Queen's Lace

Point d’Alençon lace in particular is a winter lace of raised floral motifs over a fine mesh, much like my lichen and fossil design. And like my carving, it’s intricate and requires a lot of skill and time to create it.

I see lacework as something belonging to women. Lace is one of the few fiber arts made by women with a connotation of great worth. In fact, UNESCO recognized Point d’Alençon lace as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

While I really wanted to tat my own lace to use as a printing plate, my skill lies in carving wood and printing. Thus, Queen’s Lace is my fancywork.

I chose the term for this print series for both its negative and positive connotations.

For on one hand, fancywork is a dismissive term for fiber art by women.
It is important to me to remind myself and others that womanmade artworks have traditionally been ignored and belittled. Even now, few female artists are represented in major arts collections and histories.

And on the other hand, one’s fancywork is one’s best work.
It is easy to see the level of technical mastery, the artistry, and the dedication required to create such finely detailed works.