not valid. Perhaps we should go with, Bobbin lace, the quick, versatile, weaving alternative that does not require a separate room in your house for a loom. Or Bobbin Lace, Weaving without the hassle. Or even, Bobbin Lace: Weaving set free! Or, Bobbin lace: Weaving on steroids. Why do other people on the list enjoy bobbin lace? We all live in the 21st century, after all. I can't believe we are that different than the rest of the population. My daughter, for instance, is spending massive amounts of time and patience learning how to make jewelry. Devon - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachnemodera...@yahoo.com
Re: [lace] Re: Fiber familiarity
Anything I don't want to do is tedious. That includes housework and my job (some days). I make lace to have something productive to do with my hands. I make lace to carry on a beautiful tradition. I make lace to watch as the finished product appears from what started as mere pieces of thread. I can't draw and I don't paint very well. My other hobbies are also creative in the same kinds of ways. I make quilts, knit and crochet, and do working on both a lathe and a scrollsaw. All of these crafts end up with something completely different looking that the mere parts with which they started. I find sitting in a waiting room somewhere with a tatting shuttle in my hand is nearly an instant conversation starter. On 8/10/2010 1:50 PM, dmt11h...@aol.com wrote: So, what is it that we like about lacemaking and how do we convey it to other people? I love the steroids comment :D Perhaps we should go with, Bobbin lace, the quick, versatile, weaving alternative that does not require a separate room in your house for a loom. Or Bobbin Lace, Weaving without the hassle. Or even, Bobbin Lace: Weaving set free! Or, Bobbin lace: Weaving on steroids. Why do other people on the list enjoy bobbin lace? We all live in the 21st century, after all. I can't believe we are that different than the rest of the population. My daughter, for instance, is spending massive amounts of time and patience learning how to make jewelry. Devon -- Ruth R. in OH roxw...@krafters.net - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachnemodera...@yahoo.com
Re: [lace] Re: Fiber familiarity
In a message dated 8/10/2010 3:02:17 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time, lynrbai...@supernet.com writes: We live in a time when people want to do 'crafts' that are quick, frequently with glue guns. And that's fine. But there are people who are not interested in the quick and easy. Those who make those Fair Isle sweaters, or knitted lace shawls on size zero needles. They are few and far between now, possibly because there is more instant gratification, from TV, from the internet, from the way our culture functions, so the quick satisfaction becomes the standard. While there are certainly people who are actually attracted to projects that take a long time and are very picky, it is that characterization that has limited the growth of bobbin lace to a very small portion of the population. The question is, if that is not the kind of thing that appeals to you (and I can't say that doing things the hard way appeals to me) what is it that lace has to offer you? What is the gratification, if not instant? I actually find that when I am making lace, I often find myself in a zone, almost a hynotic trance where I have pleasant thoughts. I find that, for instance, I do not feel as great a need to eat compulsively when I am in this zone. The focus of hands and mind, especially in very difficult patterns, gives me a bit of a buzz. Bobbin Lace: Yoga with Thread Bobbin Lace: Where Fiber Art and Meditation Meet Bobbin Lace: Threaditation Devon - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachnemodera...@yahoo.com
Re: [lace] Re: Fiber familiarity
Vis a vis your observations about what appeals to children. When my daughter was an adolescent, I found myself winding embroidery floss onto card bobbins for easy access while she made elaborate Friendship Bracelets. Each one was more complicated than the last. Those Friendship bracelets were not that quick and easy, pinned to a background pad, and requiring a lot of knotting along a diagonal. I kept thinking, how is this really different than lacemaking? Every girl in her class had a box of embroidery floss and they even worked them while pinned to their back packs. Also, of course, there is the adolescent practice of elaborate lanyard weaving with plastic cord, something I had to relearn along with her I think most of us simply follow directions in this area That is puzzle solving behavior And, Devon, what was that enormous and complex piece of lace you were making at Betty's that time, in her entry hall? The Leicester Eagle or something? Using a shadow pricking or something? Definitely not a project for instant gratification. At the least, threaditation. That was a project that failed to deliver sufficient gratification. I cut it off. It was a Chantilly piece I had started ten years ago, but was unable to work without Ulrike standing over me. Finally, I faced reality, and I set the pillow free for other impossible projects. - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachnemodera...@yahoo.com
Re: [lace] Re: Fiber familiarity
I am a reenactor too!! I have done my lace in front of my tent at Rev War events. and I concur with what you say. Also this world is too much into instant gratification.. I love your slogan !!! Faye Hegener - Original Message - From: Tatman tat...@tat-man.net To: Lace list lace@arachne.com Sent: Tuesday, August 10, 2010 1:03:33 PM Subject: [lace] Re: Fiber familiarity I get the tedious comment no matter what handwork I am demonstrating(tatting, embroidery, etc.) General public want quick, fast, no fuss type of projects that somehow just get done by themselves and only require just a glance. Have you seen such a project??? LOL! Short attentions spans for sure. Such is this world where it is so fast you don't give time to slow down between life's episodes. As to this instance of kids not interested in bobbin lace, I think it is just the venue. Normally I demonstrate in period costume at our tent and it is a learning environment. But interesting to find the comments and interests in different venues out of the norm. Good slogan, Devon. Tatting does have a sloganTatting is KNOT a Lost Art ;) -- - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachnemodera...@yahoo.com
Re: [lace] Re: Fiber familiarity
that is a great idea. It is a form of weaving and we should demo modern, colorful bookmarks or motifs or jewelry something that will be used and worn everyday. And the jewelry will catch the eye of the younger generations... Faye Hegener - Original Message - From: dmt11h...@aol.com To: tat...@tat-man.net, lace@arachne.com Sent: Tuesday, August 10, 2010 1:50:27 PM Subject: Re: [lace] Re: Fiber familiarity In a message dated 8/10/2010 1:04:01 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time, tat...@tat-man.net writes: I get the tedious comment no matter what handwork I am demonstrating(tatting, embroidery, etc.) General public want quick, fast, no fuss type of projects that somehow just get done by themselves and only require just a glance. Have you seen such a project??? LOL! Short attentions spans for sure. Such is this world where it is so fast you don't give time to slow down between life's episodes. But, then, why do we like it? There is something in the pleasure of it that we are not conveying. When I was the publicity director of the Secaucus convention, the reporter asked me again and again if we made lace because our grandmothers made lace. It was clearly the story she wanted to write, but I don't think that is the primary reason anyone makes it. I think I make lace because I like solving puzzles, just as my mother who never held a needle or bobbin in her hand was a dynamite crossword puzzle worker. In one lace class I attended, it seemed that everyone was a compulsive puzzle solver, even attending puzzle conferences. A friend of mine calls it The Mensa of the craft world, not a bad slogan in itself. I also like bobbin lace because it is like weaving, but you don't need a loom and the warp isn't fixed. Unlike embroidery, you actually make the fabric, creating it out of nothing. I like it because of the interesting fibers you can use, and the limitless shapes you can make. I like the feel of the bobbins swinging like pendulums So, what is it that we like about lacemaking and how do we convey it to other people? I think one massive barrier is that the word lace does not bring in the people who would be interested in a quick, portable, loomless weaving with endless possibilities for color, shape, weave structure and three dimensionality. Instead, the people who are attracted to lace lessons are imagining that they will make yards and yards of beautiful white lace of the refinement of the 18th century, or even yards and yards of lace like they see mass produced, only somehow nicer. Often, it is only a massive change in expectations that allows them to continue after they see what it is really like, and how unlikely the making of yardage is. Many, of course, quit as soon as they realize what they have really signed up for. Meanwhile, there must be people who would be attracted to the activity of making modern bobbin lace, but are not interested in making yards of white stuff, so they are not responding to advertisements for bobbin lace lessons. More and more, people are opting for contemporary looking lace, such that old stereotypes about what a person will be doing with their lace making hobby are not valid. Perhaps we should go with, Bobbin lace, the quick, versatile, weaving alternative that does not require a separate room in your house for a loom. Or Bobbin Lace, Weaving without the hassle. Or even, Bobbin Lace: Weaving set free! Or, Bobbin lace: Weaving on steroids. Why do other people on the list enjoy bobbin lace? We all live in the 21st century, after all. I can't believe we are that different than the rest of the population. My daughter, for instance, is spending massive amounts of time and patience learning how to make jewelry. Devon - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachnemodera...@yahoo.com
