Lace _isn't_ a thing of the past, dear Tamara. What has changed is the
economics of it. You can't put bread on the table, anymore, by making and selling
handmade lace.
And that -- among other things -- is due to the fact that there's *not enough* "educated market" for it. Between the two, lace -- as it used to be -- *is* a thing of the past. Yes, it is also true that the modern-day, lacemakers (amateurs in particular) have profited -- as you say, we can indulge our flights of fancy without having an economic "whip" at our backs; we can afford to "push the envelope" in regard to things like fibers and colours. And we don't have to worry about the prevailing fashions -- since there aren't any <g>...
And we *still* are unable to get people interested; they still see neither the magic/elegance of the process, nor the continuum of the craft as it evolves... Living where I do, making lace (essentially) in isolation and not demonstrating, I've never encountered any "tatting ladies" but, the number of times I heard: "but that's *not lace*" is depressing. Especially since -- half of the time -- I half agree; what I do, most of the time, is *not* "lace as we know it"... :)
I have no (strong) objections to lace being *changed* and channelled into new directions; I like some of the new "stuff", dislike some of it... It's my priviledge and how things ought to be. I don't think I'd really mind if my own pieces ended up being "bronzed" like baby shoes (though I find *the practice* tacky <g>). It's having used old pieces of lace in an "inappropriate way" (according to my personal judgement; I'll concede that <g>) as a basis of "art", by someone who knows all about metal, china, or paper, but *squat* about lace, that sticks in my craw...
But, if "scavenging" lace for other purposes makes it more visible to the rest of the world... Should I *still* oppose it? Or should I accept that half a loaf is better than none, since the times have changed, and it might be *the only* way lace will get any attention? Especially considering that, even at its peak, lace has always been "an extra" -- a bit of software to one's hardware... :)
*That* is where I still remain teetering, like the Libra I am (though, *essentially*, my gut says that a non-lacemaker, using a piece of old lace to create a piece of "modern art" is committing a scariledge <g>)...
Cheer up, dear lacemaker, and come up with some more new, beautiful tpd designs!
Gotta put some of the old patterns on the website first <g>. Don't know who "infected" whom the most, but, between my old commie upbringing (service to the community comes *first*) and my son's belief that all information ought to be available, free, on the web (the only limit in "harvesting" being one's own brain capacity), I know I have to -- at least -- *try* to contribute my share (don't promise to die in the attempt <g>)
----- Tamara P Duvall Lexington, Virginia, USA Formerly of Warsaw, Poland http://lorien.emufarm.org/~tpd/
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