Bobbin Lace, Garbage Bags, and Ice
The third floor of the Textile Museum was filled with the work of Padina Bondar, an artist focused on recycling. Plastics of various sorts are collected from the streets of New York City and transformed via a propietary method into thread/yarn/fiber to be used in traditional needlework forms.
I didn’t get a photo of one of her dresses—there were several–they were crocheted or knitted, but didn’t look all that comforable to me–but then a lot of dresses with boning allowing bare shoulders and revealing necklines seem awkward. That might reflect my preference for flannel and denim and to being fully covered as a protection against the elements of mosquitoes and sunburn and chill.
However, it was interesting to see very traditional and time-consuming needlework techniques employed. Here is part of a lace technique.
It was an incredible exhibit and I thought there could not possibly be antyhing more intriquing but there was.
On the other side of the gallery was a workspace.
It had three looms set up, sewing machines on tables, fabric on bolts, and best of all, three sizes of fabric bags you could fill for differing amounts from the scraps and ddo-dads on a table.
Of course I filled up a small bag—wishing I had the space for a large bag in my luggage.
That bag was then weighed—a way to account for what was not put into landfill.—-at least not this month….who knows what will happen to it in the long run?
On my way back to my hotel I was struck by sidewalk outside the Police Museum/Adminstration building. Compared to City Hall, it was a modern building. I puzzled over these ‘decorative elements’.
Living on the Gulf Coast for decades, the thought of ice being a problem, was no longer in my vocabulary. There was no ice while I was there, although the wind and rain were chilly and not conducive to outdoor activities. Maybe if I had been winterized?
My last day is a trip to Niagara Falls.
Sylvia Weir Art 