The Creators Project has an interesting story about a textile artist, who embroiders portraits with her sewing machine, and likes to do this in rather out of the way places, so the sewing machine is powered by bicycle, often by the sitter!
I’ll admit to being conflicted here. I think it’s a grand idea, but I also get more than a hint of colonial arrogance, too. I’ll think on it some more.
I’m with you there. Very complicated.
Her art is gorgeous, no argument there. I’ve tried what she does and it requires a hell lot of skill, but yeah, needing to go to India to find “fascination” and “inspiration”?
Come on, it’s not as if Britain is devoid of interesting people and places. Many of them are even brown.
The photos made me very uncomfortable. I noted that in most, there would be one, or maybe two interested people, but the rest of the expressions, ooh. Not good. It’s almost a smack in the face, going to places with a very long history of traditional arts, and saying “hey, look at this cool machine and what I can do!”
I get her desire to share and all, but in this case, it really doesn’t seem to be appropriate.
What perhaps most bothers me is there’s no mention in the article (that I saw) that she’s learning about or trying the local embroidery (or other methods she’s interested in), but instead plopping down with fancy kit and quickly(?) making something. I can imagine hearing
I’m a bit leery about the sitter themselves powering the machine. That’s a bit too ‘look at this awesome thing that needs your labour to work’ for me. Doesn’t make her art less skillful, but I’ll agree with Giliell here: why are the places far away filled with people of colour seen as fascinating and inspiring? I find something similar with travel photos, it’s allexotic locales, completely forgetting the beauty and wonder around the corner.
Blf:
Yeah, I have a similar sense. In fairness, there is a divide between hand embroiderers and machine embroiderers, with a good amount of sniffiness on both sides. I’m a hand person, who has a catastrophic history with any type of sewing machine, but if I didn’t have said history, I’d be happy enough to play with one of those wonderful machines. And contrary to what a lot of people think, it does require skill and talent to use one, same as it does to use your own fingers and a hand held needle.
All that said, I think going into places which have a long tradition of beautiful arts, and places where most people would not be able to indulge in a machine to aid embroidery, yes, it smacks of arrogance.
Aaaaaand, I should add that the divide between hand/machine is much more keen in Britain, where they have the Royal School of Needlework, and an extremely long history of some of the world’s most stunning handwork.
Slightly off topic, but my grandmother had an old Singer sewing machine that was powered by a rocker foot pedal. My sister and I were always getting in trouble when we were very young by getting underneath and pumping the rocker pedal back and forth to see the wheel on the side turn. We got a switching more than once for that!
Just about everyone’s grandma had one of those! There were a few of them floating about my family.
To be fair, that’s what you always think when you see a true master at work. I’ve dabbled* in what she is doing and I know how hard that is.
In every one I didn’t just do it on the fly but drew it first. The dragon isn’t even my design but Rowan VT’s.
BTW, I’D totally love to get my fingers on an old machine like that.
I do have a really good electrical ones that I’ve never had the space to put up…
*only the background, not the bunny
Giliell:
But you can say the same for someone who works by hand. I don’t think it’s the method so much as it is the disparity.
Caine
That’s what I was trying to say: Whenever you watch a true master it looks like something easy and almost effortless, but everybody who is moderately skilled at something knows it’s a lot of hard work getting there.
I have a treadle sewing machine in my living room.
It folds into its cabinet and is currently employed as a flat surface.
I used it to make my first quilt. 1152 pieces.
Caine:
I know about this. It happens to me when I visit different countries, I experience a piece of art or music that I like and I get the urge to start rambling about this similar cool stuff that I have in my country and… but then my conscience kicks in: “hey pal, you’re a guest here. Be humble!” It really does feel quite inappropriate. I just share when I’m invited/encouraged to do so, and it feels much better that way.
Kreator:
Yeah. It’s great when you can get into a conversation and share back and forth, but before that, yes, you should probably have more interest in what you’re seeing and hearing about.