Rosalie Dace!

We were lucky to get Rosalie Dace to come to our guild and do two classes and two lectures. I am not taking her classes, but I attended one lecture last night and will do another one later this week. Rosalie Dace is from South Africa, so getting her to Minneapolis was quite a coup. She stopped here on her way from Point A to Point C; we became Point B. Lucky us!

Some of her works are on display at the Textile Center in Minneapolis.

I took the first couple photos before I decided I should also photograph her description of the work.

This one, below, is my favorite. I believe the inspiration is relating to voting. In many countries they vote by writing an X on a piece of paper. I believe that's what this represents.

This one is in the classroom and didn't have a statement with it. I think it's a sample for teaching purposes. After this follows a group of photos of students' work after one day of a two-day class. So interesting! I wish I had taken this class. (I guess I only photographed two student works; I thought I'd captured more than that.)

Next I show you some pictures I took of her slides. The first is the oldest known surviving pair of pants on earth. These were made in China about 3,000 years ago.

This is an example of the Tent Makers of Egypt's work. They do all this by hand! It's hand applique, and it's all made by men. She says they are coming to the USA this year (or next year)? I shall have to do a search and see if I can see their work in person!

The next one is a student's quilt; the student died shortly after taking Dace's class; she shows it to honor her student. And, of course, because it's lovely.

Then there are examples of work done by various groups. I can't remember who they all are/were. The third one down is made of.... can you guess? Not fabric. It's made from beer bottle caps (or some part of a beer container that the maker collects and has kids gather for her.. they're pieces of metal).

Can you guess what this one is made from? Rosalie just loves this one. She is in awe of it. The maker is unknown! She attributes it to a woman, but who knows? It probably was; it currently hangs in someone's office in a ... museum or something? I can't recall, but the piece is well loved and well regarded by them. Look below the picture where I tell you what it's made of.

It is made of safety pins! Thousands of them!

This one recently won "Best of Show" at a quilt show in New Zealand. Rosalie was one of the judges. She said some people were shocked that a piece based on graffiti would win. But.. it's based on a cultural phenomenon that is becoming not just graffiti but art, and the piece is technically superior, she said. And anyway, why not??

These slides are of Rosalie's own work. Most of them are the piece and then a detail, either beside the piece or in the next photo.

This is Rosalie Dace herself. She is interesting and entertaining, though she kept hoping we weren't falling asleep - heavens! We were enthralled! If nothing else, her accent is so cute. I look forward to attending her next lecture in a couple days.