| Title: | A woman's work |
|---|---|
| Date: | Apr 2023 |
| Original Size: | 1m x 60 cm |
| Notes: | Collection produced for the MTF "Identity" exhibition at Southwell Workhouse. I was inspired by the demands on the schoolmistress, and the amount she was expected to teach - and the work that the 8-13 year old children were expected to do. I have produced an installation using a combination of inherited and added items, particularly referring to The Workwoman’s Handbook (written by “A Lady” and published in Birmingham in 1838; facsimile scanned by Google and available as a pdf). Some of the pages I have used are reprinted in a folder here. Vintage wooden sewing basket (repaired by my grandfather in the 1920s) also Edwardian serving tray and traycloth. I've collected together some vintage buttons, darning mushroom, various sewing equipment and sewing sundries as recommended by The Workwoman’s Handbook, including a "yardstick" marked in nails. I have made additional items (the sort of things which the 8-13 year-old girls might have been expected to produce): a sampler showing 65 different embroidery stitches, using a mixture of embroidery threads on hessian, handknitted socks using unravelled dark blue worsted yarn from my mother's stash – one using the instructions from The Workwoman’s Handbook, some pieces of tatted lace in natural-dyed crochet cotton. As this is a collection of personal items, it is not really for sale. |
| Groups: | Textile pictures and exhibition entries |
| Knitted garments | |
| Exhibited At: | Midlands Textile Forum Identity The Workhouse, Southwell, NG25 0PT |
| Original Artwork: | Not available |
| Prints Available For: | £5.0 |
| Cards: | £2.0 |
| Postcards: | £0.5 |