Category Archives: Out and about

Irish Lizards

IMG_1269I’ve been busy researching a new artcle about Irish crochet lace for Rowan and was excited to be invited along to the photo shoot. Having spent a month or so pouring over ancient library books it was astonishing to see the detail of work for real.IMG_1389 This is one of the books that I was permitted to look at in the V&A reading library. (The ‘snake’ at the base of the photo is the weight that holds the pages open without damaging the bindingIMG_1381.)
The pictures don’t prepare you for the sheer awesomeness of the real thing. Here is the model at the shoot wearing a wedding dress. She can’t sit down for fear of damaging the dress, so the make-up artist has to improvise! These precious garments are on loan from the Knitting & Crochet Guild’s archive collection at Lee Mills, near Holmfirth, Yorkshire.
This is Marie Wallin, Head Designer at Rowan, putting the finishing touches to this exquisite ‘Lizard’ Jacket. You can see why is it called the “Lizard” by the close-up. This is a pattern from Album de Guipure d’Irlande by Madame Hardouin (1905). Also on this jacket are delicate baubles stitched along the netting at the sleeves and on the bodice.IMG_1378

These crocheted baubles look so contemporary, but the thread that they have been worked in is as fine as sewing cotton. I’m not sure that I even have a hook that small…

Blaenavon

Half term break in South Wales, and we visited the Blaenavon Ironworks. Going around what is now a visitor ‘attraction’ was fascinating, depressing and inspiring all at once. Now part of the post-industrial landscape, the Ironworks are derelict and part of the new tourist industry. However, if Mary Portas did interpretation she would have a field day here (though to be fair, some of the spaces were closed for re-jigging.)
The cottages, that would have been home to some of the workers, were cramped. Nevertheless the colours were astonishing. This hazy purple, acid yellow and rust painted interior doesn’t translate too well here, but the combination was enough to get me excited. Sometimes inspiration is in the oddest of places.IMG_1121

Adventures at Collect

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This is the work of Valeria Nacimento shown by Contemporary Ceramics at Collect 2013.
The paper-like porcelain is made from slabs and rolled into shapes, much like pasta. The whiteness looks great in the white cube space that is the Saatchi Gallery. (Good to see the folks at CPA again, though we worked out it was 13 years since I worked for Ceramic Review.)
See more of her work on her website  or more about Contemporary Ceramics at the CPA blog.

Thiès Tapestries

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There is a lot of weaving in Africa but not all of it is quite as organised as the government started Manufactures Sénégalaises des Arts Décoratifs (MSAD). Set up in the 1960s by President Senghor, it is now host to many famous artists who have their work made up into tapestries by the skilled workers here.

IMGP0847The MSAD specialise in tufted rugs that command high prices on an international market and hang in prestigious places like the UN HQ in New York.

Léopold Sédar Senghor – poet, politician and cultural theorist – was Mayor of the small town on Thiès (pronounced ‘chess‘) before becoming first president of Senegal. He was educated in France and the techniques used at Thiès owe more to the Gobelin traditions of Paris and Aubusson rather than local weaving. They also make flat woven tapestries that have great graphic impact.

I wasn’t allowed to photograph any of the finished items, but have tried to document the process. Top is my favourite image. These are the colour keys, one IMGP0851for each tapestry, that makes a ready-reckoner for the weaver following the artist’s cartoon.IMGP0814

You can see right, and below that the weaver uses a beater to push down the knots. This is a specially made wooden tool a bit like an afro comb.
The specially built MSAD gallery

The specially built MSAD gallery