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The
Lacis Museum Newsletter
July 16th, 2009
Dear Friends of
LMLT,
The East Bay MONTHLY (www.themonthly.com), a magazine devoted to
commerce and culture has cited our current exhibit “As the
Century Turns” as their “Critic’s
Choice” with a wonderful review, noting the
“wax-headed articulated mannequins add authenticity and a
little creep factor, in a Vincent Price wax-museum way” Do
bring the kids! The current issue of Piecework Magazine, a magazine
reflecting much of the purpose of LMLT also gives attention to this
exhibit. When you do visit, be sure to request a guided tour viewing.
The experience is quite astonishing, the mannequins all at floor level
surrealistically becoming guests with you.
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Exhibits |
“As the Century Turns,” our exhibit featuring
scenes from daily life during the Belle Epoch, invites viewers to step
into the world of the Gay ‘90s. Emphasizing period clothes
along with the lace and linens familiar to people living at the turn of
the last century, this exhibit is presented as a series of tableaux.
The feel of the different tableaux is lifelike and homey, with the
pieces displayed not as artifacts but like pieces from a home. Adding a
breath of simulated life are the period wax headed articulated
mannequins graciously loaned by Ellen Thompson, a longtime friend of
Lacis, a member of the LMLT Board of Directors, doll maker and
proprietor of Making Memories Doll Patterns. These lovingly restored
mannequins impart lifelike movement to the tableaux and a bit of
glamour from the age itself.
This lovely and lively exhibit will be available during regular museum
hours, from noon to 6 p.m., Mondays through Saturdays, until August 1,
2009. We are always happy to welcome groups, so let us know if
you’d like to bring your class or group for a special tour.
Please call Erin at the museum shop, (510) 843-7290 to make
arrangements.
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Bobbin
Lace
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Approaching LMLT’s major exhibit on Bobbin Lace, opening
September 26, 2009, we are continuing to offer further understanding
and curios of this extraordinary technique by essays from staff and
friends.
From Ellen, a most dedicated volunteer who loves discovery writes of a
bit of Honiton Lace from the 1700s..
While reading HJ Yallop’s History of the Honiton Lace
Industry, I showed Jules the plates of seventeenth to eighteenth
century flounces. The earliest piece was a narrow edging from about
1630, with a scalloped edge and the beginning of radiating organic
forms in each section.
Later work had more depth, with designs that extend its border to
almost two inches in depth, with a repetitive tree like form in the
center that featured curled spiral endings. At the base, near the
scalloped edge are abstracted floral petals, bordered by a sinous line
with twelve smaller petaled forms. Four of them extend beyond the
joined sections to create a rich picot edge for this bit of Honiton
lace in the picture. You can tell by looking closely at the treatment
of the petals and the growing forms that two people interpreted the
design a little differently, one adding thickness to the petals, while
the other emphased the abstract nature of the design.
As part of of the exhibit there is a length of early 17th c Honiton
lace from the LMLT collection [JTB.22483].
Featuring a scalloped edge with a floral motif at the center
of each section. A full flowering head of petals scales above smaller
stalks of the plant, similar to a tree of life pattern. Intrigued by
the plant, I began searching the local flora of Devon on line to find a
match. Perhaps this is a representation of an actual plant-- Scabiosa
arvensis, also known as Knautia Arvensis, or more popularly, the Field
Scabious, or Gypsy Rose. Supposedly it was a favorite of the Romani
people in England, thus the name.
Its pale lilac head sits atop a round slender stalk, and it grows along
fields and the edges of river banks. Juliette de Bairach’s
The Complete Herbal Handbook for Farm and Stable (p.141) notes that
this weed is highly cleansing and antiseptic, useful for treating all
skin ailments (in addition to female ailments, heart disease and even
veneareal disease). Such a humble plant with so many uses may have been
commemorated within this early section of Honiton lace, thus making the
local visible among the finery of the upper classes of
seventeenth-century England.
photo by David Fenwick of the Gypsy Rose & leaf from
A Photo Flora – Devon & Cornwall
Ellen Fernandez-Sacco, Ph.D.
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Classes
& Events |
Theresa Pulido and Locker Hooking
An unusual rug making technique that struck the curiosity of Kaethe
many years ago is finally getting into main stream with the publication
of “Hook, Loop & Lock” a book of fun
projects that take looker hooking well beyond its rug connotations.
LMLT will be hosting Theresa on Saturday, August 22, between 1 and 4:00
PM where she will be demonstrating the charms of this
technique which can serve the “green” movement well
with its ability to turn virtually any fiber, including old garments
and plastic bags into items ranging from baskets to bracelets
and even rugs . Should be fun. Her book is presently in stock
 FELT
HAT BLOCKING by Jacqueline Palacios, 2 Saturdays, July 18 and July 25.
Jackie discovered millinery in 1982, learning and honing her skills by
working with other designers and the SF Opera. In this class you learn
to manipulate a raw wool felt hood into a personal creation, exactly
sized and shape for a perfect fit..
 A
FROCK COAT by Todd Roehrman, a 4 session class, Saturdays
August 15 and 22 and Tuesday and Wednesday evenings August 18 and
20. This will be an intense class, requiring home time with
the focus on the fine art of men’s tailoring. It
would require pre-class gathering of materials and supplies. Todd is a
recognized Bay Area Costume Designer, teaching at SFSU. Due to class
preparation time the deadline to sign up is August 1st.
Details on all classes and registration information will be available
on our website at http://lacismuseum.org/classes.html. Registration
forms are also available at the Museum shop.
BOBBIN LACE by Lieve Jerger. From a family dedicated to lace making and
known for her innovative approaches, she will share her enthusiasm in a
program, early October. She incorporated her wire lace into the
illustrations for a delightful tale “The Winged Tiger and The
Lace Princess,” which will be available in its second
edition. She writes of a bobbin lace class “with
wire for kids, mothers and kids age 7 and up, (boys accepted
too).”
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Lace
Groups at LMLT |
LMLT LACE KNITTING GROUP
Lace knitters of all skill levels are invited to join the LMLT Lace
Knitters, a flourishing and friendly knitting family that meets once a
month to share, show-and-tell, occasionally commiserate, congratulate,
and always encourage each other through knitting thicks and thins. The
group meets on the first Saturday of every month from 1:00 to 3:00.
Bring along a current project and join us
BOBBIN LACE GROUP
Meeting on the third Saturday of each month from 1 - 3, all are welcome
to learn, share and encourage. If curiosity persists, we would
encourage participation in the more formal bobbin lace classes by Maria
Maria Jose Munoz. The monthly group is hosted by Maria and Beth Lysten,
a talented and enthusiastic lace maker from South Africa. The group
will next meet on this coming Saturday, July18th.
Details on all groups are available on our website at http://lacismuseum.org/classes.html.
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New in the Shop |
Some wonderful new books have arrived:
LUCILE LTD, by Valerie D. Mendes and Amy de la Haye. The V&A
has again has produced a marvel from its extraordinary costume
collection. The House of Lucile inaugurated a new era of fashion
marketing, with the first catwalk showing, beautiful models and
seductive lingerie. While her reign was from the 1890’s to
the 1930s this volume reproduces her Autumn 1905 collectuon by
watercolors, samples of fabrics and trimmings with designs for every
occasion for the privileged world of Edwardian fashion. A
timely adjunct to our exhibit,
BABY WORE WHITE, ROBES FOR SPECIAL OCCASIONS 1800-1910, by Heather
Toomer
The christening gown as a pallet for the most exquisite embroidery and
lace and its relationship with contemporary adult fashion.
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EMBROIDERED WITH WHITE, Heather Toomer
The finest of 18th century whitework embroidery, Dresden work, often
confused with lace, is fully explored in terms of costume and society.
From BARBARA FAY, a German publisher of lace books, several dozen
fascinating books on lace and lacemaking, specifically bobbin lace are
well worth perusing through. Most are pattern books of the Eastern
European guipure stiles where much is accomplished with relatively few
bobbins, the now popular Schneeberger lace well represented. The
following is only a sampling:
36 KLOPPELBILDER NACH DER NATUR, Irmgard Schneider
A classic in natural forms. Includes 36 designs of herbs, flowers and
some animals. Free pdf English translation download.
AUSTRIA-SPITZE - EINE KLOPPELSPITZE DES WIENER JUGENDSTILS, Leopoldine
Winkler
“Art Nouveau Lace from Vienna.” Austria lace from
the early 1900s by color coded 25 patterns. Requiring only 6-9 pairs it
is easily worked and similar to Schneederg lace.
DENTELLES DU PAYS D’ENHAUT, Ruth Doepfner-Wetttein
Traditional lace patterns in fine net ground from early 19th c. in the
Pays-d’Enhaut area of Switzerland.
FLORAL BEDFORDSHIRE, Yvonne Scheele-Kerkhof
40 new designs for flower motifs embellished with rolled tallies and
gimp threads with inspiration from Thomas Lester designs.
Characteristics are many bobbins, and pairs frequently added and
removed.
GEKLOPPELTE FRUHLINGSMOTIVE, Brigitte Bellon
38 projects in techniques including Russian Tape, Duchesse,
Schneeberger, Torchon and Guipure
GEKLOPPELTE OSTEREIER, Annelies Kirst
20 colorful Easter egg shapes in pictorial and abstract designs by
color photo and pricking.
KLOPPELN AM LAUFENDED BAND, Gisela Wirtz
From a selection of 64 differently structured tapes, geometric designs
are formed and then combined into 15 bobbin lace patterns for doilies,
mats, ties, etc.
KLOPPELSPITZEN-EINE ZEITREISE, Enrika Knoff
The story of bobbin lace including origins, identification and tools
with illustrations of over 230 pieces illustrated.
SCHMUCK PARURES-24 KLOPPELMUSTER, Anita Dajcar-Florin and Catherine
Lambert
24 contemporary bobbin lace accessories from these Swiss artists for
collars, brooches, earrings, etc usinmg color, feathers, beds, etc.
Beyond books, the newest and long awaited “Salem
Witch” embroidery scissors has finally arrived. This symbol
of the Salem with its short fine point will be a welcome addition to
any needleworker’s stash.
And for those who require that special needle, we now have a unique
pliers to create a bend or bends in any needle, exactly where you want
it.
The Clover flower loom is now in stock. For those whose fascination is
with Teneriffe lace, the 6 different shapes and sizes is certain to be
inspiring...and, you can also use it to make yarn and ribbon flowers.
The “Liabeth” #20 cordonnet is a must to try. We
believe this to be the finest quality 6-ply thread available. Made form
100% Egyptian cotton, it is gas-singed and double mercerized for a
beautiful sheen. It is available in full 76 color range of variegated
and matching solid colors. Free color sheets available.
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Encounter the summer months.
Find time for supporting our rights and dignity...find time for
quiet...find time for enrichment...find time to create...
Jules
Lacis Museum of Lace and Textiles
2982
Adeline Street
Berkeley, CA 94703
http://lacismuseum.org/
at Ashby & Adeline
St., adjacent to the "Ashby" BART Station
Hours: Monday thru Saturday 12:00 - 6:00 pm
tel: 510-843-7290 |
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