Artist Statement

I am intrigued by lace. I have been collecting and analysing worn lace fabrics for five years in my creative practice and research. I have collected many pieces; however, none fascinate me as much as a silk drawn-work embroidered lace tablecloth that was transported from Korčula. Croatia, to Fremantle, Western Australia by great-great grandmother in 1913. Despite the technical and aesthetic prowess of other laces in my collection, the survival of the lace heirloom over oceans and generations defines its significance. 

 

Tales from the Tablecloth is a textile work that brings together a range of techniques that seek to visualise my fascination with the ancestral lace artefact. This is a highly layered textile work that explores the laces’ narrative laden surface and characteristic pattern of holes, in a new and contemporary way. The following images document my making process.

 

A detailed, exegetical recount of this project, “Interlacing the Known and the Unknown: Lace, ancestry and practice-led research,” can be found in the published conference proceedings of Futuring Craft 24: The Value of Craft.