Modern structures of lace
You are listening to a tea conversation about bobbin lace with my step grandmother Nellemiek Laarakker. We talked briefly about the history and then I asked about her view on modern interpretations of the technique to gain insight in her way of thinking as a lacemaker and former textile teacher.
Transcript
Emma:
Maybe it’s good to start again, if you want to tell something about what lace is and how you see the technique?
Nellemiek:
I see lace as everything that is open and closed. You can make lace by cutting wholes in fabric but you can also work with yarns and make a lace-like open and closed weave. I think you could say weave.
Emma:
Yes, I think so. With bobbin lace you mean?
Nellemiek:
Then I’m talking about bobbin lace indeed. When talking about needle lace, you also work with yarn. Only here you work with a needle and make stitches, that’s why it’s called needle lace. Bobbin lace, I make with yarn that is wound on bobbins.
Emma:
And you actually weave with it?
Nellemiek:
Yes, you actually twist it together. Weaving is a technique where you cross the yarns. Where as with bobbin lace you only work with vertical threads which you twist to create an open and closed weave.
Lace is originally created to radiate wealth. Generals even wore a lace collar on their armor. At some point it was not used for that anymore but lace did stay in society in a way that it was associated with sex because of how the open and closed structures were worn on the body.
Emma:
And it were mostly women who wore lace then?
Nellemiek:
They wore lace yes. Men were not allowed to where lace anymore at some point because it was seen as feminine and that was not appropriate. It is quite strange how this evolved.
Emma:
Yes. And compared to how lace was made then and what is was used for, there have been some big changes of course. Then it was maybe also more functional? But also for aesthetics?
Nellemiek:
Lace has always been extremely expensive and as I said it radiated wealth. Honor and wealth.
Emma:
So it was for a clear, function is maybe not the right word, but for a clear place and made for specific people. It was not available for everyone.
Nellemiek:
No, making lace was time consuming and if it costs a lot of time it also costs a lot of money. And thus was lace too expensive. But at some point, this applies to the whole textile industry, the machines where invented and we could start using products in a different way because we were able to work more massively. And mass production means cheap production.
Emma:
And compared to now, textiles in general but to stay with lace, it’s also used for more artistic purposes. I think it’s interesting to talk about modern interpretations of the technique in a way that it doesn’t always have to exist out of yarn but lace can also be painted for example.
Nellemiek:
I see the modern processing of lace more in the use of material, iron wire for example.
Emma:
So making a technique more modern results for you in the material that is used?
Nellemiek:
Also what it is used for! That you use it more spatial.
Emma:
So you could also scale it up?
Nellemiek:
What do you mean with scaling up?
Emma:
Using lace with thicker material and making it bigger.
Nellemiek:
In Nijmegen, I saw, you can probably find it on the internet, they made a fence which is made with lace.
Emma:
Nice! That is interesting because fencing to me also has a link with textiles. For example twisted fences sometimes look like net structures.
Nellemiek:
Yes, indeed. In this time we have so many possibilities that we can and will manipulate any technique. So not only with bobbin lace but this technique is very traditional. It was a luxury item which makes it had its own existence for a long time. Now we don’t seek for luxury items that much anymore but for more extravagant items to make in textiles. That is my view at least. I feel there is more experimenting nowadays of what else we can do with it.
Mariet Vissers is one of the first ones to put bobbin lace in a different perspective. It still exists, there are five people from all over the country who are precursors of experimental lace, ‘Experikant’.
Emma:
And for example, leafs on the trees, branched structures or shadows. Do you interpret that as lace?
Nellemiek:
Lace like. I once went to another lace manifestation. I made strips for it which they made into a skirt eventually. It was an exhibition in Brugge made by students who didn’t do lace themselves but they have ideas for a possible collaboration. So we drove from Tilburg to Brugge on a winter’s day. It was almost like I drove through a lace landscape because the branches were snowy and combined with all the white it looked like lace.
Emma:
It sounds beautiful.
Nellemiek:
Yes, it really was. But you see what you want to see.
Emma:
Is there a certain feeling that you get when making lace?
Nellemiek:
A certain feeling? I try to find peace in it. I’m not saying that it always feels like that but then it can’t really work well. Putting the world away from you and being occupied with yarns.
Emma:
Do you think that lace radiates that too?
Nellemiek:
No, I certainly don’t believe that. Another good story. When you show people your work with all the bobbins when it is still on the cushion, for me that will be around 40 bobbins maximum which is not even much, some people work with over a hundred bobbins, they will say ‘Oh, that seems difficult!’. The other side of the medal is that it’s recommender for people to do bobbin lace when have a hard time to concentrate. The same for people with burn-outs and it turned out they kept doing it and now make very special work.
Emma:
You would say that there are more lace workers nowadays.
Nellemiek:
Haha, with men’s overtrain these days you would say so yes. But I think you have to bump into them by chance because there will be a lot of people who would say it’s nothing for them. There was an article about 15 years ago already that stated that bobbin lace is a good activity to relax and to prevent burn-outs.
Emma:
Nice.
Nellemiek:
You can maybe compare it to meditation but here you have done something that you can physically show, meditation is more within yourself.
Emma:
Do you have a final expression about lace or something you would like to say?
Nellemiek:
Oh, that is a question for me?
Emma:
Yes, maybe something about the technique and what it means for you. Or what you think it could offer to the world or what it maybe already does.
Nellemiek:
If more people would make bobbin lace then there would maybe be less problems.
Emma:
That is a good one to end with.
