A Question of Standing * Needleworks From Horn @ The Westfries Museum Until 10 March 2013

A Question of Standing - Beautiful handworks from Horn 1750-1825 will on exhibition at the Westfries Museum until 23 March 2013. Horn and Enkhuizen are amongst my favourite places on the banks of the Markermeer - about 20 miles north of Amsterdam. They are steeped in history and their streets are lovely and not particularly well-known amongst tourists.

On display are 36 embroidered works from the period 1750-1825 all of which were created in Horn by the daughters of the upper and ruling, or Regent, classes. The sampler above is by Aafje Ver Loren, born 1744, the daughter of a prominent family of Hoorn.

And here you can see her magnificent portrait to commemorate her wedding day. The motifs and darning patterns on the samplers are unique to Horn and are not found elsewhere. The cloths are initialled and dated and from these clues researchers have been able to trace the makers and uncover their personal background and histories. Where they lived, the profession of their fathers even that of their husbands-to-be has been discovered. Even their families' political leanings!

Below is another young woman, her name is Jannetje Brons. She was born in 1779 and was the daughter of a mastersmith in gold and silver. She is wearing a very particular metal headdress called an Oorijzer to keep her cap in place.

Here you can see just how large these headdresses are and what they would have been like to wear is hard to imagine - but as they were often of expensive metals they signified wealth and status.

The basis of the exhibition comes from the collection of the Westfries museum, supplemented with pieces from various museums in Netherlands and beyond, and from private collections. In addition to the cloths are also costumes, various documents, horns, silverware and porcelain specifically pertaining to the families of the girls. Portraits of a few of the girls survive and can be seen. For more information, please contact Karin Wester (k.wester@wfm.nl) or click here to go to the web-site of the Museum.

Meetings With Remarkable Women - Julia Line of Long Dog Samplers.

I should say from the start that Julia and I have never met face to face, but we have talked via the internet. For those of you who do not know, Julia Line of Long Dog Samplers is one of the most original, inspired and innovative European sampler designers of our time. And here you can see the reason why.

Julia often takes a traditional genre or format, works with it and then expands it beyond known boundaries, taking it to quite unexpected and wonderful new places.

And what you end up stitching is something so totally fresh and unique it makes you smile. Julia speaks design. This fusion of ideas she brings together with her unerring eye for colour is unsurpassed.

For many years I have been a great admirer of her creations. So it was with much sadness I learned of the death of her husband last year - which together with the invasion of her studio in France by destructive (however sweet looking) doormice meant a particularly devastating time for her. But such is her mettle, she is now putting back the pieces and is back to design again. Do go and visit her brand new web-site to view and buy her fabulous charted designs - they are all going to be heirlooms of the future. Here you can see a Christmas ornament that she made for me. It is at the same time so clever and so simple. Such is Julia's artistry. To visit Julia and her Long Dog Samplers, just click here.

The Ros Tapestry * New Ross, County Wexford, Ireland

Europe's largest embroidered tapestry was conceived in 1998 and begun in 1999 and was handcrafted by more than 150 embroiderers from Co.Wexford and Southeast Ireland. Its 15 large panels depict the story from Celtic Ireland to the events which led to the arrival of the Normans to Ireland and the subsequent founding of the Port of Ros by William Marshal & his wife Isabel de Clare.
Careful and thorough research by Ann Griffin Bernstorff into historical events, customs, dress and folklore ranging from the value of cattle under the Brehon laws to the troubadours of Aquitaine and the many Italian bankers who operated in medieval Ros, provides the substance of the tapestry's narrative. You can see the tapestry at Ros Tapestry Exhibition Centre, Priory Court, The Quay, New Ross, County Wexford, Ireland. Click here for more details.

New Year's Ball - Mrs Hurst Dancing

Happy New Year! The quiet time after Christmas is a nice time of year for bringing out loved picture books to browse and one of my favourites is this one. It contains a series of 70 watercolours done by Diana Sperling between 1812 and 1823. Diana was born in 1791 and lived with her family until she married in 1834. She captured with comedic charm scenes from the family life at Dynes Hall near Halstead in Essex. The one above is obviously influenced by Dutch masters with its vignetted three framed spaces in one of which sits Diana's mother, Mrs Sperling, busy at her needlework - though Diana's title is Brisk near her dozing!

Above you can see the title page illustrating a lively dance - so lively that two young ladies have flopped in their seats and are fanning themselves.

This is one of my favourite scenes as it shows the fashionable delight in receiving elsectrical shocks. The human chain of participants is linked to a simple Van der Graaf generator which produces the less lethal direct current shock (as opposed to the lethal alternating current shocks we get from modern electrical supplies.) One famous scientist, Robert Boyle, noticed that false hair was easily electrified - maybe that is why the ladies are keeping their hats on?!

This too is a lovely domestic scene of the family members at their various occupations in the drawing room - not a TV or Games Box in sight. You can see this book on Amazon by clicking here.