Advice needed

I just had the opposite thought - what about a blast of air from an air hose?

Ah, but if you *don't* dust, you're leaving yourself prey to all the nasty effects said dust can have on your health.

In 1989/90, the Ugly Sister and I shared a house in a Newcastle suburb called Mayfield. This is a suburb that borders the Port of Newcastle on the western side and it's right at the edge of Newcastle's historically heavy industrial area. We had a steelworks, wire rope mills, flat plate mills *and* the railhead for the internationally significant Hunter Valley Coal industry just a hundred yards away from where we lived.

Now, all my life I've heard people from Mayfield 'whinging' about the pollution and particulate matter that falls on their houses from the industries. I'd never paid it a moment of heed on account of none of it affected me. Then I moved to Mayfield myself.

!!!!!!!

Ugly and I would have a cleaning-fest. She'd clean the shower while I scrubbed the bath. She'd wash the floors while I did the walls. We'd both vacuum: she up, I down. And then, at eleven o'clock, we'd both sit down in front of the telly, each with a tube of sweetened condensed milk to suck on while we watched 'Coronation Street'. By one o'clock, you could run your finger along the bath or the basin or the toilet and it would come away *black* with coal dust!

Not only that, but all the duco peeled off our cars! First, they developed tiny little grainy lumps. Gradually, these little noduley things would rub off and then the car would take on a spottish appearance. Eventually, patches of paint would wear away so that the car looked like a giraffe's coat! Mine was green and Ugly's was burgundy, so it didn't have anything to do with the pigment. Of course, everyone else in our street suffered the same problem, so...?

The kids' hair was always dirty and dusty as well. You'd ruffle one of them and your hand would come away feeling tacky, as if you'd recently dusted the windowsills with your bare hand. The windows were perpetually foggy and 'greasy' looking. And, worst of all, we all developed asthma, which is with me to this day! One morning, we delivered the kids to school late. On our way out, the school principal (who was a member of our Pony Club) invited us for coffee in his office. Before pouring, he excused himself and took a surreptitious puff of an asthma inhaler. When I commented that I never knew he had asthma, he replied 'I didn't until I started teaching in Mayfield! Now, it's chronic! At least the kids can identify with me: more than eighty percent of the kids in this school have asthma'. And he opened a cupboard which contained a battalion of puffers, each in a ziploc bag with a child's name and dosage on it!

And then there was the morning that we all woke up to find a strange glamour had fallen on the land. In the night, 'some'thing had come out of one of the legions of smoke-stacks at BHP. Whatever it was, it looked like flakes of mica. It was translucent, flaky and had an iridescent silvery cast to it. It covered *every*thing the eye could see - even our dog had it coating her fur! And yet again, all the residents of Mayfield made a Big Stink about the fallout from the industries. This time, Ugly and I were among them. But I don't think many people paid much attention because it didn't affect them. The BHP maintained that 'nothing' had been emitted from its stacks that night.

Yeah, right...

How about contacting the textile conservation department in one of your major museums? I'm sure they come across this problem often in items that they receive.

Eimear, in BC

Edna i have written you privately, that i am not in favour of framing textiles , Both as a Fiberartist, and curtator . As well as having read and researched the meaning of frames,, I also live in a warm land [which means Dust] we have nets on our windows to keep inscts out and they also keep part of the dust out, i also live beside a road, [and our Bouganvilia keeps part of their dirt outside]. I have some textiles on the walls. Once in a while i shake them , than put a netlike cloth over them and hoover , i also use a soft brush and clean them, and last not least ,, I take a soft cloth , soak it in water Wring it well , and touch with the Humid cloth the textile where i can ,, it is a good cleaner ,,, Humidity caught in closed frames , is more dangerous than a bit of dust .. But of course you have to decided for yourself, Remeber to NOT hang it in any place that gets Direct Sun rays, And that the less light on it the better it will be presserved for a longer time .. All the best with your work ,,, mirjam

Fortunately for me, it wasn't an heirloom piece and DD kind of outgrew her attachment to it. I did have some improvement by using one of those lint removers that is like masking tape reversed on a roller. You can find little travel size ones of these now for tight places. Might help.

Donna in Virginia

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piece

I wouldn't frame it. I think one of the beauties of textiles like this is the ability to view it clearly from all angles. Reminded me of the Joan Miro oversized tapestry piece that used to hand in the East Building of the National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C. That hung there for nearly 30 years. It's gone now and I miss it.

Donna in Virginia

Oh Donna , you mean the Tapestry with Ferdinand , the Bull that refused to fight , and instead like to smell flowers ??? When we visited there it hung there , and we loved it .. mirjam

Okay, Dianne, you've got me really curious. Picture????

Joan

Eeeuuuuwwwww!

Erin Brokovich! Calling Erin Brokovich!!!

Joan

One thing I'd add, if you don't want to frame it. If it is sturdy enough to go into the dryer, use the 'fluff/air/gentle' cycle. I do this with small rugs and wool blankets which cannot be machine washed. It is amazing how much 'crud' comes out. Anything that would come loose (like buttons) could be temporarily removed.

Since this is not something that you would do more than every few years, it might be worth taking a chance. I'd keep a close eye on it and tumble it only for a few minutes at a time.

MargW

Dianne:

Not sure if it would work for your cat, but if you took the brick out, and then used the dryer trick (air only/gentle cycle) I think a lot of the dust would come out. You might want to put a towel or some other small piece in with the cat to cushion it. You might do the corn starch technique first, and then use the dryer to get anything remaining out.

MargW

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Edna:

I love you piece and have had a chance to browse through some of the other pieces. All I can say is WOW - amazing work.

MargW

Well, now you've got me wondering about the Ferdinand tapestry. 'Cause I would like to see that.

I was referring to work titled, "Femme."

Donna in Virginia

It took me a while to find this piece that is "after Miro," not woven by Miro.

It's nearly 35 feet by 20 feet and weighs more than 2,000 lbs.

Image can be seen here -

And MargW replied:

Which made me think: There is that product where you can do "dry cleaning" at home. Can't think of the name of it at the moment....anyone???? Oh, wait a minute...Dryel! Here's a link:

Do you have that available in Oz?

Joan

We have lived all over the US but one place I remember as particularly particulate producing was West Virginia. We had white dishes that were always lightly dusted with black coal dust even though they were stored in a kitchen cabinet when not in use! Also, we had sand devils in the high desert of California and cold dust storms in Montana. We have since moved back home to central Texas. We get dust storms occasionally and we just like to say that it looks like west Texas is passing through! Come to think of it, it's a miracle that I don't have asthma.

Donna We were in Washington in 1982, while we lived in Boston .... Our children grew on the legend of the Bull that wouldn`t fight ,,, Thus the surprise was great when we saw that Tapestry, a HUGE one! of the Bull covered with flowers. It hung beside a Huge Mobile, And it was attributed to Miro ,,, WE speak about it from time to time . I remember it was called Ferdinand , since we wondered after Recognizing the story. mirjam .

Thank you Donna i looked and it doesn`t look familiar ,, maybe they have another one ,,, Did the one you saw Have MANY flowers around the main Figure,? mirjam

Donna here is some information about Ferdinand and the artists who painted him