Liberate Renovate Celebrate 3

I began looking at ‘domestic cloths’ – embroidered tray covers, table runners and special hand towels – when I was clearing out my mothers’ house. They were made to celebrate a ‘best’ event. They are a tribute to ‘femininity’ – both in the process of their creation, and in the appreciation of the observer.I am liberating these domestic cloths from the back of the bottom drawer, renovating them with creative techniques and elevating them to the wall, to be enjoyed on a daily basis. By working with these items I am ultimately celebrating the femininity in the lives of the original makers.

The weaving of cloth strips is a useful technique to make a new, more robust cloth. The close ‘suture’ stitches give a uniform surface. Any imperfections, wear marks and stains are rendered irrelevant. The strips are all silk, dyed in various eucalyptus baths. Other colours are obtained from scraps of coloured silk fabrics, a rusty metal washer and onion skins.A beautiful piece of old lace is inserted, and lots of bullion loops have been added. The structure of this piece makes me think of the ‘home paddock’ fenced off from the wild unruliness of the rest of the farm.Jane Bodnaruk

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