Lace, Not Lace: Contemporary Fiber Art from Lacemaking Techniques ? Â Â Do you think - Not Lace - might be more appropriate than originally intended ? Â Some of us may not be on the same wave length as Needle Lace Revivalists.
 A comment is in order from someone whose lace and embroidery studies and reading history is way above normal.  Personally owning (and having read) over 4,000 books on lace and embroidery surely qualifies.  Please remember embroiderers consider needle lace to be embroidery because it is made with a threaded needle.  From an educational point of view, it is important to be able to distinguish between what we have always thought about lace and what is being presented in this exhibit as - Not Lace.   Perhaps the - Not Lace - is more appropriate than most of us first thought.  Others who agree should feel free to bravely comment that some examples of the Needle Lace Revival  (discussed extensively yesterday) vulgarize long-established traditional needle lace techniques and design principles.  Have you ever been breathless when viewing an exceptional lace made by someone like Catherine Barley?  My wish is that one lace by Catherine (or a quality photo) could be in the exhibit - for comparison, since at least one of the needle lace revivalists claims to have studied her work.  Will the public be short-changed because they do not see any lace examples that inspired revivalists?  Are we being overly polite, waiting for someone else to defend the laces we have grown to love after many years of study?  Does that indicate a demeaning of the time it takes to become a lace master?  At this stage in history, any lace exhibit is better than none.  In a world that does not equally acknowledge art created by women by showing it in anywhere near equal quantities to that of men in our greatest museums (which are supported by disproportionate tax funding and volunteer work provided by women), Devon Thein is on a brave mission to expose the public to a different perspective about lace.  She is acknowledging that young lace artists of today (usually female) make affordable laces that can be sold.  She is a dear personal friend to many of us, and we hope the exhibit she is curating is very successful.  At the same time, dear Arachne subscribers, please do not feel you should abandon your values because it seems others are doing so.  Jeri Ames in Maine USA Lace and Embroidery Resource Center ---------------------------------------------------- In a message dated 3/28/2018 4:40:40 AM Eastern Standard Time, catherinebar...@btinternet.com writes:  I have looked at Penny Nickels work and agree it is very impressive and can recognise the influence of my Snow Queen panel, but for some reason my panel does not seem to come into the category of 'Contemporary Fibre Art' - I wonder why? I know people are visiting my website by the number of hits it gets on a regular basis and clearly they learn something from the detailed progressive images that I have shown there, but my work seems to all be classified as 'living in the past' recreating old fashioned traditional techniques. Perhaps the skills that have taken me over forty years to perfect are the problem, and maybe if I were to incorporate some irregular tension in my work, it may be viewed as more 'avant- garde'. Clearly we all learn from the old traditional techniques so it is essential that they continue to be practised, otherwise they will disappear into obscurity. I wish you and all your exhibitors the greatest success with your exhibition. Catherine Barley Needlelace   www.catherinebarley.com - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachne.modera...@gmail.com. Photo site: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lacemaker/sets/
