Hi, I decided to create a thread for John Howe's virtual version of rug talks at the Textile Museum in Washington DC. These talks range over many different subjects. Most will interest weavers. The inspiration of patterns and the discussion of weaves is good for us to learn how others think about it. It is good to pay attention to what collectors think. I will post other announcements and links here sourced from John as they appear unless someone else beats me to it. I think other folks are on his distribution list. Please remember this gentleman is a volunteer and decided to provide this to the public. Enjoy Deb
See next message for first installment!
This is to announce publication of a virtual version of a Rug and Textile Appreciation Morning(RTAM)program, given by R. John Howe (that’s me), at The Textile Museum here in Washington, D.C. on January 30, 2010.
The title of my RTAM was “What Is a ‘Weaving?’ What is Not? And Why?” As I explain in my lecture, it is a permutation of another “rug morning” program I gave in 2009 entitled “Easy to Weave; Hard to Weave.”
This post has two parts. The first is a lecture; the second is devoted to illustrative pieces that I and members of the audience brought in.
I am a retired instructional designer; have collected rugs and textiles for over 20 years (more, if you allow me to count a charcoal, slub-striped sport coat that I had tailored in 1954, and that I still own); began collecting with a Turkman focus, but have become more eclectic as I have gone along. I do like Anatolian things a great deal now.
I spend quite a bit of time, nowadays, preparing virtual versions, like this one, of some Textile Museum RTAM programs so as to attempt to provide them to the much larger audience they often deserve.
The purpose of this email is to announce and convey to you the link to the session described above.
You can access this program on my blog using the following link:
http://rjohnhowe.wordpress.com/
Either double click on the link itself, or copy and paste it into your browser and then hit “enter.” That will take you to the “front page” of my blog “Textiles and Text.” The RTAM being announced here is the first two entries in red in the column on the right.
You are receiving this email message because your address is on one of my lists of “ruggies.” If your inclusion is in error, or if you prefer not to receive future messages of this sort, please write me at rjhowe@erols.com and I will remove your name and address from my list.
I do not usually encourage reader responses, but if something especially interesting or important occurs to you as you read this post, please send your thoughts and any associated images, to me at my email address above, together with permission to use the images and/or your indications in part or whole in any addendum post I may decide to add.
I hope you enjoy my treatment here of what might seem, initially, to be a subject too obvious to explore.Regards,
R. John Howe
(My first two posts disappeared so I'm re-posting -- apologies if it comes up twice or three times)
I always look forward to these presentations, usually devoting several hours to each one. The pictures are wonderful and although I don't collect rugs, the text always seems very informative and interesting. I especially liked the indigo blue series, and the recent presentation about color. This latest one "What is weaving" has me scratching my head, though, and I'd love to hear what others on this forum think of it.
I guess that statement behooves me to write what I think. I think Emery's approach of classifying weave structures "from the structure"
since structure inheres in the fabric, whereas evidence of process is
seldom retained
is valid. What the heck is "the perspective of the weaver" that Ms. Mallett and Mr. Howe suggest should be the basis of classification?
Bonnie.
I think the topic is sort of for rug collectors as there are a number of techniques related to cut pile and/or flat-woven rugs - like twining or ply-split braiding that fall into a sort of no man's land. Collectors have to be able to quantify everything, and with textiles being created by persons, often just out of their heads, there will be these discussions of technique classification.
John has wonderful photos and interesting presentations, but this one is sort of like his "hard and easy" lecture - a topic that is hazy at best, but interesting nonetheless.
All authors cited are good sources - that they don't entirely concur is just that - gives each of us something to think about.
As long as there are persons making creative textiles, there will be pieces and techniques that exist "outside the box" - the cause the folks at Antiques Road Show to tear their hair out - when we should probably simply assess such work on its merits as we see them.
And John's blog is certainly a feast for the eyes - I look forward to the next installments.
Bonnie, I haven't finished going thru this last lecture, it is rather biased towards Mallett writings, but that is understandable as she has been active in the rug world in helping understand weave structure. Never forget this information is source from a "rugcentric" group.
The one thing I have learned thru my weaving studies is that when you venture into trying to define a weave structure you are truly in turbulent waters. The cultural, linquistic, manufacturing, practical application and museum world all identify the same weaves with different terms upon occasions. Diagrams and pictures are so important to understand exactly what structure is being discuss. I value a diagram over words as sometimes you are dealing with translation or interpretation issues with words.
I know at one point certain museum organizations were trying to rewrite weaving terms and be all inclusive over the world and roll in definitions and illustrations. I believe it stopped due to funding, but in the meantime it ran into the tough turf wars of what/how to define weaves. It's important to note that some folks completely disregard the loom upon something is created. For us weavers, the equipment is critical but cloths from the past don't come to us with drafts and loom photos.
I've watched and listened to some very heated discussion between weavers and museum curators on how to define weaves. I've learned that is is important to understand that folks come to defining weaving via different routes and words, the important thing to me in the end is the beauty or functional use of the final product. One doesn't know how it was created once it moves away from the loom and structure mechanisms that created it.
I know weaving when I see it!
Deb Mc
posting to share, link to presentation is at bottom of note....Deb Mc
April 24, 2010
Dear folks –This is to announce publication of a virtual version of a Rug and Textile Appreciation Morning, given by Paula Laverty, at The Textile Museum here in Washington, D.C. on March 6, 2010.
Ms. Laverty is perhaps the reigning authority on Grenfell hooked rugs, produced in Labrador, mostly in the earlier part of the 20th century, as part of an effort by an English medical missionary, Dr. Wilfred Grenfell, to raise the economic condition of the folks in the austere area of his mission. As you shall see in Ms. Laverty’s presentation, a variety of Grenfell products were made, but the most successful, and the one now most associated with the “Grenfell” designation, were hooked mats made from women’s silk and rayon stockings and other undergarments.
Hooked rugs (and “tufted” ones, a similar but distinctive process) are still frequently encountered in U.S., Canadian antique shops (and likely those in Great Britain as well). And serious collections of them exist. Among hooked rug collectors, “Grenfells” are seen often to be the “crème de la crème,” and they can bring surprisingly high prices.
Ms. Laverty has traveled the areas of (now) Canada, where the Grenfell “industrial” operated, has personally visited the various sites often depicted on the rugs, and has talked to surviving mat “hookers” and their families about the heydays of Grenfell and this craft enterprise. She has captured the results of her more than 20 years of study of “Grenfells” in a full-color book, “Silk Stocking Mats: Hooked Mats of the Grenfell Mission,” which you can buy from her web site listed in a short bibliography at the end of the post announced here.
The purpose of this email is to announce and convey to you the link to a virtual version of Ms. Laverty’s TextileMuseum presentation.
You can enjoy this program by accessing it on my blog using the following link:
A new post - many different textiles and design to explore.....once again, remember this is a collector's point of view, not a weaver's point of view so you might find some points to differ with BUT it is great to have access to the visual inspiration...Deb Mc
May 10, 2010
Dear folks -This is to announce publication of a virtual version of a Rug and Textile Appreciation Morning, given by Michael Seidman and Wendel Swan, at The Textile Museum here in Washington, D.C. on February 20, 2010.
Their topic was "What You Always Wanted to Know.A Potpourri."
"Potpourri" sessions, as we say again in the virtual version of this session, have been a frequent item of the Textile Museum Rug and Textile Appreciation Morning tradition, but Michael and Wendel, presented a version a little more didactic than is usual, that focused attention of some particular areas.
The purpose of this email is to announce and convey to you the link to a virtual version of the RTAM program Michael and Wendel presented.
You can enjoy this program by accessing it on my blog using the following link:
Either double click on the link itself or copy and paste it into your browser and then hit "enter." That will take you to the "front page" of my blog "Textiles and Text." This "potpourri" program is conveyed in the first entry in red in the column on the right.
You are receiving this email message because your address is on one of my lists of "ruggies." If your inclusion is in error, or if you prefer not to receive future messages of this sort, please write me at <mailto:rjhowe%40erols.com> rjhowe@erols.com and I will remove your name and address from my list.
I do not usually encourage reader responses, but if something especially interesting or important occurs to you as you read this post, please send your thoughts and any associated images, to me at my email address above, together with permission to use the images and/or your indications in part
or whole in any addendum post we may decide to add.
I hope you enjoy this virtual version of Michael's and Wendel's program.
Regards,
R. John Howe
May 23, 2010
Dear folks –This is to announce publication of a virtual version of a Rug and Textile Appreciation Morning, given by Amy Gould and Matthew Polk, at The Textile Museum here in Washington, D.C. on February 27, 2010.
Amy and Matthew, as this post details, have independent areas of considerable personal and professional accomplishment, and are serious textile collectors in several areas. Amy is a current Textile Museum trustee.
The focus their talk here was on a group of Andean tunics which they have carbon dated.
Amy provided a historical survey of the universe of Andean textiles, and Matthew led us through an experiential exercise, in which we had a chance to compare the results of our estimates of the age of the Andean tunics (using our traditional indicators) with the results of the carbon dating of them. As part of his treatment, Matthew explained the current state of the art with regard to carbon dating and provided some reasons why, despite admitted problems with it, he believes it should not be discarded as an age-estimating tool.
The purpose of this email is to announce publication of a virtual version of this interesting program and to provide you with a link for viewing it. You can enjoy this program by accessing it on my blog using the following link:
http://rjohnhowe.wordpress.com/
Either double click on the link itself, or copy and paste it into your browser and then hit “enter.” That will take you to the “front page” of my blog “Textiles and Text.” This “Andean-Carbon Dating” program is conveyed in the first entry in red in the column on the right.
You are receiving this email message because your address is on one of my lists of “ruggies.” If your inclusion is in error, or if you prefer not to receive future messages of this sort, please write me at rjhowe@erols.com and I will remove your name and address from my list.
I do not usually encourage reader responses, but if something especially interesting or important occurs to you as you read this post, please send your thoughts and any associated images, to me at my email address above, together with permission to use the images and/or your indications in part or whole in any addendum post we may decide to add.
I hope you enjoy this virtual version of Amy’s and Matthew’s interesting and scientifically sure-footed program.
Regards,
R. John Howe
note from Deb Mc, this has a series of wonderful photos of many different textiles methods besides weaving....enjoy
June 6, 2010
Dear folks –This is to announce publication of a virtual version of a Rug and Textile
Appreciation Morning program, given by Christine Brown, with facilitating assistance by Wendel Swan, at The Textile Museum here in Washington, D.C. on November 21, 2009.
Christine is a student of rugs and textiles, with a special interest in costume. She has traveled widely, both professionally and privately, and has given “rug morning” programs previously, most recently on Uzbek costume (see our archives). She has a personal collection of ethnic jewelry.
Christine’s subject was a venerable one: “The Tree and the Tree of Life Design.” Her program began with a lecture which was followed by an examination of “in-the-fabric” pieces that Christine and members of the audience had brought in. Wendel Swan facilitated this second portion of the program.
The purpose of this email is to announce publication of a virtual version of this program and to provide you with a link for viewing it. You can enjoy this program by accessing it on my blog using the following link:
Either double click on the link itself, or copy and paste it into your browser and then hit “enter.” That will take you to the “front page” of my blog “Textiles and Text.” Christine’s “The Tree and the Tree of Life Design” lecture is the first entry in red in the column on the right. The pieces brought in can be seen in the second entry in that same column.
I hope you enjoy this virtual version of Christine’s program on a topic frequently encountered in the textile world and its literature.
Regards, R. John Howe
Transport and Storage Bags from Southwest Iran, passing this on for your info!
On June 26, 2010, Raoul Mike Tschebull made a Rug and Textile Appreciation Morning presentation at The Textile Museum, here in Washington, D.C., on the topic Transport and Storage Bags from Southwest Iran. Mike had conducted a program here at the TM not long ago, arguing that warp-faced covers are worthy objects of collection, but was prevailed upon to favor us again.
The purpose of this message is to announce the publication of a virtual version of Mikes June 26, 2010 program. You can enjoy it by either double-clicking on the link immediately below or by copying it and pasting it into your browser.
http://rjohnhowe.wordpress.com/
This link takes you to an about page on my blog. Our virtual version of Mikes session is the top item in the column on the right-hand side in red letters. (Mikes earlier session on warp-faced textiles can also still be found and enjoyed by looking further down that same red-print column.)
I have said so again in the post, but my thanks to Mike, not only for permitting the construction of this virtual version of his program, but also for the considerable time and effort he has invested in writing the text and in editing (sometimes providing) the accompanying photos.
You are receiving this email because you are on one of my lists of ruggies. If you would prefer not to receive future announcements about such posts, please contact me at rjhowe@erols.com and I will remove your name from my listings.
I do not usually encourage comments on these posts, but if you have a contribution to share, you can send it to me at the email address above, together with your permission to use it and any images you provide, either entirely or in part, in any addendum I may add.
Regards,
R. John Howe
Dear folks This is to announce publication of a virtual version of a Textile Museum Rug and Textile Appreciation Morning, (RTAM), given on July 17, 2010 on the subject Vintage Fashions from Around the World.
Steve is well-known in the rug world, being most visible at the moment as the editor and technical manager of the rug discussion site Turkotek.com. The post itself includes more information about his background.
In this RTAM, Steve first asked, professorially, why we wear clothes and then proceeded to give some of the seeming major reasons. But, with that introductory perspective in place, he moved quickly to examine the material that he and members of the audience had brought in.
You can reach this virtual version of Steves, nicely conceptualized, program by clicking on the link immediately below or by copying the link and pasting it into your browser.
http://rjohnhowe.wordpress.com/
This link takes you to an about page on my blog. Steves program is the first in the column in red on the right. My thanks to Steve for permitting me to share this virtual version of this event with you, and for some over the shoulder assistance he contributed to its editing. Despite this, I should acknowledge that this post is very much MY report on Steves session, rather than the session he actually gave. Any errors that remain are mine, alone.
I do not permit direct comments in this blog, and do not particularly encourage any, but if you have something that you feel is useful to share, you can send it to me at the email address rjhowe@erols.com, with your permission to quote you should I decide to publish it.
I hope you enjoy this virtual version of a recent RTAM program.
Regards,
R. John Howe
Dear folks - This is to announce publication of a virtual version of a Textile Museum Rug and Textile Appreciation Morning, (RTAM), given by David Zahirpour on August 28, 2010.
David is a long-time dealer, here in Washington, D. C. with a close relationship to The Textile Museum. He frequently gives Rug and Textile Appreciation programs of this sort, and is, in addition, perhaps the primary TM resource for demonstrations of rug and textile restoration. Although David is Iranian, I think he told me once that he acquired his restoration skills in Italy. He often sets up and demonstrates his talents at various TM events.
Davids program was of the collectors potpourri variety, but with a focus. He brought, and invited the audience to bring, especially, pieces likely woven in the Caucasus, and/or in either northwest or southwest Persia. And they did. There was a lot of material to examine, and that can take some time because David does not forget that there may be inexperienced people in the audience and takes special pedagogical care aimed at this possibility. We could see from the beginning that we would run over, and we did. No one minded, and I didnt see anyone leave before the end.
You can reach this virtual version of Davids potpourri program by clicking on this link , or by copying the link and pasting it into your browser.
http://rjohnhowe.wordpress.com/
This link takes you to an about page on my blog. Davids program is the first in the column in red on the right.
My thanks to David for permitting me to share this virtual version of his program with you, and for his assistance in its editing.
Please note that you can now sign up to get automatic email notification of new posts (I will continue to make announcements). There is a notice above the top of the Most recent column in the blog site, where you can choose to receive these automatic notifications. When you sign up there is an initial all these emails feature that might seem a little alarming, but that is, in fact, irrelevant, since the only emails you will trigger by signing up are announcements of new posts, usually about two or three per month.
Passing on this information, this is a wonderful collection from weaving to embroidery, to all types of textile creation...allow some time to look at the detail on these pieces!
Mae Festa Collection: A Textile Museum RTAM Program
Dear folks – This email announces the post of a virtual version of a recent Textile Museum “Rug and Textile Appreciation Morning” program that featured the collection of Mae Festa. Mae has assembled a collection that includes some remarkable material and she is very knowledgeable about it. But she is a modest, shy person who confesses to not being a comfortable public speaker.
So the program being announced here was produced in an unusual way. Wendel Swan traveled to New Haven to visit with Mae and her husband Gene. He photographed many of the pieces in Mae’s collection, interviewed Mae about them, and, ultimately, fashioned a PowerPoint presentation, in which he conveyed her thoughts about them.
Mae and Gene traveled to Washington, bringing a number of the pieces in Mae’s collection they had agreed to treat in this RTAM program. With Mae and this material in the room, Wendel gave the PowerPoint presentation.
The images you will see here were subsequently used in a presentation to the New England Rug Society with commentary by Jeff Spurr.
Mae has been collecting for a long time, and although many of us had seen glimpses of particular pieces in her collection, this session was the first time that a comprehensive treatment of it has been made available outside her New Haven home.
Our thanks to Mae for sharing her collection with us, to her husband Gene for a variety of supporting actions, including precise organizing and safe transporting of the materials to and from Washington, and to Wendel for his sterling work in bringing this program to fruition.
You can reach this post by clicking on the link immediately below or by copying the link and pasting it into your browser.
http://rjohnhowe.wordpress.com/
You can also simply do a computer search for “Textiles and Text R. John Howe”.
All of these methods take you to an “about” page on my blog. The post being announced is the first in red in the column on the right.
There are, again, a large number of images in the lecture post, so you may have to be a bit patient while it loads. (Some readers report that images sometimes do not come up automatically, but instead a blank rectangle with a small box containing a “red X” appears. If you encounter that, try putting your cursor on the red X, then, right click. A drop down menu should appear with a “Show image” alternative. Click that and the image should come up. You may have to do this individually for each image that doesn’t appear automatically. We are not sure, but one theory about why this happens suggests that the computer on which images does not come up automatically may lack adequate memory for handling the long, demanding sort of documents that my posts often are.)
You are receiving this email because you are on one of my lists of “ruggies.” Because there is some unavoidable overlap, you may receive more than one of these announcing emails. If you do, please just use your delete key. If you would prefer not to receive future announcements about such posts, please contact me at rjhowe@erols.com and I will remove your name from my listings.
I do not permit direct comments in this blog, and do not particularly encourage any, but if you have something that you feel is useful to share, you can send it to me at the email address above, with your permission to quote you should I decide to publish it.
I hope you enjoy this comprehensive look at Mae Festa’s collection.
Regards, R. John Howe
Shortcut to Twining talk
Dear folks This email announces the post of a virtual version of a recent Textile Museum Rug and Textile Appreciation Morning program by David W. Fraser on Vertically Twined Plateau Bags, an American Indian format.
As the post itself will say in more detail, David is a serious student of rugs and textiles, who has had distinguished careers in medicine and academia. His program was of an unusual sort. In a world in which conjecture and opinion and claims to special insight are prominent, it is rather rare to encounter a rug and textile offering that is an item of real empirical research, but that is precisely what David offered.
David is interested in unusual and complex textile structures, and his program was devoted to his examination of an instance that attracted his attention: the small group of Plateau bags that is vertically twined. He, first, set about determining whether this structural distinction was a sign of deliberation or of reworking. Then he proceeded to ask the questions of who wove such Plateau bags, why they were woven with this structure, and how they can be recognized. It is a study that produced some positive results.
You can reach this post by clicking on the link immediately below or by copying the link and pasting it into your browser.
http://rjohnhowe.wordpress.com/
You can also simply do a computer search for Textiles and Text R. John Howe.
All of these methods take you to an about page on my blog. The post being announced is the first in red in the column on the right.
There are, again, a large number of images in the lecture post, so you may have to be a bit patient while it loads. (Some readers report that images sometimes do not come up automatically, but instead a blank rectangle with a small box containing a red X appears. If you encounter that, try putting your cursor on the red X, then, right click. A drop down menu should appear with a Show image alternative. Click that and the image should come up. You may have to do this individually for each image that doesnt appear automatically. We are not sure, but one theory about why this happens suggests that the computer on which images does not come up automatically may lack adequate memory for handling the long, demanding sort of documents that my posts often are.)
You are receiving this email because you are on one of my lists of ruggies. Because there is some unavoidable overlap, you may receive more than one of these announcing emails. If you do, please just use your delete key. If you would prefer not to receive future announcements about such posts, please contact me at rjhowe@erols.com and I will remove your name from my listings.
I do not permit direct comments in this blog, and do not particularly encourage any, but if you have something that you feel is useful to share, you can send it to me at the email address above, with your permission to quote you should I decide to publish it.
I hope you enjoy this report on that rarest of creatures in the rug and textile world: a real piece of empirical research.
Regards,R. John Howe
shortcut to Communal napkin link
reposting note from John Howe about a new post on his web page, enjoy! Deb Mc
February 16, 2011Dear folks -I have not published a virtual RTAM on Textiles and Text for awhile, but have not been idle. I have six in various stages of development. Soonthere may be a flurry.Meanwhile, here is a little fun on Eccentric Wefts. This is a post about an instinctive collecting decision and the possibility that it may, nearly four years later, turn out to be a sound one. At a minimum, it has proved to be interesting, and some further enjoyable experiences resulting from it, may lie ahead.I'll tell you the story of this collecting decision in the post being announced here, but I want to wonder, out loud, here, as I do in the post itself, why we don't seem to hear about a format that once seems likely tohave been ubiquitous in much of the world. This format is the "communal napkin."Where have all the communal napkins gone? And why does this format seem largely erased from the memories of most folks experienced and knowledgeable about Anatolian textiles in particular?I bought this piece without knowing at all what it was, have already had a lot of fun trying to determine that, and the fun continues. The signs that we may have hit on a correct attribution are promising, but it may be toosoon to claim firm conclusion.Welcome to the story of this instinctive collecting decision and the directions it has taken to date.You can reach this post by double-clicking on the following link: http://raymondj.wordpress.com/ or you can highlight and copy it and past it into your browser and press enter. You can also search for "Eccentric Wefts" on some search engine. All of these methods should take you to the entrance page of my blog of thatname. The post being announced here is the first in the red-type column onthe right.As I say again in the post, I definitely want to hear from folks who have heard about communal napkins (also called "harem napkins").Sometimes the enjoyments of textile collecting are, I think, unrelated toprice.Note: I am working between mailing lists and can't always spot redundancy.If you get more than one of these emails, please just use your delete keyRegards,R. John Howe
passing on info from the Textile Museum Rug session provided by John Howe. Enjoy Deb Mc
Dear folks – This email announces the post of a virtual version of a Textile Museum “Rug and Textile Appreciation Morning” program given on September 10, 2011 by Penny and Tim Hays on the topic “Manastir Prayer Kilims.”
As the post will say in more detail, Penny and Tim are working professionals with extensive overseas experience, and are serious collectors and students of Balkan textiles. They are active members of the DC area collecting community and regulars at these Textile Museum Rug and Textile Appreciation Morning programs.
You can reach this post by holding down the Control key and clicking on the link immediately below or by copying the link and pasting it into your browser.
http://rjohnhowe.wordpress.com/
You can also simply do a computer search for “Textiles and Text R. John Howe”.
All of these methods take you to an “about” page on my blog. The post being announced is the first in red in the column on the right.
There are, again, a large number of images in this post, so you may have to be a bit patient while they load.
This is the first post in which I have embedded an entire Powerpoint document. The advantage of this is that it permits momentary escape from the image width limitations of my blog host wordpress. There are brief instructions in the post that permit you to enter and leave its Powerpoint section.
Passing on another rug presentation....nice for those of us who cannot travel to be there!
Dear folks –This email announces the post of a virtual version of a Textile Museum “Rug and Textile Appreciation Morning” program given on November 12, 2011 by David Zahirpour. It was a “potpourri” session.
As I say again in the post, David is a long-time dealer in oriental rugs and textiles, here in the Washington, D.C. area. He has given “rug morning” programs at The Textile Museum frequently and is a constant at TM events that entail rug restoration demonstrations.
On a personal note, David is actually the first member of the local rug community who, years ago, now, moved, perhaps unknowingly, to facilitate my own “coming down” with our shared neurosis: textile collecting. While I was buying a couple of small decorative mats from him, David noticed that I seemed more interested in rugs than most customers and asked me whether I knew of The Textile Museum and that there was a strong local rug club. So my current condition is to some extent David’s fault, and I am grateful to him for it.
You can reach this virtual version of David’s program by holding down your Control key and clicking on the link immediately below or by copying the link and pasting it into your browser.
http://rjohnhowe.wordpress.com
You can also simply do a computer search for “Textiles and Text R. John Howe”.
All of these methods take you to an “about” page on my blog. The post being announced is the first in red in the column on the right.
There are, again, a large number of images in this post, so you may have to be a bit patient while they load.
