The “Lace, Not Lace” exhibition opened at Hunterdon Museum on Sunday afternoon. There were crowds there….a line to get in the museum, a line to buy the catalog, a line to get into the room with the full size, bobbin lace carriage made of copper wire, and quite a traffic jam at the stairs. All the lines were worth it.
The Urchins were, of course, the largest scale pieces in this exhibit. But there were other large pieces inside. This piece by Pierre Fouche is a mixture of bobbin lace and macrame. The shadows were fascinating, even though it’s now hard to tell the piece apart from its reflection on the wall.
This might be the tiniest piece. Three little vehicles–a catboat, a yellow cab, and an airplane, all done in needle lace– suspended by thread across a corner, casting larger than real shadows on the two walls. Dorie Millerson has a lot of miniature needle lace items that often cast HUGE shadows.
Here are a couple of other lace pieces done on a typically small scale. First is a piece by Dagmar Beckel-Machyckova, a series of bobbin lace dwellings, called “Habitats of Hypocrisy.”
Lenka Suchanek has two pieces in this show that are very different. The other piece is an elaborate silver wire neckpiece embellished with garnet beads. While it is extragavant and exquisite, this piece has such beautiful form, it was the one I had to capture.
This piece is so elegant and mysteriously UNdecipherable. In the catalog, Veronika Irvine gives her math equation that helped her design this piece. It’s pretty daunting–like a moebius on steroids. She marvels that 17th and 18th c. lace display “an astounding mathematical complexity, although made by an entirely illiterate workforce.” Her website give more information.
And here is the piece shown on all the promotion materials for this exhibit: Lieve Jerger ‘s “Carriage of Lost Love, 1977-2018.” It was housed in its own room, where the shadows cast on the walls and ceiling by this bobbin lace construction of copper wire was lit from within. A staff member of the museum stood at the entrance to limit the number of people entering at one time. It allowed all of us to see this work and enjoy the shadows cast all around us.
At the end of opening we were led outside to hear Choi and Shine talk about designing and creating the large Urchins. Each one is crocheted from one long length of cord, and Jin Choi told us about her design challenges in creating these orbs.
At the end of the talk, we were all invited to enjoy live music and dinner from two food trucks, while we waited for the lighting at dusk.
The view from the museum across the spillway.
Dusk at last! Beautiful!
And then it was fully dark, on a night that included a 2-days-short-of-full moon.
The “Urchins” will only be on display for two weeks, so if you want to see them, better get on the road right now! The rest of the exhibition will continue through January 6, 2019.
Three good friends joined me for this adventure, and sharing something like this is definitely multiplied by enjoying it with like-minded compatriots! We sat in a cafe along the river to wait for dusk to arrive and the lighting of the “Urchins.” It was a memorable excursion that we’ll remember for decades to come.
In other life news, I got this card in the mail from a friend on the West Coast. It just makes my day every time I see it! I think I’ll frame it so it can be a ‘memo to self’ that it’s not always about the outcome as much as it is about the dream and the journey.
Lastly, I need to show you my grandchildren! First, two wonderful photos of Tori. In this photo, she’s a magical princess in a fairytale land created by a local photographer who has documented the arrival of the twins.
And to balance– here is ‘real life’ Tori, helping her Daddy with some yard work. She loves to help outside, so he bought her some hearing protection. He’s such a thoughtful daddy.
This week the twins visited the pediatrician for their first vaccinations. Emme needed some support from little Rhett so she grabbed his hand….or maybe she wanted his cute binky holder. I’m going with the former.
And a little frosting on the cake for last week! — Bob has put a beautiful finish on my new Jensen wheel. It spins like a dream.
And my good friend, Susan, has cut fabric off her loom that she wove for me! She is now making me a tote bag and napkin that was a guild project a couple of years back. I don’t care how long I have to wait! The fabric is gorgeous, so I don’t mind waiting a bit longer for the tote bag and napkin. Lucky, lucky me.
Life is full of so many wonderful textiles, isn’t it? Lace is only one wonderful piece of it.
