One lacemaker I was talking to complained that she had entered a show where the weavers were given a good deal of respect but her lacemaking was scorned.
Which suggests, perhaps, that the feminine aspect isn't the main issue? Afterall, there are more women "art-weaving" than there are men, same as in lacemaking?
Maybe lace ought to be displayed with accompanying photos of *enlarged detail* (preferably not of the cloth-stitched bits <g>)? To show the difference between it and the "real" weaving (which is, mostly, the cloth-stitched bits)?
I agree with Adele that being more concerned about the terminology than the essence is ridiculous. But as she said, that's the fact of the world we live in, so, let's see how we can gild the lily... :)
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If the "craft" -- as in "Mensa of the craft world" -- is so odious, how about "Mensa of the Applied Arts" instead? Jay Ekers kindly "resurrected" the term for me (it'd gotten lost in memory) but "Applied arts" would be the term that a book (at any rate, a Polish book translated into English <g>) would use for elaborate and uncommon textiles as well as porcelain, glass, metal and wood work of above-average standard... Though someone who's more influenced by the sound (term), where visual perception is what counts might not even know what "applied arts" or Mensa was :) BTW, the "crafts" as mentioned here (the recycled toilet paper rools, the cutsey toilet-paper holders, etc, etc)? Those, in Polish used to be called "kicz jarmarczny" -- "fair-market kitsch" :) Another term for it was "tandeta" which my dictionary translates as: "trash, rubbish, trumpery, shoddy goods"
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"Lacemaking", instead of "lace" would focus on the *process* not the *product*... That's where Devon's "complex puzzle solving" comes in (I agree with Lorelei: it's a *very good* one). It would also, I think, be more in line with "weaving".
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I also like Lorelei's description:
[...] the process grabs hold of my emotions and puts them in order (rather like listening to Bach), and that the process is addictive and soothing.
Given the world we live in, the "addictive" aspect might have to be down-played a bit; someone might think that we're aiming to have half-way houses built and and staffed for us <g> For that same reason, I don't often mention what the owner of the local needleshop (long since defunct) told me when I first began to explore petitpoint:
"It costs only about 10 cents an hour, while a psychiatrist charges $60" (told you it was long ago <g>) Even though it applies to lace even more, it might frighten off those who are very attached to their pseudo-Freudian couches... :)
I've often thought that lacemaking and Bach's music have a lot in common (though I don't think *all* lacemaking requires the same level of understanding, or offers the same level of satisfaction). I've also often thought that it has a lot in common with Hogarth's engravings; there's the detail, there's (frequently) "Hogarth's Line of Beauty", and there's also the implication of being able to reproduce, from the original "plate" -- though only up to a point... Another comparison would be to Persian carpets -- no matter how many times you look, you can always discover something new... Sometimes you notice the "solids", sometimes the spaces in between... Then there's the texture -- either "for real" (raised work) or implied (contrasts in density, created by different stitches).
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If you're looking for slogans, how about "tapestry in monochrome" (at least as regards some of the older laces)? Especially since lacemaking seems to have replaced tapestry weaving of the earlier period?
Personally, I'd avoid Loehr's "lacemakers have happier marriages" like a plague :) As an observation, it may very well be true but:
a) it doesn't have much "rhythm" to it, so it's not likely to be "catchy" as a slogan
b) it "plays off" the domestic, "gemutlich" factor as much as (if not more than) "lace"; it would be very un-appealing to the younger set and to those among the older set who've been on their own for countless years.
c) the concept of marriage has become very "fluid" -- which marriage do you mean? 2nd? 3rd? True, marriage may -- sometimes -- be viewed as comparable to lace: not much substance, easy to tear and difficult to mend, styles change frequently, etc, etc... But I don't think we want to invite that line of thought :) The very word (marriage) itself seems destined to be listed in the next dictionary of obscenities
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Tamara P Duvall
mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Lexington, Virginia, USA
Formerly of Warsaw, Poland
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