Be our guest

There are still a few days left to see this exhibition celebrating the B&B at the Oriel Davies Gallery in Newtown, Powys. Apart from my curtain with pins and needles, marking the passage of time in the same way as a prisoner, there are lots of other quirky and fascinating exhibits. One of my favourites is Janet Farahar’s ‘His/Hers: is He/Are They?’ Two cross stitched panels of the words His and Hers, often seen on guest towels, with the H of His and the rs of Hers smudged so they read ‘is He’. I like the fact this has so many possible meanings: is he faithful; is he gay; is he who he seems? There are many more clever ideas in this fascinating show. It runs until 4 September so catch it if you can.

Lace for Valtopina

I’m honoured to have been chosen to mount a lace exhibition in the School of Embroidery at Valtopina, Italy, as part of their 15th exhibition of embroidery and cloth. I’ve been making final decisions about the pieces I’m going to take. Travelling by air means I’ll have to take the lace with me in my hand luggage so I’m choosing pieces that are small, like bags and necklaces, as well as bigger pieces that will roll up for the journey but will fill a larger space when they are hung. The exhibition runs over the weekend, from 6 to 8 September.

Lace handkerchief edging of the Infanta Isabella

 

The lace edging on this handkerchief, held by the Infant Isabella Clara Eugenia, Archduchess of Austria, reminded me of the lace I recently saw in Bologna. This painting by Frans Porbus the Younger was shown in the In fine style exhibition and dates from the end of the 16^th century – the same time as the lace. It is very accurately painted and shows how valuable lace was to be included in such a portrait.

Old bobbin lace

I saw this late 16th century Italian bobbin lace in a museum in Bologna. Unlike some of the more ornate early laces I think the design of this works well. Often the areas where all the bobbin threads come together swamp the rest of the design and look out of place, but here the thicker areas of cloth stitch complement the more open plaited areas quite well.

For sale

I was amused to see this charming young lady in a painting by James Collinson entitled ‘For sale’ at Nottingham Castle. Her inviting look and rosy cheeks make you wonder what is for sale here. She’s holding a little purse – is she buying it or selling it, or inviting us to buy it for her or even selling herself. I’ve been doing some research into Victorian needlework and these sales of work. Charlotte Bronte is particularly scathing about them in several of her novels. They epitomise the era so well though. Many well to do young women had nothing to do except make useless craft gifts which they then tried to sell to their friends and family for charity. In many ways a metaphor for the useless lives these poor girls were forced to live.

In fine style

The subtitle for this exhibition at The Queen’s Gallery, Buckingham Palace, is The art of Tudor and Stuart fashion. As that suggests, there is plenty of magnificent art depicting the textiles and lace of the fashions of the period, but also some artefacts which allow you to examine the textiles first hand. Each painting is so detailed that you could spend hours examining each one and many of the costumes are painted in such detail that you could use them to draw up a pattern for the lace or embroidery. In the early part of this period, textiles and accessories indicated status and gave other subtle clues to the sitter’s religion, social position and lineage, and this is why they were painted so exactly. Towards the end of the period, ideas had changed and the textiles are painted in a more impressionistic manner. This is a fabulous exhibition for anyone interested in the fashions of this time; there is plenty to see, you can take your own photos, there is a multi media guide, and an excellent book to accompany it - which I’m just about to start reading. It’s open until 6 October 2013.

Studies in form and substance

I saw this exhibition today at the Crafts Study Centre – it’s an interesting mix of textiles and ceramics from the UCA Farnham collections, curated by Linda Brassington and Hannah Facey. The textile collection was begun by Ella McLeod, who founded the textile course at the Farnham School of Art in 1949. The aim from the start was to form a working collection that could be used for teaching students techniques and design and to inspire them. One of the most interesting exhibits was a series of letters from Ella McLeod to Miss E Stewart MBE of the Highland Home Industries negotiating the purchase of a fine 2 ply knitted shawl. Miss Stewart sent a selection of shawls of different qualities for the students to examine and the college then bought one and returned the others. I was struck by the generosity of Miss Stewart in sending six shawls for the students to handle and examine knowing that the college would only buy one of them.