Friday 26 August 2016

Chelmsford Cathedral and the Quaker embroidery




First begun in 1981, and taking 15 years to complete, the Quaker Tapestry (a set of embroidered panels), tells the story not only of the Quaker faith but many important aspects of western history. Several of these panels are now on display at Chelmsford Cathedral, in Essex. 


The embroidery was the idea of Anne Wynn-Wilson (1926-1998) and inspired by the Bayeux Tapestry (also an embroidery), but instead of one continuous strip of fabric this work is made up of 77 individual panels.  It apparently took 4000 individuals to complete this mammoth task - some of them people who had never embroidered before.


Many Quaker businesses are well known in British Society - Barclay and Cadbury are perhaps two of the most famous.  The Quakers are well known for their involvement with the anti-slavery campaigns of the eighteenth century and as conscientious objectors during WWII, when many of their members took on non-combative roles assisting with medical units.  There are many other aspects of Quaker life you can learn about through the work.

One of my favourite Quakers is Elizabeth Fry (1780-1845) who was not only an abolitionist but a friend of the poor and the prisoner.  One of her schemes to help women convicts was to create schools inside jails where she would encourage women to read the Bible and sew, rather than play cards, fight or beg.  She created the British Ladies Society for the Reformation of Female Prisoners (in 1821) which not only collected donations of sewing equipment and materials for women convicts but encouraged women to aid and assist those of their own sex encouraging reformation as well as empathy.

The Quaker Tapestry is in Chelmsford until 3 September 2016, Monday to Saturday 10am to 4pm.  Admission is free but they have a lovely  shop of books, cards and kits which if purchased supports their exhibitions.  Otherwise the work can be seen at its permanent home at the Quaker Tapestry Museum in Kendal, Cumbria.  Visit the Chelmsford Cathedral on a Wednesday and there is the added bonus of a very nice cafe with home made cakes and scones.

Friday 19 August 2016

In Utopia even the quilts sing!


In London last week, my friend and I decided that with just an hour or two spare after lunch we wanted to visit an exhibition that might not be too large and was on route for our journey home.  I suggested an exhibition at Somerset House, specifically because I had read it included an e-textile, ie a textile with an electronic element.  I was intrigued to see how such a piece would work - would the electronics be gimmicky or actually add something to the piece of work?

The exhibition itself was an initiative of King's College London.  It was called Paths to Utopia and includes not only exhibitions but events, discussions and installations.  It has been running since July, continues until October 2016 and is a collaboration with Somerset House and the Courtauld Institute. All these activities come under the title of Utopia 2016.  The events and displays are responses to the 500th anniversary of Thomas More's Utopia, a copy of which is currently on display in the British Library in the Treasurers of the British Library gallery (until 18 September 2016).  Some of the display pieces have and will change, but the textile work will remain for the duration.  

Thomas More created the word "utopia" to mean "no place" or "no where", rather than the modern interpretation which suggests a perfect world.  The British Library page suggests that More was asking whether a perfect world was possible, whether this was merely a hypothetical question (ie, not something that could actually be created) and what would be the purpose of considering a perfect world that could never exist?  These are deep, difficult questions so it is not surprising that most of the Paths to Utopia exhibition itself is deep and difficult too.  It is best to go in with an open mind not expecting to understand the logic of how it connects to Thomas More's Utopia, but hopefully by learning more about the topic in general it will all become much clearer.  Some of the exhibits had been specifically created to make you consider what your personal Utopia might be.  It is unlikely to be the same as anyone else and perhaps the reason why it cannot exist.  

All the things you are not yet was created by Karina Thompson, an artist based in Birmingham.  It combines traditional craft skills with 21st century technology.  The image itself shows two embryos - taken during IVF treatment and later became the artist's nephews.  When the original image was taken this outcome was not certain.  The piece is quilted with silver spirals - suggesting movement but also using an ancient symbol often associated with birth and rebirth.  The viewer is invited to touch the quilt and if you do you will hear two boys singing Twinkle, twinkle, little star, which itself is about a rhyme that considers the miracles in the world around us.    This is a textile where "do not touch" does not apply - you need to touch to experience it properly.



If you are interested in e-textiles, this work is worth a visit.  There is a recording of a discussion that relates to the work on YouTube.   The artist is in discussion with Dr Matthew Howard, Lecturer at the Centre for Robotics Research, (the collaborator who helped with the technical aspects), and Neil Denny from Little Atoms. The interview starts at about three minutes in and talks about how the work was created, the technological problems and how they were overcome, plus other ideas about how textiles and technology can work together and why this work relates to the idea of Utopia.

The quilt is beautifully made and the technological element adds to its beauty as well as its meaning.   Everything was well considered throughout the design.  It made me think about other applications for textiles and technology, but also about collaborations across different fields - ie science and art.

All the things you are not yet is on display as part of Paths to Utopia at the Inigo Rooms, King's College London, Somerset House East Wing, Strand, WC2R 2LS until 2 October 2016.  The exhibition is free.




Thursday 11 August 2016

The joy of stitch


Last Saturday (6 August) was the National Day of Stitch - an initiative to encourage more people to take up stitch and embroidery in all its forms.  Along with other members of the Chelmsford branch of the Embroiderer's Guild, I spent part of the day sitting in one of the main shopping centres in Chelmsford, embroidering leaves and birds, while shoppers frequently rushed past.  Of course some stopped to see what we were doing, and some were even tempted to have a go.  It was particularly nice to see children wanting to have a go.  Other visitors told us of the pleasure they had (or used to have) stitching, knitting, crocheting - and hopefully we encouraged some to look out their needles when they got home.  Some even said they would like to join us at our branch meetings.

Since I have been studying over the last few years, I have been stitching less than I used to, but I always enjoy it when I put time aside for some creativity.  It used to be that I would stitch every day - but with other things taking priority I have seem to have got out of the habit.  That was until about a fortnight ago. For just over two weeks I have once again been stitching every day - even if it just a tiny piece of stitching.  Then one day this week I decided to spend a whole day stitching.  

Rather than worry about design and purpose I decided to find a technique I used to enjoy, with no real purpose but to experiment.  I looked through some of my books and came across "confetti fabric".  I seem to remember first coming across it when I did a class with the late Valerie Campbell-Harding


First a base fabric is sprinkled with something such as bonding powder, or painted Bondaweb, and then snippets of fabric and thread are sprinkled on top.  A sheer fabric, such as an old chiffon scarf, is then placed on top to trap the snippets in a fabric "sandwich" and (remembering a covering of silicon paper to prevent the iron sticking to the work) ironed to glue everything together.  Then the fabric is stitched all over - I used zig-zag stitch for speed.  This not only creates more texture it also ensures everything stays in place.  Then the fabric is cut into strips.  I remember saying to Valerie Campbell-Harding that I rather liked it as it was but she, quite correctly said, it will be better if I continue the process further.




After cutting, the pieces are rearranged and joined together.  It might be just a simple technique, but importantly once I started stitching it got my brain thinking "what if"?  What if I did something this way?  What if I changed this element or added a second colour?  What if I changed the stitch?  I remembered it was a good fabric (with a layer of felt) for a book cover and so I also rediscovered the joy of creating machine made cords, with the possibility of turning my experiment into a finished item.

All in all, I did rediscover the joy of stitching for pleasure - not having to worry about what it is going to be, just enjoying the process.  I hope it won't be long before I can set aside another day for some more experimental stitching.



Thursday 4 August 2016

Wandering along the Wandle


The River Wandle in the south of London is in an area of the capital I had not visited until this week. The river's fast flowing nature made it an ideal place for siting water mills at the beginning of the industrial revolution and for this reason a link with the creation of textiles.  The industrial heritage of the river was the subject of a guided walk arranged by the Friends of Coram, a group set up to support the Coram charity.  I knew the area also had a link to the original Foundling Hospital, set up by Thomas Coram, but a bit of history beyond the scope of the walk.

Originally the site of a priory, Merton is now the site of a huge Sainsbury/Marks and Spencer store, but our guide, Stephen Benton, showed us the last remnant of the priory wall (below) hidden behind a petrol station.  


The arch below was another section of the wall, though having been accidentally knocked down (I think in the twentieth century) it is not authentically medieval but a restored section - part ancient and part modern.  


In an area now known as Merton Abbey Mills, until the dissolution of the monasteries by Henry VIII, there had been a priory.  The site was never an abbey but once named, the title stayed. It was here that William Morris set up arts and crafts (Morris & Co) workshops in the 1880s.  Fabrics were woven, printed and dyed - alongside other crafts such as stained glass making.


This was also the location where Edmund Littler produced printed silks and fine fabrics for Liberty. The building above, known as the Show House, (built in 1912), was the design house for Liberty fabrics.


Here (above) a waterwheel, perhaps once used in textile production, and is now used by a pottery.


The building above is the Colour House.  Its flint construction suggests it could be medieval, at least in part.  It was the dye house for Liberty and now the home of a miniature theatre (since 1995).


Many of the buildings have now been turned into restaurants and shops and this (above) was the Apprentice Shop.  Built in the 1920s by Liberty, it was an area to train apprentices.  Left derelict, it was completely restored in the 1980s.


This (above) is the Long Shop - originally used for pressing silk flat, and once heated by furnaces.  It dates from 1906.


This last building is called the "William Morris" and a public house - its age and original use are not known - perhaps it has always been a pub.

After walking through the "abbey" site we travelled further along the river, eventually ending at Morden Hall Park, with mills that produced snuff, not fabric.  This was where our walk finished.  Had we gone a little further we would have reached Ravensbury, once the site of John Arbuthnot's Bleaching and Calico Printing Work where in 1760 thirteen girls from the Foundling Hospital were apprenticed.  Instead there was just time to visit the National Trust cafe before taking the journey home.