Category: Travel

  • Smarthistory

    The Center for Public Art History, Smarthistory, is an amazing resource for anyone interested in art and culture. Smarthistory was founded by Dr. Steven Zucker and Dr. Beth Harris, both art historians, in 2005. Their aim was to bring the fascinating histories of art to a wider audience and today there are more than 800…

  • Haptic and Hue

    If you enjoy podcasts and love textiles, Haptic and Hue have a surprise in store. Haptic & Hue has just celebrated its 5th birthday. The series “explores the creation of fabrics and the stories that lie behind them” in stories and audio, and if you become a member there are additional benefits. This month, for…

  • Happy New Year

    A Christmas visit to Mount White Station.

  • The last blog post of the year

    We are nearly at the end of another year and this is the final post until 2026. This year has been one of excitement and hope with some disappointments and despondency along the way. As it has often been said though, the bad times illuminate the good and the good times have been very special…

  • Britta Marakatt-Labba

    The Swedish mixed-media artist, Britta Marakatt-Labba, uses textiles to comment on pressing issues such as climate change, land use and her native Sámi heritage. In these works embroidery takes its place alongside other techniques and media to create pieces that tell stories. In the 1970 and ’80s a proposal for the construction of a dam…

  • Bamboo sculpture

    The versatility of bamboo extends to sculpture. Bamboo is strong yet pliable and it lends itself to all sorts of activities including sculpture. Thanks to a friend of the blog who sent this link in to share.

  • Lucia – Sweden’s celebration of mid-winter

    Lucia is celebrated on the 13th December annually in Sweden but the festival has ancient roots. Celebrated for centuries, St Lucy’s Day is a welcoming back of the light at the time of year when the short days mean darkness and cold. To mark the occasion girls and boys dress in white gowns and process…

  • An ancient war cloak returns home

    This week a pauku, a Māori cloak that was designed to be worn during warfare, was unveiled in Auckland Tāmaki Makaurau after being rediscovered in Durham University’s Oriental Museum in England. The pauku was designed for strength with lightness, a very desirable quality when fighting, and its complex structure of tightly woven whatu aho pātahi,…

  • The language of textiles

    We all know certain words have come into common use from the textile industry, but there are some surprises out there. Chetham’s Library in Manchester, UK is the oldest public libraries still in existence in the United Kingdom. It was established by Humphrey Chetham, a sixteenth century textile merchant from Manchester, who left provision in…

  • Reinventing tradition: Khazakh music

    A musical renaissance is going on in Kazakhstan. Each month Songlines, the British magazine dedicated to world music, features articles and audio from around the globe. This month one of the articles is about the reinvigoration of traditional music and instruments in the country of Kazakhstan in Central Asia. Once part of the Soviet Union,…