December's guest speaker was Vivienne Browne, and her talk was entitled 'Liberating the Liberty Bodice'.
As one old enough to remember having to wear one of these garments I had mixed feelings about this title. My idea of liberation had been to hide the offending article at the bottom of my satchel at the earliest opportunity.
If only I had known wh
at could be done with it. Vivienne's work was both meticulous and beautiful.
She trained at Sheffield University as a biologist and taught for many years in that field. She then decided to exercise her creative skills and studied botanical drawing. These drawings are now used via a computer design programme, as a basis for her creative hand and machine embroidery.
Vivienne joined a group of textile and fine artists and they set themselves a challenge to produce a piece of conceptual art in two hours with a view to exhibiting. Vivienne tried to find something simple on which to base her ideas, and chose swaddling bands and belly bands, which she found at the Museum of Childhood in Bethnall Green.
She decorated strips of calico with flowers and leaves as her part of the two hour exercise. But two hours spread to 18 months when she discovered the Stannington liberty bodice in a Leicester museum. She went on to develop small pictures, wearable outer garments, and accessories all based on this theme.
We will be holding a traders' day at Cottingham Darby and Joan Hall on Saturday March 15 from 10am - 4pm. For more details email embroiderysociety@yahoo.co.uk.
Maggie Tomlinson
