Textile Symposium – Market Place

One of the highlights of the conference in my opinion, was the Market Place. As you might imagine, there were lots of very unique things available, and who wouldn't enjoy shopping in such an atmosphere? I was extremely abstemious, but I did have to make one purchase of a Nuno felted silk and wool collar and cuff set.
Photo Link
The artist was Melissa Arnold, and she had lots and lots of wonderful things, and of course I think I could make my own version of some of them, and possibly this as well, but I was just so enamored of it that I thought I'd treat myself. I wore the set at the conference on Saturday, and got many, many comments and compliments on them.
Photo Link
I love both pieces, and besides the way they look, it's nice and warm to wear, which was great since the conference was really almost cold most of the time. Too much air-conditioning for the weather, which was rare and perfect fall weather during the entire week.

Another plus was that the Nebraska Bead Association held its annual show and bazaar at the hotel on Saturday, and I did buy a few things there as well. I've not been to their show before, and it was quite large, with both finished items and everything you could desire to make your own I seem to be enamored of copper lately, so I got a few copper things, and we'll see what happens from there.

Details of the Marfy pants will be in my next post.

Textile Symposium II - Conference

The papers and research presentations given at the Symposium are the main part of the event. (This link will open a PDF of the entire program.)

There were 4 rooms with 3-4 presentations each in the morning and twice as many in the afternoon of each day, plus a keynote speaker in the morning each day, so there was a lot of information to digest. Thursday evening there were gallery tours, as museums and galleries in Lincoln and a few in Omaha had a total of 33 textile-related shows in accord with the conference. There were two bus routs for the tours, which we coordinated, and quite a few were within walking distance. People were going in every direction, and it was quite a popular evening.

Friday morning was similar to Thursday, but in the afternoon people chose an off-site seminar or workshop from 14 choices and were bussed to their destination. I went to the one which included the Hillestad Textile Gallery, the clothing collection at UNL and the New Fibers talk. It was wonderful to see the collection up close, and we got to examine the suits slated for the next Hillestad exhibition, as well as a Ralph Rucci dress made with 'thread worms' that just happened to be on a mannequin in the collection storage room. When the afternoon sessions were over, there was a Reception at Sheldon Art Gallery, and then the Banquet and keynote speaker.

Saturday was the last official day, and there were sessions in the morning and afternoon, then a
Native American dance troupe exhibition and regalia display.

On Sunday there were two post-conference workshops:
Ralli Quilts: Treasures from Pakistan and India and
Feltmaking with Janice Arnold and Chris Martens

and one tour:
Native Americans of the Winnebago and Omaha Tribes.

This is a felt-making video made by Christine Martens.

Textile Symposium I – Conservation Tour

I think I'm finally almost recovered from the intense experience that was the Textile Society of America's Biennial Symposium. As I told you before, I was the assistant Volunteer Coordinator, and so I attended almost the entire time. Since I mainly needed to be available in case any 'emergencies' arose, and in general things ran very smoothly, I was able to attend many of the sessions and presentations that appealed to me. Truly a fabulous opportunity, and I would recommend it to anyone who has the chance to do something like this. (The next one will be in the Fall of 2012 in Washington, D.C.)

I'm going to split up my posts on this, or it would be really long. I'm also sorry to say that the photos I took were all accidentally deleted. Not that I had that many, or that they were that great, but they were there anyway.

My first day was Wednesday, the 6th. I was a host on the Conserving Textiles on the Plains Tour. We left the Cornhusker Hotel (most of the events were held there) and went on a series of behind-the-scenes tours.

There were 2 other tours participants could choose.
Incomparable Art/Exceptional Spaces or
Nebraska's Colorful History.

There were also two workshops available.
Investigation of Natural Dyes: Reds and Purples or
Jacquard: A Loom of Opportunity

On to the Conservation Tour.


First stop was the International Quilt Study Center. I'd been there before, but this was different. We got to see the quilt conservation and storage areas, and saw some of the quilts that are stored flat instead of folded, because of their special traits. We saw volunteers re-folding quilts, which is done continually, so that each quilt is re-folded at least once in 2 years. Their photography studio was interesting as well, as it allows them to take the photos which are detailed enough that they can put on their website for off-site study. Of course we stopped at the gift shop on the way out, and quite a few books and other items accompanied us onto the bus.


Next stop was The Gerald Ford Center, which was a surprise to me. I'd not been there before, but assumed it was dedicated to honoring/explaining Ford's presidency. It does have that as a small part of its function, but its main purpose is as a conservation center for Objects, Paper and Art. It originally was designed to include textile conservation, but there was so little call for it that the textile lab was given over to art instead. As you might imagine, people are less willing to pay the conservation costs for textiles than they are for artwork that needs repair. Sad, but true. The facility is both a Regional Center and the State's official conservation arm. It's locked at all times, so I'm unsure how one arranges a tour if you're interested.


The last stop was DeSoto Bend and the Steamship Bertrand site.
It's both a wildlife refuge, and a repository for the artifacts recovered in the excavation of the ship almost exactly 100 years after it sank in the Missouri River. It hit a snag, and then the river shifted, as it often did, and the site was lost. When it was discovered, almost all of the original cargo was still on board, covered in mud, sand and water.
Since no oxygen had gotten to the 4000 artifacts, things were remarkably well-preserved. The Bertrand was headed for the gold fields in Montana, and thus had a lot of tools and basic living equipment on board, but also shoes,, hats, clothing, fabric, buttons, sewing supplies, etc. We all drooled over the buttons and some of the fabric as well as a couple of very fancy hatpins.


When we came back to Lincoln, everyone got off back at the Quilt Center for a reception. I went home and went to choir practice and to bed early for an early start on Thursday.

Symposium Here I Come

Yes, tomorrow I begin attending the Textile Society of America's Biennial Symposium. It's being held here in Lincoln, Nebraska, and registration actually began this afternoon, but the first thing I'm involved in is the Conserving Textiles on the Plains tour. I'm excited about it, and it should be a very interesting day as we go from the International Quilt Study Center to Omaha and The Gerald Ford Conservation Center, then on to DeSoto Bend and the Steamship Bertrand site.

I've been working on narrow knit pants (in lieu of leggings), and finally have something I'm pretty happy with. I've made two iterations of Marfy #0913, the pants shown in this drawing below, in black, pink and lavender. I made the first pair after doing a Flat Seat Adjustment, and adding 4" to the length (2"above the knee, and 2" below). I did the curved hem vent, as shown.



The second pair are the ones I'll repeat. I added side seam pockets, and re-did the FSA, making it a little more-so, and added another 2" to the length below the knee, plus an inch for a hem allowance. The brown ponte knit was a good fabric choice, as they seem to have good recovery. I may do them without the extra hem allowance next time, just adding the 6" total to the length, and turning up an inch. These kind of puddle on my feet, which is nice too.

I'm planning to wear them tomorrow, so there may even be photos. It's going to be an early start for me though, as I have to be downtown by 7:45am.

Textiles and Settlement: From Plains Space to Cyber Space

Above: Robert Hillestad's work in the Robert Hillestad Textiles Gallery in the Department of Textiles, Clothing & Design at the University of Nebraska - Lincoln
Photograph courtesy of the Robert Hillestad Textiles Gallery


I'm the Asst. Volunteer Coordinator for the Textile Society of America's Biennial Symposium which is being held here in Lincoln, Nebraska, Oct. 6-9. We are looking for volunteers to fill a time slot of anywhere from a few hours to all day. Mostly, it's being available (either at the Cornhusker Hotel or another venue, or on a bus going between) to help the attendees know where they should be, or if they are on the right bus, etc. Also registration, or handing out box lunches. It varies, and you can choose.

What do you get for doing this? You get to attend the session/class of your choice FREE. Since the cost of the registration to be able to attend even one class as a regular attendee is several hundred dollars, this is quite a nice deal, if you are interested in any of the offerings.

For the schedule and description of classes download Preliminary Program PDF so you can see what it's all about. Please let me know ASAP if you are interested, as when slots and classes fill, they are full.

Here's the Welcome page of the Schedule and description to give you a small taste of what you're likely to find at the Symposium.

Once again, I am only the Asst. Volunteer Coordinator, and if you want to attend the Symposium as a regular attendee, you must register at the Textile Society's site. It would be a wonderful opportunity for some truly wide-ranging, yet very specialized textile learning, and worth every penny, so go for it if you can.

WELCOME

A dedicated steering committee of local planners and national TSA board members have been working since August 2008 to insure that the wealth of resources located in this central region will be accessible to you. Our pre and post symposium tours and workshops will entice you to arrive on Tuesday and depart on Monday so you can take advantage of at least one tour and one workshop.


In Omaha, plan to see the outstanding exhibitions mounted at the University of Nebraska-Omaha Weber Fine Arts Building Gallery and travel downtown to the historic Old Market district to visit the Hot Shops 1301 Gallery, Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts and the Jun Kaneko studio and Kaneko: Open Space For Your Mind. We have included these exhibitions in the pre-symposium art tour, as well as an extraordinary private collection in Lincoln. In the textile conservation tour you have an opportunity to see some of the breathtaking Nebraska landscape as you travel to DeSoto Bend National Wildlife Refuge to see the Steamboat Bertrand exhibition. Native Prairie distinguishes the history tour, which will include a visit to Homestead National Monument.


Following the symposium participate in a guided tour of the Winnebago and Omaha communities. Our Saturday plenary session speaker, Judi M. gaiashkibos, has graciously agreed to journey with you for this tour. But, if you have been reading Willa Cather since your childhood, you will not want to miss this opportunity to get to her home in Red Cloud on the arts and letters tour.


We offer four hands-on workshops, all held on the University of Nebraska-Lincoln campus. Explore natural dyes with Dominique Cardon and Elena Phipps; digital Jacquard design with Julie Holyoke of Lisio in Florence; felt making with Janice Arnold and Christine Martens; and ralli quilt practice with Tricia Stoddard.


In partnership with the Sheldon Museum of Art, Saturday night we are offering a free screening of The Desert of Forbidden Art, an exciting new documentary about the rescue of 40,000 artworks sheltered at a remote desert museum in Uzbekistan narrated by Ben Kingsley and Sally Field.


Sunday offers a full day of post symposium activities.
Use our Facebook page to help plan your trip and hook-up with room-mates, investigate restaurants, and link to maps we have designed to help you get acquainted with Lincoln destinations.


Wendy Weiss and Diane Vigna, co-chairs


PRELIMINARY PROGRAM ~ SUBJECT TO CHANGE ~ WATCH FOR UPDATES