Dear Lacemakers, Continuing with Powys information:
I (Jeri) have had some connection with people who knew Marian Powys. About 8 years ago there was a Maine FiberArts 3-day event in Portland. I volunteered on the organizing committee, and represented the interests of lace and embroidery. In fact, I financially sponsored the participation of Lacemakers of Maine and of the local chapter of The Embroiderers' Guild of America, and also curated a sampler exhibit that was hung at the Maine Historical Society for an extended period of time. We did not have enough Maine lacemakers, so several volunteers from the New England Lace Guild group in Massachusetts came up to Maine to demonstrate, Laurie Hughes (Arachne member) being one of them.. An elderly lady arrived at the lace table. She was thrilled to see lace displayed and being made. This turned out to be a woman who had bought lace regularly from Marian Powys. Subsequently, I was invited to her home and was shown the laces. These were incredible. There was a large needlelace set of placemats plus matching table runner. Each featured a different French chateau in finer thread. The needlelace surrounding the cameo view of each chateau was different - coarser thread, and featuring different flowers and leaves on each one. There were several different chateaus on the runner. (I discussed this set with Elizabeth Kurella, and she said she had once seen a set of these, but they must be quite rare.) Another unique piece was a very long piece of Carrickmacross, all in the guipure technique. It had a lot of "Twirling" technique loops within the body of the lace, as well as on the edges. Perhaps a year later, Lori the Lacefairy and I were on one of our hunting-for-treasures trips and stopped into a shop where we found exquisite round Youghal lace mats of luncheon plate size. We each bought two. Later, we learned these were from the lady's collection, originally from - guess which shop in New York! I called this lady to see if she wanted to sell more of her laces, but she was keeping them for a daughter. A couple Lacemakers of Maine got together and asked this interesting lady to join us. She conversed about Marian Powys. One story (being a textile conservator made it memorable) was about the day she met Marian on the street. Marian was carrying a large bag containing laces, and had stuffed into the bag a shopping addition: newspaper-wrapped fish from the fish monger. During the 1980's decade, I (Jeri) belonged to The Lace Guild of New York (no longer an active group). Another member was Peter Grey, son of Marian Powys. He delivered a lecture "Marian Powys: A Life Devoted to Lace" on February 5, 1983. Examples designed by Marian Powys were on display. Perhaps Devon's friend at the Metropolitan will remember details of this lecture, or have stories about her. I think it is very important for us to get this kind of information down "on paper" before we depart. Americans are particularly lacking in interviewing our elderly lace experts. My library contains such a wealth of information about lace and embroidery experiences and documentation, that I hope you will not mind my sharing about one prominent person we must not forget - Marian Powys. Jeri Ames in Maine USA Lace and Embroidery Resource Center - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
