A few weeks ago it was my pleasure to visit an interesting fibre art exhibition, Tragedy, Treasure and Trade in Fremantle, Western Australia.; and if you are reading this before it closes on 19 August 2008, I recommend you try to get along to see it:
M-F10am – 4.30pm, Sat 1 – 5pm,
Sun 10.30am – 4.30pm
Community Access Gallery, West Australian Museum – Fremantle History, 1 Finnerty Street, Fremantle (in Fremantle Arts Centre complex, entrance opposite gift shop) Cost: gold coin donation Contact details: Suzanne Coleman suzannecoleman@bigpond.com

The group of experimental stitchers from the Embroiderers’ Guild of Western Australia presented their interpretations and impressions in various textile techniques resulting from group and individual visits to and studies of historic collections relating to early european maritime activity on the Western Australian coast. There is particular reference to the wreck in the Abrohlos archipelago of the Dutch ship Batavia in 1629, a subsequent mutiny and dramatic rescue. Ship, cargo and personal relics plus written records of the events and people involved were studied by members of this group, inspiring interpretation through a wide variety of techniques, some of which the group also learned together. This learning was recorded in individual artist journals which most participants also put out on display. Clearly a great deal of technical virtuosity resides in this group, covering the use of paint and print, felting, dyeing, hand and machine stitch techniques, quilting, plus needleweaving and lace constructions and assemblies. In some cases, the journals were more lively than the resulting finished works.

But overall the individual interpretations are the most fascinating part of this exhibition. I was particulary taken with Linda Stokes’ printed silk scarf (UR) in beautiful water and reef colours, using a motif from a salvaged fragment of lace from the Batavia wreck. Glen Hall also took the inspiration of lace and produced a lace scarf, “SOS”, on tulle (LL) using paint and recycled lace in a rich combination of dirty brown colours with a little coppery metallic here and there suggesting faded glory or tarnished riches – in the C17th only very wealthy people owned lace. Jennie Abbott found inspiration in written accounts of seagulls flocking overhead ( UL) indicating land was not far away with “Sails in the Wind”. This beautiful idea was well executed, but unfortunately hanging this contemporary lace piece against a cream wall reduced it’s impact – how wonderful this could have been possibly larger and instead of hanging from a stick, suspended like a cloud from several corners of this small gallery -that’s if it had not been possible to paint a wall blue for the duration of this show – I wonder if anyone asked? The remaining picture I have collaged is of a lovely piece of work, “Miserere Domine”, (LL) by Hannah Katarski, a sensitive compilation of wool felt, silk, free machine embroidery and mixed media. Such a shame it is behind glass, in a frame that does not echo the reliquary or iconic shape of the design within the work itself.
Several forms encrusted with shells, braids and stitch suggested items recovered from the deep – seachests, rocks, old bells, bowls and other artefacts – these were interesting within the context of adding to the thematic tone of the display.

In such exhibitions I personally retreat from literal representations such as maps and stitch compilations that attempt to portray what could be and probably has been, photographed beautifully. For this reason I felt the large panel just inside the door, see below, was a low point in the show. It’s presence was not needed to prove the incredible impact this project had on the individuals involved, and some of the lovely little embroideries attached and worked on it could better have been used in other stand alone works by the individuals who made them.

Since I last posted I have been on the move, busily attending to mostly business matters in Perth Western Australia. When I return to Montevideo next week I will upload some pictures, including a new ‘folly’ / bizarre piece of architecture I saw in one place – some pics and comments regarding a couple of textile exhibitions visited while in Perth, and several other things.

Every now and then when I am travelling I am struck by the detatched nature of being somewhere in transit and not actually connected to any thing or anyone around you just for that time. It can be some overheard snippet of conversation (eg over the back fence one night in Perth, our neighbours’ young we haveing a party – barbie going, drinks flowing freely and music actually not very noisy and rather to my liking, so no complaints – just listening was fascinating: “… she is really hot, you know?…. he had hickies all up one side of his neck …. seriously, I haven’t had sex for three months … what are you two doing over there, not kissing are you? … and so on and so on. Even these young things were also talking property and money – the whole of Perth is yabbering about these things on daily basis as they weather the effects of the giant resources boom in Western Australia right now. My, how those kids have grown up over the last few years since we spent any time in our house in Perth, but mature? ….
It can also be triggered by seeing something that seems out of place and that may be so or not. I’m sure these were out of place – the pair of nice navy women’s shoes in a clear plastic bag lying where they dropped, in the middle of a crosswalk between the Brisbane Airport and the station for the Airtrain. As I paused and briefly considered picking them up and handing them in as lost propertly, I realised that even as I did so someone might be frantically back-tracking to try to find them and walk right past me: and then there was the question as to which side should I hand them in seeing as how they were about half way between rail and runway so to speak. All that seemed to indicate to me to leave them right where they were. And I found that decision to be right for me just then, but oddly unsettling as being not at all characteristic of how I would have dealt with the discovery in some other place/time. Just one of the unexpected snippets that can happen while ‘in transit’

From a new friend in Costa Rica, Silvia Piza-Tandlich, a fellow SDA member, came this wonderful group of sheets of her hand made paper that I just have to share with you. She uses pieces of it in her embroidery (visit http://www.galeriaoctagono.com/ which is a communal site, but some of her work is there)The piece in the rear has particularly luscious long thick fibres that end beautifully at the edge in the URcorner.

I feel they could be incorporated into something, with sheer perhaps? and will post pics if/when I do that. like all precious materials there is a hesitancy to cut into them but make a muck of it – which translates to ‘think twice, cut once’ an adaptation of the old carpenter’s adage. Very inspiring.

I learned a lot from the previous new work I posted, including that it is best to do the burning for what I have in mind when the sheer is actually attached to the underlying layers.

Also I learned that despite all care, occasionally a bit of burnt nylon is spotted onto the underlying fabric, but these lettle dots can be flicked off with the point of a needle once they harden.

In this small section of a current work I just had to do a few quilting lines and some of poking about with the wood burning tool and get a pic up, partly for my own record but also partly to try out a new camera I obtained by cashing a large number of customer reward points at our local supermarket – better even than duty free wouldn’t you say? With several more megapixels than my previous one, and more bells and whistles, I think we’re going to get along just fine; one thing I like is a feature that compensates for a shaking hand – I don’t think this is aimed just at seniors – I think it is a great feature most of us could do with from time to time especially if taking a snap from a moving vehicle, stuff like that. My camera needs are not very sophisticated, I just need to be able to take people pics, occasional touristy ‘been there’ pics, pics of textures anywhere that grab my attention, and pics of interesting textiles incuding close-ups of fine detail. I do have major pieces photographed professionally, rather than cart lighting and other props around in my peripatetic life, however.

This new work brings together several things I want to tackle – like unbound or very non-traditional edges , as I feel that in a way my love of a finely bound or faced edge has in fact been limiting what I am prepared to consider inside the shape,there is no point behaving freely inside a tight, neat box. Perhaps that is a principle I could examine further out in practical parts of Life, like wearing purple etc 🙂 but I digress.

I had been fiddling around with making holes in sheers, feeling I wanted to work more with them – the ephemeral quality having great potential for expressing thoughts on decay, just as punched leather does. In combination I think they are very interesting.