Spotlight: Carol Quarini, Textile Artist and Lace Practitioner

Carol Quarini discovered lace bobbins on visits to antique shops with her Dad. She took some lessons and now creates intricate pieces telling stories about family history and the place of women in society.

Why lace? How did you get started? How did you find your creative niche?

I learnt a lot of needlecrafts from my mother but it was accompanying my father on visits to antique shops that started my interest in lace. It was there I discovered antique lace bobbins and became fascinated with them and decided to learn how to use them.

I was lucky enough to find a bobbin lace teacher who taught me how to make the main traditional English bobbin laces. I soon became hooked and started to explore more contemporary work and develop my own ideas.

Initially these were abstract interpretations of biological images but they soon developed into themes about genetics, family history and the place of women in society.

What fascinated you about the lace bobbins?

To start with they are beautiful objects that are lovely to handle in their own right. I also like the idea of using tools that have been used by other lacemakers in the past and maintaining that continuity of creation.

The main thing that fascinated me was the inscriptions on the bobbins celebrating events in the lives of their previous owners, such as their names, dates of birth, places where they lived, national events and their thoughts about relationships and marriage. I always enjoy using them and being reminded of these connections to the past.

When was the first time that you remember realizing that you are a creative person?

I can’t pinpoint an exact moment but think I realised quite early on, as a child, that I enjoyed creating things. I was never really happy with kits for craft projects but always wanted to use them to make my own designs.

Where do you find your inspiration for your work?

The inspiration for much of my current work comes from research into the place of women in society, both now and in the past, and how women are often constrained by domesticity.

I find that a good way to highlight these issues is by storytelling. Many authors have used fiction to highlight the position of women in society and I also find storytelling is a way of engaging people and making them more aware of an issue.

A good example is Anne Bronte who in her 1848 novel The Tenant of Wildfell Hall commented on the plight of women in abusive marriages at a time when a married woman had no right to divorce or to keep her own money or property and no rights over her children. By writing a novel she reached a much wider audience for her views on marriage reform than she would have done with a learned article. 

How do you tell stories with your work?

I tell stories in two different ways, first by incorporating text into my work and second by using the sewing equipment that lacemakers would have had in their work basket.

For example, I made a wedding veil with a lace trim around the edge with the words ‘no, no, no’ incorporated into it.

The veil looks like a conventional wedding veil but once the viewer realises what the words say they immediately wonder what the bride is protesting about. Is she being forced into this marriage? Who by and for what reason? A story is now developing in their mind and making them think about the reasons a woman may not want to be married.

An example of using sewing equipment to tell a story is Marking time. In this piece pins and needles are used to mark the passing of time in the traditional five barred gate counting form on a large curtain.

The implication is that someone is trapped and marking the length of their incarceration. The use of pins and needles suggests it is a woman who sews and has these items at hand. Why is she trapped? Did she ever escape? A story about this young woman is now beginning to form in the viewers mind.

Your work includes a lot of veils and net curtains why is that?

Veils and net curtains both conceal things but are flimsy coverings and can be blown away quite easily so they are unreliable covers and thus liable to reveal secrets. They can also be considered as sieves between the inside and the outside.

In that role they are excellent places for trapping ideas, thoughts and memories and can inadvertently reveal the secrets of the home.

One example is Whispering which is a net curtain with a wide lace trim. However, part way along the curtain the lace begins to unravel as the curtain starts to trap phrases it has heard within the home. These include ‘What did you expect, you got what you deserved’ and ‘He frightens the life out of me’, and begins to suggest a story of domestic abuse within this well-kept home.

Describe your creative space.

My studio is a small room at the top of the house, with windows on two sides letting in plenty of light, where I keep all my threads and equipment, but I tend to work all over the place. I might do some drawing in the kitchen, research on the internet, make lace in the garden.

I think this peripatetic approach comes from the time when my children were at home and I was also constrained by domesticity and had to squeeze my work in to what ever time and place I had available.

What do you do to develop your skills? How do you get better at what you do?

I don’t think we ever stop learning. I’ve done numerous courses on different types of lace and crafts, I also visit a lot of exhibitions, not just lace ones. I enjoy reading textile magazines and I’m a member of various textile organisations. I also follow many interesting textile artists on the internet. 

How often do you start a new project? Do you work actively on more than one project at a time?

Yes I’m often working on several projects at the same time. It depends on the deadlines for the different exhibitions, commissions and publications I’m working towards. I don’t find working on several projects a problem, in fact it’s often nice to have a break from writing to make some lace or vice versa. 

Can you tell us about the inspiration and process of one of your works? How does a new work come about?

One of my recent projects is based on the life of Amy Atkin, the first female Nottingham machine lace designer. I first saw some of her lovely lace designs in an exhibition at Nottingham Castle, but was most struck be the information that, like many women of her time, she had to give up paid work when she married.

Which part of the design process is your favorite? Which part is a challenge for you?

I think the most interesting part of designing is doing the research and trying out lots of ideas and designs.

Making the lace is usually quite relaxing as by that stage I have an idea of the complete project in my head.

My least favourite part is the finishing of the work at the end when I have to frame it or add the hanging system.

However, I think the biggest challenge is photographing the work as lace is very difficult to photograph successfully. To capture its airy quality is especially tricky and you always have to bear in mind the background you are photographing it against.

How does your formal art education help your work develop? Does it ever get in the way?

Most of my present work has evolved directly from my formal art education. I now research a subject, design a response, make the lace and then write about it academically and exhibit it.

I enjoy working in that way, delving into a subject and producing work that has a message or deeper meaning and find it very satisfying. However, that does sometimes get in the way and I have had to overcome that.

At one stage I felt that all my work had to bear a deeper message but I have come to realise that that is not necessary and there is still great value in producing lace that is aesthetically pleasing but has no deeper meaning.

For example I was recently asked to contribute a couple of pieces to a lace exhibition, there was no theme and a short deadline and I ended up making two pieces inspired by spring, both of which had no deeper meaning than expressing the joy of the season.

How has your creativity evolved over the years? What triggered the evolution to new media/kinds of work/ways of working?

My creativity has definitely evolved following the different courses I have undertaken.

The City and Guild courses initially encouraged me to design and exhibit my own lace. I then realised I wanted to try a more academic approach so I enrolled for an MA course and then continued with a PhD.

The MA encouraged me to delve deeper into a subject and base my work on that research while the PhD showed me that practice-based research, combining my lace and writing, could be the basis for academic research and now I generally write an academic paper about any body of research and practice I undertake.

What do you do to keep yourself motivated and interested in your work? 

I just love making, designing and researching lace, that is all the motivation I need. I have a list of projects I want to do when I have time. I prioritise my lace making and writing depending on the various deadlines I have for exhibitions, commissions and publishers.

One thing I do every week is to write a blog post about some aspect of lace. It’s generally just a paragraph or two with a couple of images but it makes me focus every week on a different aspect of lace. You can find it here www.lacethread.blogpost.co.uk

What is your advice for someone starting out in lace making?

I would advise someone new to lace to learn the basic stitches and then to experiment with their own colours and stitches.

Find courses that interest you, visit plenty of textile exhibitions and look on the internet to see what other people are doing, not to copy them, but for inspiration and to see what is possible. Then find your own voice.

Are there any other creative channels you use to express your creativity? 

Yes, I’ve always enjoyed sewing, knitting and quilting as well as lacemaking. 

Where can people see your work?

I exhibit regularly but the best place to see what I do is probably on my website www.carolquarini.com. There you’ll find information about my lace, exhibitions and my published academic writing, which is updated regularly.

Website www.carolquarini.com
Instagram carolquarini