A New Experiment at NOVA

Not a surprise, I love NOVA.  Wednesday nights are a huge highlight for me when episodes are on - I get a bit giddy and pull out my embroidery and sit and watch (and record) the latest episode.  And if it is History/Tech - OMG I go weak in the knees.   Most I watch more than once to catch all the details.  I have loved it since I can remember - which is about when they started the program.  You can put me in the bucket of being inspired as a little kid.  DUH.  What I have chosen to do is most often said to be a 'NOVA episode'.

So living in PBS land (that is what Bostonian's call it here - the birthplace of PBS), you stumble upon people involved here and there.  Can you imagine my excitement in 2013 moving to a new house and meeting my new next door neighbor, the mother of the child who comes in and out of here about 4 times a day (a robot boy), and I find out she has been working for NOVA since she graduated from MIT.  I about squealed.  Ok, I did.  Lauren is the Director of Digital Media at NOVA and has also been the producer on many amazing documentaries there as well as the really fun series "The Secret Life of Scientists and Engineers" .  So if it is on the website - it is hers.  All those amazing and cool simulations and ways to teach kids more from each episode - all goes across her desk.

Lauren's husband laughs as he says I am her next "Secret Life" story (I'm not) and she knows that my life is another CSI History episode in progress next door.   But it is great fun getting the back story on episodes, David Pogue (crazy man), and sometimes an invite to watch a first cut as she is trying to figure out what type of inter-actives to make months ahead of time.  I am very impressed by the work they do now that I have seen the back end.  One of our older robot kids interned there to help on some robot simulations and I have been known to have my brain picked more than once on my weird assortment of knowledge bases (This morning, historic textiles).

So it was exciting to see the new announcement become public of a really great idea by NOVA to take a step to make some documentaries on basic chemistry and physics publicly funded by kickstarter in a way that gets into every classroom in a very interactive way (Virtual Reality with cell phones is an extension goal).  You might enjoy looking at the little film footage on the Kickstarter page and maybe think about getting involved.  Personally - I am getting in at least at the level that gets me a NOVA mug to put next to my Cabinet of Curiosities mug!  Seems fitting to me.

(And I keep telling her... you know that Making of the Plimoth Jacket thing...ha ha )

Tricia

A Garden in a Casket

Image on Christies showing front panel down and internal
garden in place.

There are only a few gardens known to me in caskets, one of which is a grainy picture from Christies of one sold years ago.  In that piece, the front of the casket folds down and reveals a very robust grassy and flowered interior.  Of course I have always had more questions than answers about this casket!

So last night I was surfing the web under different terms to see if anything new popped up (I do this every few weeks and yes, things do pop up!  Sometimes things that have come to auction, sometimes new museum collections on line).  Well, in this case a image of THIS casket showed up as a Getty image that could be licensed.  I can't reproduce it here - but you can go view it.

What they did is lift the tray the garden was made on and place it on the top of the closed casket.  Perhaps that is what it was made to do - using the box as a 'vase'.  But I spent time comparing the sides of the casket to the existing but poorer quality pictures and they are the same piece.  So wonderful to be able to see it much better!!  And what perfect timing after the results of the Casket Toy Contest!

Tricia

Grand Prize Winner

Janet Brandt's entry into the Casket Toy competition is the grand prize winner!  I think everyone who takes the time to look at all the pieces will agree that not only are they fully of whimsy but are inspired and unique in how they take the techniques and applied them to her concepts.  Janet has already shown us how many of her drawers contain items related to the storyline of her casket.  But now there are plenty of lovely little toys in the drawers as well.  Including a scene where you can move the little boat back and forth (see the video).  Janet is also starting today with posts on how she make the parts of her entry at her blog... so you can enjoy doubly!

Inspiration - by Janet Brandt

The theme of the competition and required materials/techniques were all the inspiration I needed! I knew I wanted the TOYS to be something that could actually be played with. I also knew I wanted them to fit the story-line of my casket.  I was able to bring figures and images that exist (or will very soon) on the exterior of the casket, to life as 3D toys and to store them inside.The gardens I created to store inside of the casket are now stitched into the door compositions on the outside. I had fun making the Peacock Casket toy and wanted the chance to use those techniques for the new dolls and their costumes. The wrapped bullion technique quickly inspired gardens and a gardening tool.

How They Were Made - by Janet Brandt

The wrapped snake technique became a watering can; the tongue became a sprinkling of water and the coiling was tweaked enough to go from snake to can. After that I had so much fun creating and wrapping flowers, trees and trellises with masses of gilt, purl and bullion. Eventually I lost track of what material I used where except that vast quantities of shiny things kept disappearing. The top garden has wrapped bullion trees and trellises and flowers and a golden ship. The ship can be moved back and forth in front of a lacet tent. 'Once' the little girl in green and 'Time' the friendly red dog with wings (Time Flies) are my lacet techniques showcases.(They have also been created in a more 2D version for the top of the casket.) Once and other casket dolls now have lacet jackets, hats, an apron and a flower gathering basket. In addition to the lacet techniques used to create the peacock I used the lacet as a base with needlelace stitching inside each 'feather' and I created the doll jackets with a lacet base infilled with needlelace stitches. Time's body is covered with lacet stitched directly to the body's base.
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I think that everyone can agree that Janet's whimsical interior to her casket with its large inserts, moveable pieces and toys in every cavity deserved the Grand Prize.  Let's hope she does something equally as yummy with the second casket as this one!

Thank you to all the entrants into the contest, it has been so amazing to get the photos in my in-box, to take the time to read and look closely at the details and ask questions to see more at how they were put together.

I know that Janet will be blogging about her pieces after this post, so please check out her blog and you will see more and hear more about the inspiration behind her works and hopefully be inspired to do something yourself for your piece!

Tricia

Shows the figures for the top that are attached on the left and the toy versions of them on the right (detached and fully
three-dimensional)

Doll Interior

Dolly's Lacet Clothes and Jackets

Back of Dolly's Lacet Jackets

Cottage Garden

Watering Can, Flower Basket and Hat made of Lacet and little dog

Lid Interior

Detail of the Garden

"Once" and "Time" 

Peacock from class, added to the menagerie

Garden in the lid, sparkling

Tent close up, see the striped gimp in knots and smooched trims, purls, soutashe and lacets.  The boat
that moves is in the foreground out of purls and checks.

"Time" in three dimensions as a toy and in 2-dimentions for attachment to the top.

Under the garden tray

Jonah and the Whale

The Runner Up to the Grand Prize is Sara Gene Posnett's Jonah and the Whale - a truly out-of-the-box entry in creativity.   And for those who know Genie's work, not unexpected as she has been pushing the boundaries for years and sharing it with the classmates.  One of the many reasons I chose this entry as the runner up was the yards and yards of custom dyed lacet.  When orders went out of lacet in the last six months - I could sit back and guess what was going on.  When Genie ordered yards and yards and yards of cream lacet I could only think - "Well I really want to see what she is up to!!"

Jonah is both a needle keep and an emery and fits (fittingly) in the whales mouth. After sharing the end result with me, I asked for a few more pictures to understand some things and that was when she revealed that the Whale is a measuring tape!!  What?!? I won't give more details as you have to read below in Genie's own words - including her eloquent reason for choosing the subject!!

I think we can all be in awe of her pieces - and extra thanks to Genie sending me a whole bunch of construction photos to share with everyone as well - soooo interesting, I love the process stuff.  In one of the posted pictures, the whale is laying on top of paper that contains calculations of the materials needed, drawings, etc.  It is like he is on top of the architectural plans which I find delightful and I hope she keeps those papers somewhere for some museum curator someday!

While I would love to put all the photos here - there are just too many.  So for those followers on NING - I will be posting several slides there where more can be seen and enjoyed in large style.

“Jonah and the Whale”

Inspiration by Sara Gene Posnett       

Two works from the seventeenth century influenced the creation of ‘Jonah and the Whale,’ set of smalls for the Thistle Threads competition 2016. First, it was inspired by the story in King James’ seventeenth century English translation of the Bible of Jonah’s encounters with danger, when he tried to avoid visiting the people of Nineveh. It reminds me of myself and my tendency to avoid uncomfortable tasks.  Second, in researching to create a Cabinet of Curiosities depicting Historic St Mary’s City, Maryland, images of ships in the ceiling at Hook Manor in England came to my attention. A whale’s tail is visible at the lower edge of the plaster works.  That started my imagination going, and when the Thistle Threads challenge came, Jonah and a whale seemed a perfect subject for a set of smalls for my St Mary’s City in casket of curiosities.

Techniques - by Sara Gene Posnett

Tricia Nguyen advised that we make mock ups of projects, so I made three paper versions of the whale while developing the final shape.  Finally, an armature of hand-made paper from scraps of old clothes at HSMC was covered with buckram for increased durability, which when dampened allowed me to give more shape to the form. Then row upon row of over-dyed lacet was stitched together over the belly and back forms, as well as the wired shapes of the tail and fins to form the “purple cow.”  The edges of the fins, tail and lips are over dyed and braided kumihimo, worked of Soie de Paris and silver passing.   My husband soldered aviation wire to my specs for the spout, which comes out of the blow hole. Flat silver tape covers the reel, on which to wind a four-inch paper measuring tape inside the whale’s head.  A surface-stitched fish, my young granddaughter’s suggestion, serves as a pull tab on the end of the tape measure. The whale’s barnacles are silver hammered rick rack from the Frostings Club. The cone of the whale’s body is filled with needle-felted wool, and doubles as a pincushion where I cut away the paper armature from the blow hole to tail.

In the whale’s mouth, behind the baleen made of flattened silver coil from the Frostings Club, lies Jonah.  His green cloak is filled with emery sand to sharpen my needles, and his head is stuffed with needle-felted wool for parking a needle.  Jonah’s cloak and hair are composed of lacet stitched together. His beard is lacet and silk wrapped gimp, with crystal beads for water droplets.

What a fun project this was to make! I couldn’t foresee the final product, but it developed  one step at a time over the course of six months. Now complete, it’s such fun to play with!  Thanks Tricia for challenging us!

I had to read Genie's description many times before I understood that there were water droplets as
beads in his beard!!  What wonderful attention to detail!

Katie Strachan's Modern Casket Toy Winner

You may have remembered Katie Strachan's amazing beaded basket entries and she has again outdone herself!  Winning the 1st place prize in the modern category for her flat casket insert (goes in the bottom under the tray) with toys inside.  It is just amazing!!  I want to hold and look at all the toys and then you realize that the top of the box is worked in so many techniques as well as the inside of the lid!  Can you believe it!!  One can't wait to see the box this will go with!

Inspiration - by Katie Strachan

I had too many ideas for casket toys, so I blended them all together.  These are inspired by some of my favorite historical smalls.  The overall form is inspired by a 17th century needlework pillow, with tiered tassels decorating each corner.  The design for the lid is inspired by a favorite sweet bag, but rendered in autumn colors.  The interior lid is a version of a lovely glove gauntlet from Seligman's Domestic Needlework, depicting a heraldic garden.  The three smalls are a heart purse 

(also in Domestic Needlework), a frog purse, and a needlecase inspired by this fob in the Met.

Technique - by Katie Strachan

The box is made of mat board, and the top is padded with wool roving.  I cut, papered, and covered every piece, thought it would never end.  The top has needlelace, counted thread work, right angle weave beaded leaves, and stems made with plaited braid stitch/expanded bullion over silk wrapped wire. The heart is made with a shaped paperclay form so that it comes smoothly together - something I learned from doing the frog.  He is a flat piece padded out with felt, which makes for bulky edges.  The purse form is hollow so there's a little cavity inside to put a threadwinder (or a pair of lacet gloves?).  The needlecase is a wood form covered with paper and then detached buttonhole (soie perlee with a gilt tambour return).  I made fly fringe, a kumihimo braid, and then attached beads.  If anyone can figure out how the braid is made on the Met's fob, please let me know!

Carolyn's Amazing Poem Holder

Inspiration drawing from early publication

I can't tell you how excited I was to open Carolyn Webb's entry in the 17th Century Traditional ‘Casket Toy’ Category and was happy to award it 1st place in that category.  When I put up pictures of the 'missing' toy I was really hoping that someone who make one (before I could!).   

Inspiration - Carolyn Webb

My piece contains both lacet braid and expanded gilt check. It is about 6 inches tall and 2.25 inches across and fits laying down in my casket.  I want to make a number of extra toys to fit in my casket. The tape measure toy in your July 27th, 2016 post caught my eye and I decided that it would be perfect to stretch my skills a bit and have some fun. I adapted it so that it became “ A Partridge in a Pear Tree”. It has a number of moveable forms and treasures that wiggle when the tape is pulled out and rolled back in.  (Ed. Note:  Go to her blog to see it move!)

Technique Used - Carolyn Webb

Carolyn's Interpretation!

I made the Partridge by twisting brass wire to create the form, wrapping it with cotton and then silk and wool thread. The final layer is expanded check purl with a core of peacock feather. The tail is peacock feathers and the wings are dyed silk ribbon with couched #4 gilt smooth passing thread. The butterfly uses lacet that has the edges whip stitched together and is outlined with Cordon. The body is made of antique green beads that have a red center and the antenna is one of the flower stamens from the frostings box. I wrapped wire with silk threads and then later bent them to create the roots and branches of the “tree”. The brown roots and the trunk are shades of brown silk but the multi-colored branches started with white silk thread that I dyed in rainbow shades after it was wrapped. The pears are needlelace with silk over a paper fruit form and wool felt. The acorn tops are gilt and the nut is wrapped wool felt. The leaves are needlelace with a wire edge. The small colored berries are silk wrapped beads. From the second row of branches are hung small treasures that a girl might have been able to collect. They include a garnet bead, a tiny bell, a black glass bead, a blue chevron trade bead, a pearl and a bit of coral. The tape measure in inclosed in a walnut shell that has a slit in the side and is covered with needlelace.

The tape is silk ribbon that is dyed the color of parchment and is marked in nails and portions of a yard. John Taylor wrote the verse that is written on the tape. It is part of The Praise of the Needle that notes: Flowers, Plants, and Fishes, Beasts, Birds, Flyes & Bees, Hils, Dales, Plaines, Pastures, Skies, Seas, Rivers, Trees: there’s nothing neere at hand or farthest sought, But with the Needle may be shap’d and wrought. The wires for the branches were curled, the partridge and butterfly were attached, then the pears, acorns, leaves and berries were placed on the curled branches. The tape was sewn to the trunk, then the wires were inserted through the walnut shell and then shaped to form the roots. When the beads at the end of the tape measure are pulled, the whole tree rotates and all of the fruit and treasures wiggle and twirl

Alison Smith's Silk/Wire Posey

Alison was with the UK Casket Trip when we saw the most lovely posey!  I will put it at the end of this post so you can see how AMAZING Alison did figuring out the technique.  It was certainly one of those types of things that everyone who looked at it wanted to figure it out.  So I am thrilled to award Alison the 1st place prize in the Traditional Poesy category.  Maybe some of us will get a little class in this some day from her!

Inspiration – by Alison Smith

A spray of flowers from the Burrell Museum (accession # 29/171) which is attributed to the 17th century.  It appears to be made from expanded bullion formed into shapes, but it most likely was a heavier gauge wire tightly coiled, perhaps just for this purpose.  [After having worked mine with existing 21st c. bullion, I found it didn’t have quite enough body to handle the preferred tension of the silk, and a heavier gauge wire would have been much better.]  The shapes were then wrapped with fine silk filament, sometimes in one direction and sometimes in two.  Various methods of making flower centers were utilized including bullion, leather bits, coiled silk, and what looks like turkey work – “fuzzed” silk tufts.

Technique - by Alison Smith

My poesy is a smaller version flower spray to easily fit into any of a number of places in my casket.  It is made using S/P Fine 1 Bright Bullion – about 15-1/2” stretched made 5 flowers (about 41 petals of varying sizes) and 10 leaves.  These “frames” were then wrapped with Soie Perlee, stripped to single strand and then each strand separated into 3 finer strands (for the frames for flower petals and light green leaves).  The dark green Soie Perlee would not separate so the stripped single strand was used for those, and to wrap the stems.  The flower centers were done using Gilt Fine 1 Wire Bullion, Gilt Fine 1 Bright Bullion, Gilt #6 Bright Check, Soie Perlee in Spring Stitch and Soie Perlee wrapped and “fuzzed”.  I used 34 gauge silver wire for connecting petals and leaves, and 30 gauge green covered copper wire to form main stem structures.  Final size is about 3” h x 1-1/2” w.

Here is a close up of the inspiration poesy in the Burrell Collection that Alison used as inspiration:

The Burrell Collection accession # 29/171