What's inspiring me recently are these gorgeous 100 year old hand embroidered Indian silk sari ribbons. These textiles are AMAZING!! My good friend Kim gave these to me as a thank you and I really want to do them justice.
My background is in textiles, (I worked in textile conservation at the Cleveland Museum of Art) so I have such an appreciation for the effort and talent that goes into these hand embroidered ribbons. My dilemma is- how do I incorporate these into my work and honor them at the same time?
Just look at the snowmen and reindeer on this one!! My first thought was to stitch these onto soft leather for cuff bracelets- maybe with some simple beaded detail. I've been researching textile jewelry lately and haven't really been inspired.
Does anyone out there have any ideas? Modern or historical? I would love to do a series of posts with all the ideas and images of my readers- so please email me yours.
This peacock silk is very tattered, but I can always back it on something to stabilize it. The last image is a cuff I made a few years ago with seed bead detail. It was the first time I ever did anything like that, but looking at it now I don't think the beadwork enhances the textile- rather it covers it up.
So please send your images (links in the comments) or email them directly.
Hello Gretchen,
ReplyDeleteYour vintage textiles are so pretty. I can see that it would hard to decide how to use them in handmade items. Thanks for sharing.
Smiles, Paula