by Kaitlyn Munro Our World is suffering, and each of us suffers along with it. This post is our way of honoring Black Lives Matter and everyone’s involvement in the fight for justice in this country. We encourage you to follow the links for each artist to learn more about them and explore their work. […]
A Beautiful Bounty of Birds
The fine feathers and detailed hues that characterize our feathered friends lend themselves to replication with needles and colorful threads. Whether free form machine embroidery, hand stitching, or tufted or painted ….the avian world has been depicted in textiles for centuries. Skilled textile artists capture birds in action in the natural world, swooping in to […]
A Solitary Spring
Textile conservation is a solitary profession, characterized by hours of concentration, patience, eye-hand coordination, good light, keen eyes, and particular tools……it is in many ways…inherently, socially distancing. Much of the handwork to repair damaged textiles requires many hours of fine stitching, navigating the creases and crinkles, lines and contours, valleys and vales, clusters and constellations […]
With thy needle and thread
By Kaitlyn Munro In my recent dive into historical sewing instruction manuals, I was emotionally struck by a passage in The Ladies’ Hand-book of Plain Needlework written by H.G. Clarke in 1842. It puts best into words every feeling that I have about sewing and the importance of conserving even the most unlikely of everyday household […]
Slow Down and Listen to the Stitching
by Julia M Brennan and Anna Tendler Mulaney In these hurried days leading up to the holidays, we invite you to slow down and engage in a little stitching meditation. Listen. Pictured above is a late 19th c Meiji period Japanese uchikake, a ceremonial robe custom made for a bride. It is decorated with symbols from the […]
From the Ashes of War: Conservation of Morimoto’s Khmer Textile Collection
By Emilee Koss (All photos, unless otherwise noted, Copyright Cheryl Nemazie Photography. All rights reserved.*) I came to Julia Brennan and Caring for Textiles for a specific purpose: to learn collection care and conservation for textiles in a tropical climate. This summer’s internship has supported a dream come true: to return to Cambodia, with conservation […]
The Warmth of Other Suns – Stories of Global Displacement
The Phillips Collection, Washington DC until September 22 If there is one exhibit on your list this summer, make this the one…soon. The movement and dislocation of humans, globally and historically, is explored by 75 artists through film, painting, photography, sculpture, clothing, collage…… from 18th c African slave trade, migrant workers in the US, Ellis […]
Culture, Nature and Diplomacy in the Mekong River Region
All forum photos by Stephen Bobb (Stephen Bobb Photography, http://www.stephenbobbphotography.com) It was a privilege to participate in Meridian International Centre’s Diplomacy Forum on the Countries of the Mekong. Set in the gracious and historic Washington DC Meridian House compound, with over 187 guests, it included panel discussions, individual talks, Cambodian and Thai traditional dance and […]
The Four Friends
A fable from Bhutan appears in Washington DC It was a delightful moment, at the intersection of Connecticut Avenue and Calvert Streets NW in Woodley Park, when I looked up and saw a huge mural of my favorite Bhutanese story of the Four Friends… Indeed, there they are—the elephant, monkey, rabbit, and bird all stacked […]
Honoring Authenticity
by Julia M Brennan The flag was flying during Hurricane Katrina, battered, wind-torn, soiled with mud and rain…..this is how it came to the conservation studio. Like many personal objects from scenes of tragedy, the context, and its used appearance is central to understanding and verifying historical details. In conservation, the central philosophy is to […]
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