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On the endless windblown tundra of China, and in the spellbinding but inhospitable uplands of Mongolia, there lives an animal cared for by a nomadic population of goatherders, that hides a treasure – cashmere.
In the 18th and 19th centuries, when cashmere became popular in Europe, it was imported as a finished product in the form of shawls brought in from the Indian region of Kashmir. Today only a small quantity comes from India, most of it undertakes an incredible journey from the remotest regions of Inner and Outer Mongolia, as well as Afghanistan and Iran.
The animal that gives us this prized and much sought-after fibre is Capra Hircus, present in Central Asia for more than ten thousand years. This breed of goat is capable of withstanding extreme weather conditions. The scarcity of water and vegetation in their natural habitat has forced them to accept a varied diet, and as a result they are able to survive on minimal quantities. The harsh winters on the arid and windswept steppes and extreme changes in temperature between day and night, as well as the seasons, require these goats to grow a fleece that provides both warmth and protection. Their outer coat is made up of a layer of long, coarse hairs known as guard hairs but their skin is covered in a fine, soft underfleece, called the duvet. It is the most precious part, the cashmere.
Cashmere fleece is gathered in the spring when the goats moult. The fibre has an almost silky feel and is outstandingly fine: from 13 microns for cashmere gathered from the kid goats – the sumptuous baby cashmere – to 15 microns for adult cashmere.
THE ANIMALS: CASHMERE AND BABY CASHMERE
The creation of two typologies of cashmere – adult and baby – is a new development: until recently the duvet from the adult and kid goats was mixed by the goatherders. And while the two varieties of fibre are similar, the underfleece from the kid goats, which is gathered in the spring of their first year, boasts incredible fineness and rare insulating properties. On average an adult goat yields about 100 grams of cashmere. Kids yield a mere 30 grams of fibre taken once in the lifetime of each young animal. An edited extract from Baby Cashmere: The Long Journey of Excellence, Loro Piana & Bruna Rotunno, Skira Editore, ISBN-10: 8857203697, £60, see pg78 to win one of three copies.
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May 1935, printed entirely on silver paper. Underneath is a small, worn notebook, its spidery handwriting identifying it as a list of Servant’s Wages, dated 1828.
Does it bother him to tear up such beautiful things and wantonly destroy fragments of history? “Oh yes, sometimes. And collectors have a go at me. I’m still reluctant to use that silver Daily Mail paper and this beautiful old Chinese map. I’ve got hundreds of old postcards and letters too. I can’t bear to read the love letters, as I’d never use them if I did,” he says.
Still, remnants of past exchanges and declarations of undying love become overlapping folds of skin beneath a bulldog’s neck, while black air gun target practice cards are turned into the spots on a Dalmatian.
Such transformations – from what are essentially odds and ends of fibre – into characterful canine creations complete with shining eyes, wet noses and almost wagging tails – speak volumes for Clark’s talents, visual, technical and imaginative, even though he jokes it’s all down to the Pritt Stick.
US Cocker – a portrait of an American Cocker Spaniel is made only from American papers: the tail from a Pan Am matchbox, the nose a George Washington stamp, the body a map of the US and – for the dog’s flowing ears and skirt - hundreds of stars and stripes stamps, the waves of the stamps’ franking marks adding to the movement and fluidity of the dog’s coat.
The feistily feminine Prize Poodle is a riot of colour, thanks to her flaming mane made from paper lantern strips above segments of old embroidery patterns. Her
Animal magic nose is cut out from an old packet of Rouge and her legs are made up from old road tax discs. Clark’s work is witty as well as being visually punchy.
He begins by making an outline sketch of each dog, usually copying the obedient pose that breeders make their dogs assume at fairs. Then he blows it up to the size he wants and gets to work rummaging through the boxes for all the right papers. “I play around finding colours and shapes.
If there’s a story, like where a breed might have originated from, I might work that in. I like to layer a lot, so I use fine paper, like orange or Amaretti biscuit wrappers and I like using paper that’s stained, blotchy or faded”.
It’s not difficult to see why Clark has been accused of destroying the past, until you see the finished work. Then, you realise that, far from destroying it, he is both preserving it and creating something new. Katie Law
Inspired by her husband Peter Clark's collaged dogs, textile designer Karen Nicol has started putting her considerable talents (she specialises in embroidery using the Irish Cornely and Multi-head machines as well as hand stitching and beading) to making textile animals, experimenting with mixed media and techniques to stunning effect.
Polar Bear with a Touch of Gold was inspired by the gilded wood panelled interiors in St Petersburg. “For the bear's body I used millinery net which I frayed at the edges to look like fur and then I added gold foiled embroidery over it,” she says.
Goldfish are created from layers of dayglo orange crystal organza, swimming through shimmering drops of water that Karen made by dripping blobs of clear resin around the edges, while a majestic white swan was made by embroidering a pink taffeta panel with colourful flowers, then painting over the whole in white emulsion, letting i t dry and cutting it open to reveal the patterns and colours.
Peter Clarke and Karen
Nicol are represented by
Rebecca Hossack Gallery,
T: +44 (0)20 7436 4899,
w w w . r - h - g . c o . u k ,
w w w . k a r e n n i c o l . c o m ,
www.peterclarkcollage.com
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INFINITE VARIETY: THREE CENTURIES OF RED AND WHITE QUILTS 25–30 March 2011, Presented by the American Folk Art Museum, Park Avenue Armory, 643 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10065, T: (212) 616-3930, www.armoryonpark.org
For six days in March, the historic Park Avenue Armory will be transformed into a glorious display of colour and design when the American Folk Art Museum presents Infinite Variety. More than 650 red and white American textiles, the largest quilt exhibition ever presented in New York City, are on loan from Joanna Rose, a private New York collector. Free to the public, this extraordinary assemblage will be installed in the Armory's 55,000square-foot Wade Thompson Drill Hall.
"The American Folk Art Museum is taking another important step in reaching new audiences. Through this exhibition the museum continues to augment its core mission to develop new ways of attracting visitors. Since admission to the quilt exhibition is free, it represents a special gift to the people of New York City and beyond," explains Maria Ann Conelli, Executive Director of the American Folk Art Museum. For those unable to reach New York in time to see the display the news that Joanna Rose has decided to donate a number of quilts to the museum will be particularly welcome. Fifty of the most beautiful and historically significant quilts will be selected by the curators.
This superb collection is astonishing not only because of the sheer number of red and white textiles but also because no two are exactly alike. Guest curator Elizabeth V. Warren and Stacy C. Hollander, project director and the museum's senior curator, have
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Gav selected quilts that span three hundred years, the designs range from dazzling optical effects and fanciful mazes to dynamic zigzag lightning bolts. The patterns are appliquéd or pieced in red on a white ground or white on a red ground.
"We have known that many red and white quilts were made during the 19th and the beginning of the 20th centuries, but this large collection allows us to study a much wider period of creativity using this colour scheme and a much wider scope of design than was ever envisioned," says Ms. Warren.
The innovative display of the quilts in the Armory space has been created by New York City exhibition design firm Thinc Design. Defying gravity, the quilts spiral in mid-air filling the enormous volume of the Drill Hall and create circular pavilions that invite visitors to experience the quilts in three dimensions. Highlighted quilts will be arranged on viewing platforms for closer appreciation. Incorporated into the floor-to-ceiling design will be strategically placed benches.
Infinite Variety: Three Centuries of Red and White Quilts will cap the American Folk Art Museum's ‘Year of the Quilt.’ Currently on view at the museum is ‘Quilts: Masterworks from the American Folk Art Museum’. The first installation of which can be seen until 24 April 2011 and the second from 10 May to 16 October 2011. While at the museum's branch location at Lincoln Square is ‘Super Stars: Quilts from the Collection’ until September 25 2011 01 Vortex, US, 1890-1910 02 Feathered Touching Stars, US, 1850-1880 03 Carpenter's Square, Mary Coffland, US, 1879 03 St. Valentine's Patch, US, 1860-1880
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THE ANCIENT CRAFT OF CORACLE MAKING
The coracle ( Y Cwrwgl ) is an ancient, one-person rowing boat, dating back to pre-Roman times. In Wales it features in the 9th century legend of Taliesin, one of the most famous of all Welsh poets, who as a baby was cast adrift in a coracle by his mother, the witch, Ceridwen.
Traditionally, the coracle is made from a wicker frame, usually willow or ash laths covered by animal hide or flannel and a coating of tar, although latterly calico impregnated with pitch, tar and butter is used. It weighs between 11 and 20 kgs, is propelled by a single paddle, usually ash and has a strap enabling it to be carried on the back.
In the Teifi Valley, in West Wales – particularly the river villages of Cilgerran, Cenarth, Abercuch and Llechryd, coracle fishing was a way of life. The coracle fishermen depended on it for their livelihood and the 'secrets' of making the craft and fishing from it were handed down from generation to generation.
Each part of the river was allocated to a 'team' of fishermen – this 'bwrw' (cast) could only be fished by the men from one of the four villages. Coracle fishing even had its own language and terminology and was an ancient trade that was fiercely protected from any external interference or uninvited participation.
The coracles are still made on the banks of the River Teifi at Llechryd by master craftsmen. Despite their dwindling numbers, salmon and sewin (sea trout)
fishing is still practised using age-old techniques.
Blodwen, a company committed to the preservation and revival of traditional rural skills and the promotion of artisans has commissioned Llechryd-based, master craftsman Bernard Thomas to produce the Teifi Coracle – one of the oldest designs of this ancient river craft.
Bernard harvests the willows and hazels from October to January when the sap is down, splits them and stores them in an upright position until the following August. The sticks are then soaked in the river for five days. The weight of the wood is felt every day for a week to check that all the water has dispersed and only then is the coracle made.
These skills are entirely self-taught and Bernard was a late starter, now 88 he began building coracles in his fifties. He insists the steps came to him in a dream, “I’ve loved coracles since I was a lad, but when I ws young no-one would teach me how to make my own. A coracle cost five shillings, quite a lot and I suppose they didn’t want to lose the money”. Bernard first set foot in a coracle at the age of four; “My father was coracle fisherman. We would also shoot mallards from the boat. I’ve spent my life in them. In my younger days I used to fly fish with the coracle and take my girlfriend with me – they are one-man boats but I’ve managed to get five people in one before it tipped!”
There is no shortage of anecdotes from Bernard, his unofficial title of ‘Coracle King’ was hard won. In 1974 he paddled his small craft from St Margaret’s Bay to France – a 12 hour trip that was covered by newspapers and television crews. But in Bernard’s opinion this feat is eclipsed by his efforts in rescuing over fifty sheep from the flood swollen River Teifi: “I nearly died that night but the farmer was grateful, mind.”
Happier time have been had at the local regattas Bernard has organised in the past where coracle sprint races and marathons took place and jousts where fishermen would attempt to upend each other's craft leaving the last man floating as the victor.
During the 1980s it seemed likely that the coracle making skills would be lost with Bernard’s generation but the last fifteen years have seen a surge of interest; “I’ve taught a few people and there’s even coracle Societies now,” says Bernard with pride. Denise Lewis www.blodwen.com, www.coraclesociety.org.uk selv edge.org
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30 Camel regalia The braided finery of the ships of the desert JulieHedgesvisitsthePushkarCamel FairinNorthWestIndia 71 Bovine beauty Toni Meneguzzo’s Go Puja project FirstnameSurname 54 COVER STORY Eiderdown Meg Lukens Noonan takes a softly softly approach to bedding and meets her adopted Eider duck on the remote Island of Lanan
EVENTS
06 Selvedge Spring Fair Thank you to the visitors and exhibitors that braved ice and sub-zero temperatures to make our Christmas Fair such a success! The Selvedge Spring Fair will take placeonSaturday2April2011
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INFORM the latest news, reviews and exhibition listings
03 bias /contributors A letter from the Editor in chief and comments from contributors 07 news Aubin and Wills, Swarm, Graham Hollicks’ ‘Stitch By Stitch project, Oak Swill, Emily’s Ark, Daniel Heath, Christien Meindertsma, Animal Heads from Haiti and Need to Know: Houndstooth Check 80 subscription offers Win Baby Cashmere books, Free tickets to Unravel
SUBSCRIBE TO SELVEDGE Our January sale 90 international listings Exhibitions, fairs, events and the Natural History Museum at Tring 88 read Rosemary Crill reviews Woven Masterpieces of Sikh Heritage: TheStylisticDevelopmentofthe Kashmir Shawl. Readling list: Wild: Fashion Untamed, Walter Potter and His Museum of CuriousTaxidermyand Silk
91 view Infinite Variety: Three Centuries of Red and White Quilts presented by the American Folk Art Museum 95 resources Websites and reading lists for those who want to know more about the articles in the Zoological issue 93 coming next The Localisation issue. It’s a small world after all...
Online Have you visited the Selvedge website recently? Throughout January you can take advantage of our drygoods sale, 10% off all products and up to 20% on selected items such as our warm and woolley Pipsqueak Chapeau Alpaca hats. The discount extends to subscriptions too (see pg 80). If your New Year resolution is to brush up your textile skills then click on our craft page to discover a selection of free projects to download and make. www.selvedge.org
SELVEDGE ('selnid3 ) n. 1. finished di fferently 2.?the?non-fraying edge of a length of woven fabric. [: from SELF + EDGE]
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