Dear Arachne Members, I hope you will enjoy the fruits of two creative lace collaborations which are now out on the web for all to consider.
It is such joy when one meets someone who shares ones enthusiasms. In the lace world it has been my friendship with Denise Watts which has stimulated and enhanced the countless Lace Guild conventions where we tutored, and more recently several trips to exhibit at European lace festivals. Now I can share her with you at the September 2009 Lace Holiday in France examining 'Texture' which you can see on my own website at www.contemporarylace.com with full details including the programme to download at www.levieuxmonastere.com, the venue in the Charente Maritime near La Rochelle. A number of those who participated in last year's course have already re-booked. I have just been down to visit Denise in Cornwall (where she now runs a shop stocking environmentally-friendly products, which you can see at www.wattstrading.co.uk) to plan the course in greater detail, and to examine with her the possibilities in the big box of wonderful yarn which www.texere.co.uk have sent for students to play with. Students came from as far as Alaska, New Mexico, Germany and England last year, joined by some British ladies living in the local region who first suggested it. The other joy for me this winter has been meeting Bradford-based photographer Jacqueline Callaghan, www.jacquelinecallaghan.co.uk. We found we both shared a deep interest in natural forms and structures, and my work fitted precisely with the approach she was taking for her London College of Fashion MA into 'Fear of the Void', Horror Vacui. You can download from her site the booklet, 'The Void in Lace', which we wrote together to accompany her finals show at the Mall Galleries in London's West End, and her photo series can be seen on the Horror Vacui page. She was looking at the human body as a mortal entity within nature, so there is some nudity. Jacqueline studied how the fabric of lace was 'rendered emblematic both of man's corporeality and as a representation of man's pattern making processes'. Fascinated to find lace structure taken so seriously, I worked hard to rise to her occasion, stunned by the quality of what she was doing, as were her tutors, who are encouraging her to pursue this path into PhD. We are looking forward to collaborating again in the future. In both of these areas friendship has been based on mutual respect and deepened by enjoyment of each other's individual talents, a good basis on which to build for further progress. Best wishes, Jane Atkinson - To unsubscribe send email to [email protected] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [email protected]. For help, write to [email protected]
