Common Thread Symposium: November 6-7 at NC State University

So, as you can see I have been a wee bit busy here recently.  I have another important announcement though.  Over the past few months, I have been coordinating a 2-day symposium addressing Fibers in Contemporary Art.  It's open to the public so we would LOVE to have you join us!

The Common Thread Symposium
Through the gracious support of Cotton University, Cotton Incorporated and the Department of Art+Design at NC State University's College of Design, we are excited to offer this 2-day symposium for the first time!  It will include morning lectures, afternoon workshops and a number of special activities that will address Fibers in Contemporary Art+Design.  Please see the details below and our website for more information about our guests.  I've also put a link below to our Brochure and Schedule. 

Dates:  Friday and Saturday, November 6-7, 2015 
Location: NC State University, Raleigh, North Carolina
Common Thread Symposium: Brochure and Schedule


Registration Information:
Link to Registration Website
Please notice that Friday and Saturday require separate registrations!  If you can join us both days, please register for each day.  Registration includes lectures, workshop fees and food (lunch and reception on Friday and breakfast and lunch on Saturday).  Please bring your printed registration receipt and proper student ID (if registering as a student) to the check-in table each morning.
Public:  $35 each day
Students (high school or college):  $25 each day
College of Design (or those students taking COD courses):  $12 for Friday and $6 for Saturday

Lectures:  More information about the guests and their lectures can be found HERE
Dr. Susan Kay-Williams, The Story of Colour in Textiles
Ilze Aviks,  A Reflection on Slow Textiles in a Digital Age
Precious Lovell,  King Cotton- The King is Dead, Long Live the King!
Andrea Donnelly, Art//Craft//Design: the Work and Practice of a Conceptual Weaver
Paula Kovarik, Artist Talk
Susan Kay-Williams and Katherine Diuguid, Royal School of Needlework and Study Abroad 

Workshops: More information about the guests and their workshops can be found HERE
Paula Kovarik, contemporary quilting workshop (Friday 1:30- 5:30)
Gabrielle Duggan, Webwords and Impressions workshop (Friday 1:30- 5:30)
Precious Lovell, Call and Response collaborative workshop (Friday 3:30- 5:30)
Ilze Aviks,  Altering Cloth with Hand-Stitching workshop  (Saturday 1:30- 5:30)
Mary Kircher, Journaling and Woven Collage workshop (Saturday 1:30- 3:30)
Mackenzie Bullard, Indigo Shibori Demonstration (3:30-5:30)
Kelly Kye, Folded Star Quilt Block workshop (3:30-5:30)


Special Events:
“Treasures of the Gregg” presentation at the Gregg Museum textile storage by Mary Hauser
“Faculty Show and Tell” informal pin-up of current work by faculty members of the Southeastern Fibers Educators Association with reception
Information Session for Art+Design Graduate program
Portfolio Review Session for Fibers Art+Design Seniors
Open Stitching and Review Time


Funding for the 2015 Cotton Initiative + NC State Art2Wear Project was awarded in part through a competitive grant presented to Assistant Professor Katherine Diuguid by the Importer Support Program of the Cotton Board and Cotton Incorporated.
NCSU Art2Wear is supported by the NC State University Foundation.

UK 2014 Trip: St. George's Chapel at Windsor

A couple of my favorite books on goldwork are Mary Brown's Goldwork Embroidery:  Designs and Projects  and Jane Lemon's Metal Thread Embroidery  At the beginning of Brown's book, it has an excellent summary of the history and development of goldwork embroidery.  In the very back of Lemon's book, she has a list of the different locations of important embroidery pieces and collections.  I consulted this back section in Lemon's book to see where some of the pieces were located that I had studied and requested an appointment at St. George's Chapel at Windsor to see a set of panels created by Beryl Dean and other vestments and alter frontals in their collection.  (Please see correction note at bottom.)

Maria, one of the Senior Sacristans at St. George's, kindly showed me around and talked to me about the history of the pieces and the Chapel in general.  It was fascinating!  I absolutely LOVE looking at the beautiful details, craft, and imagery that was used in these pieces.  I was able to see 5 alter frontals and 6 sets of copes in addition to coordinating veils and vestment accessories.  The sets of copes included a set of white copes, the Coronation Jubilee Copes, a set of Blue copes used for Advent and Lent, a set of black copes used for funerals and Requiem masses, a set of green copes used for Eucharist Sundays, and the red set worn for the Order of the Garter service.  Maria was wonderful at showing me the different details on the copes that delineated the dean, canons, and minor canons vestments.

Each set had a special detail that I found especially exciting.  The intersections on the cutwork and the turns in the couching were so beautiful on the Jubilee copes.  Having just finished my RSN Certificate Goldwork Module, the intersections and how they were treated were of special and timely interest to me.   My favorite set were the blue copes used for Advent and Lent that had been created by Liz Thompson, a wife of a former canon, and Wendy Pearson.  To recognize a donation from the Australian Friends of St. George's that partly funded the copes, the motif of the "wattle" was incorporated into the design.  Utilizing cut felt leaves with french knot buds in a heavier thread (appeared cotton?) with goldwork embroidery, the embellishment was such a lovely mix of formal and informal, traditional and non-traditional. 

Here are just a couple images from my visit, shared here with kind permission of St. George's Chapel at Windsor:

The Beryl Dean panels did not disappoint either.  Having only seen them in print before my trip, I was not anticipating how large they were.  They are stored in a cabinet at the back of the Chapel as you walk from the worship area to the gift store/exit.  One is on view at any one time.  I love Dean's depiction of each person's face.  The oversized eyes and color shading in the stitches is very beautiful.

 These are some details of Mary and a Wiseman from the Adoration of the Magi panel (link for a very nice write up on St. George's Chapel website on this panel). 

Correction Notice:  The list of places to visit embroidery is actually in Jane Lemon's Metal Thread Embroidery book (another favorite of mine), not in Mary Brown's book.  Brown's book does have the wonderful history of goldwork at the beginning.  I apologize for the mistake and have corrected the information in my post above.  If you are interested in goldwork embroidery, these 2 books are both on my must have list. 

UK 2014 Trip: Benton & Johnson

As you all know, I love goldwork embroidery.  Those wires and threads seem like magic adding sparkle, texture, and a little extra life to my embroidery.  I had the wonderful experience of visiting the Benton & Johnson factory just north of Coventry during my trip in June.  It was fascinating!  I had absolutely zero clue how labor-intensive these threads are to make.



Neil Halford of Benton and Johnson graciously showed me all the machinery and walked me through the steps required to make many of the metal threads and wires.  The process of making each thread was not a quick task and required a lot of patience and a tremendous attention to detail.  A tiny kink or incorrect tension and there goes your hard work and wire.


Here are a few things I learned and saw while at Benton & Johnson:

- Bullion is just a larger smooth purl (no technical difference other than the tube diameter).

- Broad Plate take 28-30 passes through the flattening machine to get to the correct dimensions.
- The color that the metal is wrapped around for passing makes an incredible difference in the final color of the passing.  If I thought about it, I would have assumed this would happen.  It was fascinating though to see how much of a difference it can make.



 This is the machine used to flatten the wires for smooth passing or rococo.  The more weight added at the bottom, the thinner the wire becomes.


 

Pearl Purl:  First the metal wire is drawn to the correct thickness, depending on the desired final size, by pulling the wire through a series of dies.  The smaller the desired pearl purl, the thinner the required wire and the more number of dies the wire must be drawn through.

Pearl Purl: Once the metal is the correct thickness, it is flattened and then pulled through another die and onto a round guide wire producing the cup-shaped wire needed for the pearl purl.  To separate the wire from the guide wire, two people have to wind them off each other in tandem (pictured above).


Pearl Purl:  Finally, the cupped wire is spun around a needle to create the iconic length of pearls.  The final pearl purl winds itself into through the funnels and into the buckets.

 Smooth Purl: For Smooth Purl, the wire is fed through a machine that spins it tightly around a smooth round needle and into a tube.


Bright Check:  Bright Check is made using the same process with the only difference of using a triangular needle instead of a smooth round one to create the jagged edges of the bright check tube.

Here is a link to the Benton & Johnson online shop where you can purchase metal threads and wires to your hearts content!  If you don't see a specific material you would like or have a question, Neil's email is listed at the top of the website. 

UK 2014 Trip: Liverpool

Liverpool Cathedral:  

A stitching friend of mine, Celia, had given me the book English Church Embroidery 1833- 1953 by Mary Schoeser when she found out that I enjoyed learning about ecclesiastical embroidery.  It is an excellent book not just on ecclesiastical embroidery (though that is the main focus) but also embroidery design influences and embroiderers during the Victorian and Edwardian periods.  Inspired by this book, I emailed Liverpool Cathedral to see if I could get an appointment to view the Elizabeth Hoare embroidery collection that is stored there.  Vicky, an embroiderer at Liverpool Cathedral, graciously emailed me back and volunteered to take me through the exhibit and to show me some of the samples that were not on display as they are part of the study collection.  

Located on the third floor of the Cathedral, it is an excellent exhibition of church needlework, focusing on pieces from the Victorian and Edwardian periods.  Ms. Hoare had been director of Watts and Co. in London and donated her collection to be exhibited at Liverpool Cathedral.  I highly recommend if you are interested in the topic and passing through or near Liverpool to take the time to visit it.  On display are samples, sketch and design plans, and final pieces, so you really get the full process of creating and enjoying these embroideries.  I thought I would share a few photos of some of the items I saw there.  I took over 550 photos there so there is A LOT more to see in the exhibition.  Sadly the photos of the alter frontals did not turn out the best, but I wanted to mention them because there are two in particular that are beautiful!

Detail from piece in study collection. 

Detail of a chasuble designed by Bodley and Garner in the 1880s (Schoeser, 161)

Cope hood designed by Geldart in 1880 (Embroideries of Liverpool Cathedral, 19).

Sample from Watts and Co (part of study collection).  I thought the color use and gradations in the wings was beautiful.

Sample from Watts and Co (part of study collection). 

Embroidered cope hood.

Detail from a cope hood.

Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral:  A number of the ladies I was stitching with at Tracy's recommended I visit the Metropolitan Cathedral when I said I was going to Liverpool because the stained glass was beautiful.  Well,  amazingly beautiful it was!  It was such a unique experience visiting it.  Between the architecture, the stained glass, and the huge applique banners hanging, there was a lot to take in and created such a stunning viewing experience!

This tapestry in the Chapel of St. Anne was designed and created by Jill Hutchinson.

Tate Liverpool:  "Mondrian and His Studios"  I have seen Mondrian pieces before separately but never beside each other in a chronological manner.  "It's just blocks of color right?"--that's what many people say.  This exhibition opens the doors to Mondrian's process, which I find fascinating!  It started with his more nature inspired pieces, abstracting trees and church architecture.  Then it illustrates how his environment (apartment/studio/living space/creating space) was kept in a manner that not only reflected his art but helped to propel his ideas forward.

My favorite part of this exhibition was the very end.  After you have been drawn into his process and heard/read about the effect of music on his pieces, you see some of his final paintings.  There are more intersections in these.  What is so incredible is that you can see the music created by little white dots (which actually are not there) appearing to jump from intersection to intersection.  It was incredible!  So to anyone that thinks Mondrian is just blocks of white and primary colors encased with black lines--maybe at a glance it is, but on second glance or longer look, you are greeted with visual music!  Here is a video from the ArtFund UK about this exhibition: