Module 6 Chapter 1

Research decorative textiles from another culture.  I decided to look at Native American Indian textiles.  Firstly, I looked at quillwork and decoration and construction of women’s robes.

Photo 1 and 2 notes on quillwork.  Photo 2 includes a small trial of quillwork using lines of stitching.  In the spirit of recycling/using what is to hand, I used drinking straws on a used envelope.

Photo 3 drawing of a design from a quillwork box.

Photo 4 Notes and images on methods of constructing robes from hides.

At this point, I was feeling a bit unfocussed; I seemed to have lots of snippets of information about a vast area of study.  I followed a friend’s advice and went into the Rainmaker Gallery in Bristol which specialises in Native American Indian art (website address in the list of references).  They currently have an exhibition of serigraphs in the North West Coast style, and the very helpful curator suggested I looked into Chilkat blankets which come from the same area.  I also went to a lecture at the RWA connected to the exhibition.  Although not directly related to the textiles, it was a really good insight into the meaning and use of the formline style that is characteristic of this area.  The following photos show my notes on the Chilkat blankets.  I haven’t yet typed up my notes on the general style, but I will add them later (otherwise I will never get onto chapter 2!).

Photos 5 and 6 Notes and images of Chilkat blankets.

References

Needlework in America, Virginia Churchill Bath, pub. Mills and Boon ISBN 0 263 06416 6

Identity by Design, Smithsonian Institution, pub. Collins ISBN 978 0 06 115369 3

http://www.rainmakerart.co.uk/  Website for Rainmaker Gallery, Bristol.  Specialising in Native American Indian art and jewellery.

http://www.americanindian.si.edu/searchcollections/ Website for the National Museum of the American Indian, Smithsonian Institution, USA.

http://www.indianmuseum.org/ Website for the Mt Kearsarge Indian Museum, USA

http://www.sheldonmuseum.org/chilkatblanket.htm Website for the Sheldon Museum, article on Chilkat blankets.

http://www.textilemuseum.org/ Website for the Textile Museum, Washington DC, USA

http://www.britishmuseum.org British Museum – images of Chilkat blankets.

http://www.mccord-museum.qc.ca/en/ McCord Museum, Montreal.

http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/articles/northwest-coast-native-art  Article on NWC art.

http://crafthaus.ning.com/photo/chilkat-robe-in-progress Work by Courtney Denise Lipson, including pictures of Chilkat blanket in progress.

“North West Coast Indian Arts: Exploring Traditions in the 21^st Century” Lecture by Dr Max Carocci, RWA, Bristol, November 2012.

For more information on North West Coast Arts and Contemporary Artists

http://www.robertdavidson.ca Website of contemporary NWC artist Robert Davidson.

http://www.prestonsingletary.com/ Website of contemporary NWC artist Preston Singletary.

http://www.ravenpublishing.com/designs.htm Lesson on drawing a wolf head in NWC style.

http://www.nativeonline.com/twodimensionalart.htm Fuller description of formline style used in NMW arts.