Welcome to the New Year!
We started our meeting at 10am again and brought lunch. We do have the room for most of the day and Sandie is asking for feedback on the later start and the longer time.
Our Triangle backgrounds are going to be shown at the March 16 VSSQ meeting. Sandie would like you to write a 2-3 sentence artist statement to be shown with the pieces. You can print it and include it with your piece.
We have some inside information on Art Walk 2023, the theme for their show this year is Story Time, Books or Literature. As we plan on possibly showing our Whisper pieces there this year you might want to keep that in the back of your mind when you work on your challenge ( or not! that is up to you.)
Gallery Vertigo is not putting out a call for entry this year as the Fibre Art Show will be a COVID delayed exhibit by the Fibre Art Network, Threads of Hope. https://www.fibreartnetwork.com/
The next call for entry will be for the March 2024 exhibit.
Linda and Judith brought us some of their extra interfacing and fabrics. The leftovers will be delivered to the guild.
Show and Tell
Cathy had finished and gifted her Dragon Boat and the gift tag for her son but sent along pictures. She made a very colourful Biblical tassel and was offering to share the triangle background that she didn't like. Her beautiful piece on fabric and stretched over a canvas was made instead and so well done!
 |
| Dragon Boat |
 |
| Gift tag for her son |
 |
| Biblical tassel |
 |
| Triangle Background |
Cathy also showed one of her older quilts and I missed getting a picture. On it were twisted pleats and here is a link to the blog post on how to do them.
http://shockinghocking.blogspot.com/2012/01/twisted-tutorial.html
She talked about different textures and how texture is one of the Four Elements of Art. Color, Line, Shape and Texture. We talked about different kinds of texture and the look and feel of the surface either real or implied.
Shirley brought a heirloom baby quilt that she has repaired and it gifting to her granddaughter's first child ( I sure hope I remembered that correctly) It was made by Shirley's grandmother for her first daughter, born in 1969. What a lovely gift and memory.
Elisabeth has finished two Dragon Boats, one with beautiful thread she dyed at a class in Sorrento. She also had a Libby Lehman book on Thread Play and is going to try one of those. Looking forward to seeing it next time.
Linda also finished her Dragon Boat and it is lovely and different as she hung it on it's side.
Joyce played with Texture. She ground up some wet paper in the blender and then spread it out to dry and used some of Christine's ideas from last month. I used some of her lovely paper as the background in the previous pictures.
Bev had also been trying the different ways to create texture and here are a few of her examples.
That brought us up to the part of the meeting where we try out techniques.
Sandie had an easy way to make hexagon's starting with a circle. Fold in half twice and then fold an edge to the middle. You will have two points on the outside. Fold the next point in to the centre and keep folding in until you have worked your way around the circle.
 |
| And it is huge! |
Brigitte then took us to our Tassel for the Month. She talked about the Guild of Passementer's and had a power point presentation on the subject. Some of the amazing examples Brigitte found of elaborate tassels.
Definition
The root word for passementerie literally means “braid,”
The Acadamie Francaise tells us in its dictionary that “passementier” is
someone who makes and sells trimmings made of gold, silver, silk, etc
What then is passementerie? In its most accepted form, it is the art of
making trimmings, braids, cords, fringe, pompoms, tassels, etc.
Guild of Passementiers
Professional silkwomen could be found in all of the major cities of medieval Europe who
produced luxury silk goods for the ornamentation of clothing and furniture. Their customers
included the merchant classes, aristocracy, and royalty.
Modern histories usually attribute passementerie skills and industries in the United Kingdom to
various immigrant populations from the 16th century onwards. Certainly, by the 18th century, the
French passementerie industry was very well established.
The Guild of Passementiers was responsible for training young designers in these decorative arts, which
predominantly consisted of tassels, but also included fringes, ornamental cords, pompons, rosettes, and
other trimmings.
It took seven years of apprenticeship with the Guild to become a master in the art of passementerie.
Originally used to prevent the unraveling of a cord or knot, the Guild of Passementiers took the tassel from
a functional need into an expression of art.
Members of the Guild were employed by the French aristocracy to embellish the fabrics and furnishings
of their residences. With the help of the nobility, the tassel became a symbol of style.
“Beyond its useful functionality, the tassel became the palette these guild members used to
showcase their artistry.” -Anna Crutchley, The Tassels Book
Buttons, cords, tassels
Passementerie buttons
Death’s head is worked by wrapping thread over a disc in a set
sequence. Although most famous as a button for an 18th century
gentleman’s coat, an early example in two colours can be seen on a
doublet from 1610.
Ring buttons were most often used in under garments. These buttons
and their associated types are usually commonly known as Dorset
buttons. Ring buttons are believed to date to around 1700
After that she showed us how to make a tassel from one skein of embroidery floss. She also shared with us a cap and hook and we made larger tassels with yarn and decorative threads. Here is mine for now but next month should have some lovely ones to admire.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passementerie
