Durham Weaver: March 2024

Baltic Open Submission 2024 in association with Fenwick

15th March to 1st September 2024

I was thrilled to find out that my piece 'The Red Thread is one of 100 pieces chosen for this exhibition at the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art in Gateshead. https://baltic.art/whats-on/

The Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art

The opening event on the evening of Friday 15th March was amazing.

We arrived early to join the queue which turned out to be the a very good idea. It was a large event from 6:30 - 11:30 with music, refreshments and a couple of speeches. The exhibition is held in two exhibition spaces on the ground floor.

Not too busy - for a short while.

Then the crowds started to build

Soon there was a queue to get in to the exhibition rooms.

My exhibit seemed to be the only textile apart from one large felt piece.

Viewing my piece.

Exhibition catalogue

You can find details of the exhibition and the catalogue here:

https://baltic.art/whats-on/0g-baltic-open-submission-2024/

I wove the selection of sayings for the Nordic and World Braids and Bands 2022 - the 5th International Conference on Braiding. Participants from around the world came to share their love of craft, take workshops and listen to lectures by prominent researchers in textiles - ancient and modern.

In honour of the occasion, I contacted people from the Nordic countries to find out their proverbs connected to weaving, thread and practising a craft. This was fascinating and led to many interesting conversations. I had many to choose from but the red thread connecting them is learning about and sharing a love of craft.

Den Röda Tråden The Red Thread

I took the theme of The Red Thread for my piece. The Red Thread, a ubiquitous Nordic metaphor, describes the 'thread' running through something that gives it unity, coherence and meaning – the heart of the matter. It gives meaning to our life – and can weave together friends, communities, and stretch across nations - a collective heritage of many people or the ‘essence that links together the soul of the experience.’

The red thread, den röda tråden is live, clear, powerful and connective - it is the single line, the spiralling of the soul, of experience, of memory and consistency in the voice of the message - whether it is a conference, a dialogue, or a lesson. For an individual it can be their beliefs and motivation.

The shared love of craft and art is a red thread that brings people together. All the sayings are from different Nordic areas and are woven using a pick up technique using lettering that I designed. They are mounted on a piece of my handwoven cloth. The surrounding red woollen cord was made on a lucet.

The border for each saying is in the colours of the national flag. The motifs at each end of the band were chosen to link to the particular country. The sayings were woven using a pick up technique using lettering that I designed and are mounted on a piece of my handwoven cotton cloth.

Den röda tråden - The Red Thread. by Susan J Foulkes

The eight proverbs from Nordic countries are connected by craft and learning. This handwoven piece links eight peoples through their shared love of craft exemplified by their proverbs. The spiralling red thread stretching out of the frame is the link to a wider community.

The Sayings

The Swedish saying is: Den röda tråden - The red thread.

In Sweden the phrase, 'the red thread' is used as a metaphor to describe the 'thread' running through something or underpinning a lesson, conference or a dialogue that gives it unity and meaning. As one person has written 'The red thread is live, clear, powerful and connective.' The red thread seemed a suitable idea that underpinned the conference in Denmark bringing together crafts people from around the world with a common love of creating narrow wares.

The Icelandic saying is Að komast í álnir - To become rich. This is an old saying and refers to the trade in textiles from Iceland which was important for about 1,000 years. Originally, women did this weaving and as a result could bring wealth to their family. Only later did Guilds restrict their creative and productive capacity.

The Norwegian saying is: Øving gjør mester - Practice makes the master. This is a reminder that gaining a skill takes time.

The saying from the Faroe Islands is: Altíð bagir illum barni okkurt. A bad workman blames his tools. A craft is learned by an individual and failure or mistakes cannot be pinned on the tools that are used.

The saying from Greenland is: Uppertunut ajornartoqanngilaq. Nothing is impossible for one who believes.

In Japan there is a similar saying which stresses the relationship between learning and skill

'suki koso nomo no jozu nare

to love something is the best way to become skilled at it.

The Danish saying is: Gennem livet går der en usynlig tråd. An invisible thread goes through one's life. This lovely saying is attributed to Hans Christian Anderson and originated with Goethe.

The Sami saying is: Vuosttaš maid meašttir dahká, lea oahppat. The first thing a master does is to learn.

The Finnish saying is: Mestariksi tuleminen vaatii kaikkien virheiden tekemistä. To be a master you need to have made all the mistakes.

The red thread around the sayings is a lucetted woollen cord.

Denmark is the birthplace of Hans Christian Andersen. I was thrilled that the conference was held near his birthplace museum, the Hans Christian Andersen Museum in Odense, Denmark I loved his stories when I was a child.

A few years ago I completed a course through Future Learn about his life and work. Unfortunately, the course has now been retired but it fired me with enthusiasm to revisit his stories and hopefully to go to Denmark. The conference gave me the opportunity to explore his life and work in Denmark.

The saying from Denmark is attributed to Hans Christian Andersen.

Each saying has a woven motif at either end. I chose the motifs to fit with the country of origin. Here is a close up of four of the sayings.

I found motifs that appear on woven bands or other decoration of the countries concerned.

The second band with the motif like a fish is a very common motif in Sweden. The other motifs are all from items such as designs of belt buckles or woven patterns.