Whew. My new job (as a book editor for Interweave Press) is excellent but, you know, nothing eats up your schedule like a full-time job with a 45-minute commute, so I'm very busy adjusting this week! I have to figure out how to make time for more exercise; after that month in Washington with miles of walking every day, I'm too sedentary now.
I also still have some terrific freelance design projects, and I have to find time to make art; especially after seeing all the inspiring work and ideas at the SDA conference. One great thing that happened is that I met Deidre Adams, and how delightful is it that someone who makes such imaginative and transcendent art, and is so committed to art, turns out to also be the most down-to-earth, funny, daring, wonderful person. As mentioned in my other post-conference post, meeting Jane Dunnewold was also excellent -- it's so good when the people whose work you admire so much are also good people in every other way. And there were so many others who are doing inspired and interesting work.
Those artists who aren't on an academic/teaching path are mostly looking for ways to do more of what they love and are called to do, and also make a living. It's the perpetual question. Some people are more inclined than others to self-promote and market their work; others are longing for someone who can do that for them.
There were some younger women there, students mostly, but the numbers were in favor of older women (I guess all the younger ones go to BlogHer or more DIY-craft-focused events?) -- and it was almost all women. I realized how much resistance I have to large groups of women; I just assume I'm not going to fit in or be liked, and in some ways I don't want to fit in. And certainly when the talk goes to husbands and kids I'm the odd woman out, much as I may wish it were otherwise.
Obviously this is a conundrum, since being a part of the world of textile art and craft means, invariably, large groups that are 99.75% women. And please don't get me wrong; I'm the last of the true believers in women's rights and women's greatness. And still. Whenever there's only one gender, things get out of balance.
So what do you think? Are textile arts and crafts definitively women's work? I've read the books about how they came to be women's domain. But some men certainly have the talent and interest and inclination. In fact, a disproportionate number of the top speakers at the conference were men although there weren't more than a handful of male attendees. Irony? Coincidence? Right? Wrong?
photo by Robert in Toronto.
wow, congrats on your new job....fabulous.
as far as the gender thing i guess it depends on which club you belong to.
Posted by: jude | June 11, 2009 at 02:33 PM
Congrats on the new job - sounds like a plum! And you are beautiful - I think you look younger than in your previous photo, although I have always had a theory that people look more like themselves as they get older.
And I share your feelings about the large groups of women (did you have a rotten time in high school by any chance?) The Maiwa symposiums are like that for me - I adore the material, but feel kinda weird being in a group of mostly women, mostly well-to-do and well traveled, and unaware of their privilege. But all that aside, I am still hoping to take Patricia Caldwell's workshop in Kantha Stitching this fall, and maybe a few lectures. If Interweave will spring for your trip, maybe we'll run into each other.
Posted by: Heather | June 06, 2009 at 04:49 PM
Catching up on two or three of your posts. Like the new photo and have fun with the new job.
Interesting how things change over time, historically in England professional embroiderers would have been men. I guess it's all to do with how society changes and peoples perception of suitable jobs for the different genders and that is a very complicated subject.
Posted by: Jane | June 06, 2009 at 04:42 PM
Hi, Lainie. Thanks for the very kind words. (Note to self: resist the urge to deny that I am any of those things and simply accept the compliments graciously!)
I don't mind being in a room with all women, as long as the talk tends toward art or politics. I agree with Phyllis; even though I have a son, I simply am not interested in conversations about kids, which often devolve into a kind of quasi-contest with the mothers crowing about their child's superior level of achievement or some such.
As to textile arts being definitively for women, I agree with your other readers that it is a cultural thing. There is no reason why men can't make wonderful textile art, and many do, but in American society there is a lot of pressure on young men to appear manly and avoid being seen as weak, or in other words, feminine. My son encounters this in high school, where even exhibiting signs of intelligence can get you labeled as "so gay." It's really sad on so many levels in this day and age. Are we going forward or backward?
And congratulations on the new job. Hope you love it!
Posted by: Deidre | June 05, 2009 at 07:18 PM
I am wondering if Michael James was one of the speakers. He has been a studio quilt artist for years and for the last five or six, I believe has been prominent on the staff at the U of Nebraska in the textile department.
It is funny, but I ,too, dread being in a room with all women. I am not sure why this is. I have kids, but I do not want to talk about them. I want to talk about ideas and creative work and challenges. When men are in the mix, I think there tends to be more stimulus for such thinking beyond domestic implications. I am largely feminist in my outlook. I love how women can share, but I think in situations of large groups such as seminars and conferences we need to discipline our thinking to realms outside our domestic influences. Ideas can be so heady and wonderful if we all share in this focused way.
Posted by: Phyllis | June 05, 2009 at 02:01 PM
Congratulations on the new job! Although as you note, having a job that you have to show up to every day also has it's downside! Sounds like a good solution to your earlier dilemma. Tell me more about it sometime!
Posted by: Cornelia | June 05, 2009 at 08:59 AM
I am a Japanese embroidery student studying under Kurenai Kai in Japan/Atlanta, GA.
The structure is still very male dominated -- in fact, the two current masters are both male...
Posted by: Susan Elliott | June 05, 2009 at 05:28 AM
It's a cultural thing. Western culture has a history of textile arts being women's work. But other cultures are different. In many parts of Africa, spinning and the making of textiles is men's work. Women may own a part of it such as the dying or embellishment, but men own the large part of it. I met a Nigerian man who made quilts. He had learned Yoruba style indigo dying from a women, but he told me (and was completely serious) that quilting was too complex for women to do. I withheld comment. : )
Yes, I agree with you, when something is gender dominated, there is a loss. So many creative solutions are missed when only half the world can contribute.
Posted by: K-eM | June 04, 2009 at 03:01 PM
Hi Lainie, I don't think you are alone in thinking that when there's only one gender things get out of balance. How can it not affect the atmosphere/ sub-culture? And as for textile arts and crafts being women's work, I think that has so much to do with our society's expectations of men and women. I know in India there is so much pressure on young men to pursue a career that provides good income, rather than pursuing a passion. Not to mention the stigma associated with being interesting in "girly things"- aren't many people surprised when they hear about a successful male designer who is straight?
Having said all of that, it's interesting that most of the weavers and tailors in India are men. The weavers get trained by their parents, and male tailors are generally faster and more skilled than women tailors.
Posted by: Anaka Narayanan | June 04, 2009 at 06:36 AM