LACE AND OTHER THINGS…….
26.11.09
Well, I have neglected my blog writing for the past month it would seem. I think I have been a little distracted, by what I am not so sure. Pulling apart my art practice has been more difficult than I had imagined, both mentally and emotionally. I am sure this is quite normal and I am not loosing my marbles, well not all of them. The mention of lace has been a recurring interest in previous entries and it is an idea that I feel confident enough to follow through. In what form it will take I am not so sure – a large project that needs planning and a good deal of organisation. This type of project is difficult for me to get to grips with as I have always made work rather spontaneously and then dissected and thought about it later, however this needs a completely different approach. So, I have searched the shelves of Angel Row library in Nottingham, (they have a very good local history section) if anyone is interested, and I have access to NTU’ s library now (owed to my AA2A privileges). After reading the lace books and having made progress with my own knowledge of the lace history I am hoping to gain access to the lace collection at NTU over the next month. Yesterday I visited a small village called Ruddington, just outside of Nottingham to see the Framework Knitters Museum. Through my lace research over the past few weeks I had learnt that machine lace has it’s roots in Framework Knitting where stockings were made. A process which has both similarities and differences, although I will not bore you with those details. The people at the museum were very nice and quite happy for me to visit anytime and to work there too. So, I have my first framework knitting lesson this Saturday with a chap called Milla who seems to know all about this technique. Aswell as learning the technique I am also keen to do some video and sound work there. My own handmade lace is going well and I finally finished a very small piece I had been working on for months, Excited to start the next piece. To keep my hands busy I have also been making collages and drawings which echo my interest in lace and knitting, I don’t want this project to be one dimensional but to open up a wide range of possibilities that will keep alive these technically brilliant skills.
