It’s been a busy month! I was fortunate to attend the symposium Under the looking glass: object-related research in museum costume-/ fashion collections, organized by the International Committee for Museums and Collections of Costume, Fashion, and Textiles on April 21 and 22. The event honored costume curator Bianca du Mortier who just retired after over 40 years at the Museum. Jenny Tiramani, a costume designer and Principal at The School of Historical Dress was the keynote speaker. She quoted historical novelist Hilary Mantel: [History] is what's left in the sieve when the centuries have run through it – a few stones, scraps of writing, scraps of cloth.

Tiramani spoke about the Bacton Altar Cloth, a 16th-century garment that is considered the sole surviving dress of Queen Elizabeth I. The Queen owned 1,900 dresses! The cloth, embroidered in an elaborate floral design and made of cloth of silver, is an important relic of Tudor fashion and luxury trade, containing dyes from as far away as India and Mexico.

Tiramani proposed that the cloth did not come from a dress but rather a ceremonial canopy— something to study further!

Several talks addressed the rising trend of creating 3-D renderings of costumes as a document and study tool. Other scholars and curators spoke about resources in The Netherlands (modemuze.nl), the programming and collection of the Kunstmuseum den Haag (wonderful shows!), hosiery as the first ready-to-wear clothing in the 17th century and Icelandic stockings, the elegant sculptural feats of Balenciaga, the black dye of Flanders from the 1500s, current dye analysis underway that is sponsored by the Rijksdienst voor het Cultureel Erfgoed, and beaver fur as material for the wide-brimmed hats we see on Dutchmen in1600s portraits. One speaker posed the question, “What does the past mean to us now?" I think about that a lot. It’s certainly the work of museums. What does it mean for you now? What is your relationship to the past and to history/ies?

An institution that is dedicated to our relationship with history, craft, and culture is the John C. Campbell Folk School in Brasstown, North Carolina. From May 7 - 13, I taught my first, week-long, in-person course, Drawing With Thread: From Tradition To Contemporary Art. What a wonderful place surrounded by natural beauty with delicious food and kind people! The school, established by John’s wife Olive in honor of her husband in 1925, was modeled after the Danish craft school tradition which believes in learning new skills as a path to self-discovery. The curriculum includes local Appalachian crafts, music, and dance, as well as arts from around the world. I am now more of a Bluegrass fan after attending the School’s morning song concerts and listening to the music students practice tunes together!

My group of embroiderers made amazing work! People attended from all over the country with a range of stitching experience from beginning to advanced. My goal was to help them expand their skills and how they see embroidery– as a tool for making art beyond replicating patterns– away from preciousness and perfectionism. It was a success as you’ll see below!

I look forward to returning to teaching in Brasstown again in the future! In the meantime, if you’re interested in making an embroidered art piece, with textile history, design principles, and inspiration from artists’ work, join me for the online version of the class over 6 sessions on Sundays, Sept. 10 - Oct. 15, 2023.