Lace Narratives

With my own interest in lacy textiles I have been looking closely at work by textile artists with a similar interest.

Cecilia Heffer, based here in Sydney, is one such artist who has been working in contemporary lace patterns in various textile forms, examining the structural forms created.

After studying fine art for three years she went to Spain before moving to the UK and completing a masters degree in textiles at Central Saint Martins college in London

She is currently the coordinator of textiles at the University of Technology, Sydney.
She has received many awards and her work has been published in many national and international design journals.

She was first inspired to work with lace after viewing the lace archives at the Powerhouse Museum, Sydney and began to create contemporary lace designs for interior displays.

She creates lace designs using digital technology and industrial processes rather than hand knotting.

This installation above was from her solo exhibition in 2006 entitled Laced. The circles are cut from silk organza and then hand printed with traditional Venetian lace braids.

During the restoration work on Government House, Canberra, Cecilia was asked to redesign the lace curtains in the main drawing room and she was able to create a design incorporating Australian flora eg wattle flowers. It was based on Nottingham lace but had a contemporary feel.

In 2009 I attended an evening talk by Cecilia locally when she related how this design was developed and was eventually made up by a Scottish firm located about 10miles from my native home town as no one was equipped locally!

Cecilia's current exhibition, Lace Narratives" in Redfern Sydney closes tomorrow but I am hoping to visit it and hear her closing "conversation" about this work. More later....