Embroidering & Embellishing

Mirjam,

I just read the other replies to your note about your upcoming show and see you'll be posting your the entries to the show later.....I look forward to seeing all the creative entries.

Many haute couture designers have been using embroidery and beading in their shows for the past few years. Oscar de la Renta is well known for his embroidered garments.....if I was a rich lady, I'd love to have one of his embroidered coats! The designs are embellished and embroidered with a Russian folkloric look.....much of Russian design has roots in Byzantine design giving all a very eastern flavor.

Recently, I bought a denim shirt on sale featuring multi-colored beaded designs on the back & front yoke of the shirt and pocket flaps on the front......someday if I can find spare time, I want to do some original embroidery designs on a garment to wear.....I've admired embroidered and embellished clothing ever since I learned to do needlework!

I just read about a needlepoint designer using canvas to replace the yoke on shirts.....great idea that can be used by anyone wanting to embellish a garmet.

I also read many fashion books especially ones that show close up pics of embroidered and embellished pieces through the centuries......I'm truly amazed how detailed the designs are from the past....the hand workmanship is so fine and well done especially considering the working conditions the workers had to labor under before electricity and other modern conveniences.

Various magazines have featured articles on embroiderers working on household decorations....one nice article was in the World of Interiors mag from the UK had an article about Indian embroiderers a few months ago.....the male workers were doing hand embroidered fabrics for interior designers.

One of the fabric shops I go to features hand embroidered silks for interiors with starting prices of $300 and up......some of the jacquard woven brocade silks for draperies are so beautiful & detailed that I'm considering buying some for a jacket.....these fabrics cost $98. per yd but these fabrics go on sale periodically making it possible to acquire some.

The other thing I've noticed are the proliferation of embroidered and beaded hand bags for sale now. These are very popular. I've seen them in many shops and sidewalk vendors selling all types of these decorated bags. Also the many books & magazine articles for crafters to make their own beautifully embroidered, beaded and embellished bags that have been published in the last year or so.

It's nice to see the resurgence of so much hand work considering how industrialized the world has become.

Hallo Lula

The Um -El Fahem exhibition includes 5 of my maps , [ 2 of them showing neighbourhoods of Um El Fahem itself. Um El Fahem is in fact the 2nd Big Arab City in Israel. The gallery in which i have shown before , is quite known [ among other artists who showed there Yuko Ono ,,, and many more]. This time that exhbition includes work By Arab and Jewish women . And is Called Fustanin

-Shalmot ,,{ Dresses both in Arabic and Hebrew]. When you were away i posted my impressions of visiting a Street in Tel Aviv that has MANY Fabric shops. And most of them had EMBROIDERED & beaded & Payyetted fabrics , to trhe point of Kitch , absurdity and Breath taking beauty,,,, I was reminded og Harem clothes Hoolywood style, Of many designers from the Art Deco Style [ see if you can find "A fashion for Extravagance "By Sara Bowman, [Art Deco Fabrics and Fashions], Bell & Hyman , 1985 }

It is nice that it happens but is also a sign of the many poor and hungry willing to work for pennies. Other books that come to mind The Shining Cloth , Dress & Adornment That gliters , by Victoria Z. Rivers , Thames & Hudson, 1999. Dres in detail from around the world, By Rosemary Crill, Jennifer Wearden and Verity Wilson, V& A publictions , 2002, I dream about working on some local Mosaics and turn those into embroidered works ....

My friend Sara who embroiders beads every thing she can put her hand on did a marvelous workl with Denims.

And what eye sight they had ,, and of course no TV to distract them ,. if their boss gave them any frre time at all ,,,,

Both in India and Muslim counties any Embroidery made to be sold is done by males, ladis usually embroider for home use.

Wow !!!!

I ahve long ago started to use such materilas for `different` looking clothes ,,,

OH yes they are really LOVELY , you see them every where here as well and prices aren`t soi high anymore ... I think people need for some PRIVATE look ,,, hand craft -special look. mirjam

Mirjam,

I enjoyed reading your insights about embroiderers & all....always interesting to read your posts as your thoughtful comments give me another perspective to think about.

The 1985 Sara Bowman book is probably difficult to come across at this time but the other list of books you posted has books that I either own or have borrowed from the library. My own personal library is filled with books about costumes and textiles......I can hardly wait until they build my new studio addition so I can finally have enough shelves to put all my books, collections, needlework materials and fabrics to be readily accessible.

My hope is that I won't run out of shelf space! Poor Roger aka Mr Wooly has often said he'd like to buy an old public library building to renovate into our house! As we were planning the renovations, I told the builder to make sure to put in "extra" support beams for my new upstairs studio to which he then made sure to point out how many load bearing beams they're putting in on the architect's rendering yesterday!

The book titled Shining Cloth is one of my favorites to look through for inspiration......the following book is probably difficult to find....Straits Chinese Beadwork & Embroidery 1987 is filled with pics and background info about the hand beading & embroidery traditions of Chinese settlers in Malaya & surrounding areas of southeast Asia.

Another informative book I have is titled Oman Adorned, A Portrait in Silver - 1997.....the book features many close up, color pics of jewelry and decorated clothing from a country known as the Sultanate of Oman bordering the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

It's quite true about the less than accurate cultural visions created by Hollywood.....very imaginative for sure......for many years, most of us grew up with such gaudy middle eastern visions watching movies like Sinbad and other Hollywood style Arabian Nights tales.....it's those movies that have inspired my funny versions of fortune tellers, magicians, flying carpets and similar characters!

Being in Las Vegas has inspired quite a few fun ideas for future designs.....I enjoyed seeing the brilliant neon lights all over the hotels and casinos, so many patterns and colors flashing all over like constant fireworks displays!

Then the often baroque or rococco inspired decorations of the huge hotels from fine art to kitsch with lots of styles inbetween..... tons of gold leaf & crystals.....overall, it was fun to see all this excess! And then, for some odd reason, the vision of a gilded cage came to mind.....we were both happy to come home to our little house with its piles of books & things all over, dustballs rolling in the hallway.....then the best of all, Coco & Cutie, our two happy cats coming to greet us!

Yes, you're so right about using needlework to adorn ourselves, to make us feel individual, and literally not all "cut from the same cloth"!! Emroidering, embellishing our clothing allows for expression as well as making something unique to wear just for the beautiful look!

While in Las Vegas, I saw many beautifully embroidered and embellished shawls....the chilly evenings are perfect for shawls......there were many types of shawls sold in the shops and worn by pedestrians from all over the country & world.

One evening as I was looking through one of the many boutiques, I bought a lovely lightweight wool shawl dyed in ombre shades of red gradations from dark to light that went perfectly with a red silk blouse embellished with all kinds of textured and colorful threads randomly embroidered all over the shirt I had brought from home.....the shawl & blouse looked like they were made for each other and made me feel very stylish when we went out to dinner on another evening!

Overall, it was a pleasure to see the many different needlework techniques used to adorn the shawls, many of which were crocheted, knitted or woven and then embellished and embroidered in all sorts of patterns, styles and materials.....a wonderful collage of styles to enjoy as I people watched while walking through the main thoroughfare better known as the "Strip" and in the fancy hotel shopping arcades.....to get anyplace in the hotels, we had to traverse through smoke filled casinos even if we didn't want to as casinos lined the way to everything!

At the trade show, many women also wear original art clothing they've created. One lady had made a unique beaded brooch in the shape of a figure or doll to pin her shawl together.....she had crocheted the shawl from fur and fabric strips! Definitely an eye catching ensemble!

Sounds good to me!

I was at a library meeting a couple weeks ago, and got involved in a conversation with a mother whose kid moved out a while ago and a mother whose kid just moved out. The second was looking forward to turning the kid's old room into a library with shelves all around the edges. The first said she did that, but was already out of shelf space. We suggested she remove the bed and start putting free-standing shelves in the middle of the room. "I'm sorry, son, but it's true what they say, 'you can't go home again'. Your bed is at Goodwill." ROFL.

In fact, the home I'm inspired by is a friend's which has no walls whatsoever. I'm serious. Absolutely all the interior wallboard came off, and they fitted shelves between the studs. The backsplash behind the sink was tiled, but even in the kitchen there was a wall of cookbooks. Since they were pretty well out of shelf space (yes, even with a couple thousand linear feet), I asked what next? The husband walked over to one "wall" where they'd already started ... next they replace the 6" boards with 12" boards and double-layer.

thank you Jan ,,, It is Funny you give me the adress , But of course i will see the original [and know my work quite well]. Yesterday as i went to the dentist there was a guy speaking about the Same exhibition, he praisd it lavishly. I let him talk and talk [ esp as he was praising my work :>:>:>:>] than i told him my name, he almost huged me from excitement... Thus i am looking forward to the Official opening on February 18th. Which will be a very Artist Day , we will start the morning with an opening in Seamgallery Megadim. A 3 women exhibition "Personal Album", which will combine a painter , a fiberartis working in Stumpwork and a photographer... From there we will travel to Um El Fahem opening at midday , and inm the evening Haifa Museu, will open with an Exhibition cyrated by the New curator ....All thistraveling , will infact happen Around a part of Mount Carmel. mirjam , now back to taking care of the March 25th Exhibition in Seamgallery "A Gift for Eve & And her Daughters" .....

Because,Jan i couldn`t find it on my google search. What is bad in saying something is funny , i smiled , was thankful to you and saw the humor in it. thank you again mirjam And ps since i am part of the group showing and have showed there before i wouldn`t have minded , had you given my name as well , i don`t understand this part of your answer , please elaborate .