Tag: textiles

  • Threads of Belonging

    A new temporary public art show is about to be installed in South Sacramento’s Valley Hi-North Laguna Library. The textiles mural is an homage to the immigrant communities of the area, HMong, Filipinx/a/o, and Palestinians, who have contributed to the living history of the Californian capital city. The art work is combined with workshops and…

  • The Long White Cloud

    In 1980 Douglas Chowns, a Northland artist, was commissioned to create a mural for the New Zealand Council for Educational Research for their 50th anniversary. A unique hand-printed mixed media piece was the result: The Long White Cloud. This kinetic sculptural piece was inspired by the artist’s life in Northland since 1972 with stars, bones…

  • Cataloguing the textile collection

    As regular readers of the blog will know the textile collection is in the process of being correctly stored and researched, thanks to volunteers. Some real treasures are being unearthed while this work is going on and one of those is a hunger cloth by the charity Misereor. In 1976 Misereor reinvigorated the “Poor Man’s…

  • Stansborough

    The farm of Stansborough is a diverse enterprise that includes a rare breed of sheep, woven cloth and a whole lot of dedication. Stansborough uses old looms to produce cloth. These looms are the oldest of their kind still in use in the world – they were made in the 1890s – and the fabric…

  • Mississippi Valley Textile Museum

    This week a group of Canadian visitors mentioned Mississippi Valley Textile Museum. This museum in Ontario focuses on the textile industry, labour practices and labourers and the history of production in the valley. Its collections, research centre, biographies and changing exhibitions offer a lively and engaging breadth for any textile enthusiast who is interested in…

  • Rethinking textile printing

    Most of us will be familiar with pigments and dyes derived from rocks – ochre, lapis lazuli… – but maybe textile printing can help rescue polluted water. This project, Crushing the Rocks, by Petra Vicianová, a textile designer and doctoral candidate in the textile department at the Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Bratislava,…

  • Around the world in 80 fabrics

    When marine biologist, Tierney Thys, found that her research sites were being contaminated by microplastic she decided to do something about it. The result is “Around the World in 80 Fabrics“, a non-profit initiative that started out with a quilt. The quilt was created with a group of Californian middle-schoolers who responded to a National…

  • Online learning

    There are plenty of online resources that bring together lots of different subjects to learn about. Most of us like to learn something new and sometimes it seems like there isn’t enough time to go to a regular class. This is where websites like Coursera or Domestika can help. You can sign up to lots…

  • Woolscours of New Zealand

    From the earliest days of the woollen industry in New Zealand there has been a demand for scouring the clip. Scouring is the name for washing the shorn wool, getting rid of lanolin and ensuring that the fleece is clean. Before the advent of industrial processes, wool was sent “in the grease” to London to…

  • Rya rugs

    Rya rugs are floor coverings from the Nordic countries but Finland has made them into an art form. The traditions of rya rugs dates to the pre-Viking age and it is believed that these coverings were originally made for fishing boats, keeping fishermen warm in the harsh climate of the North. Later they became part…