Community Lacemaking Project Update: “RADIANCE” is Born
Back in February, I shared my excitement about being part of Maggie Hensel-Brown’s Community Lacemaking Project. Well, it’s time for an update! The project has officially come to life in a stunning piece called “RADIANCE”, which is currently on display at the Australian Design Centre in Sydney as part of the LACED exhibition. Maggie recently shared some beautiful reflections on her Instagram and sent a heartfelt email to all of us who contributed, and I wanted to highlight her words here.
Maggie’s Thoughts: A Celebration of Community
From October 2023 to March 2024, over 400 contributors from all over the world sent in their needle lace leaves for this project, and the final piece has come together in the most magical way. As Maggie described on Instagram:
“It really feels like each leaf has an imprint of each maker. So many new and experienced needle lacemakers. With mathematic precision, expressive wonky threads, all kinds of beautiful responses. All of the conversations shared over your samplers, all woven into the piece.”
Maggie also shared how inspiring it was to see how many people made their very first piece of needle lace through this project, and how needle lace is “living and breathing and growing and changing.” Her words perfectly capture the spirit of this collaborative effort.
A Deeper Story Behind the Project
In an email to all participants, Maggie shared a personal story about what inspired this project. She reflected on the joy of being a teacher and seeing needle lace spread into the hands of so many new lacemakers. She also spoke about a difficult period in her life when she turned to her community for help:
“I had the absolutely life-changing experience of asking for help and my community coming through. All of these beautiful friends and family members sat around my mother’s dining table and helped me stitch those little leaves.”
This experience sparked the idea for the Community Lacemaking Project, where Maggie wanted to invite as many people as possible to contribute and be part of a shared creative effort. She was aiming for 200 collaborators, but ended up with over 400 contributors and more than 700 leaves!
The Final Piece: RADIANCE
Maggie described the journey of putting the piece together as a “marathon” of twelve-hour stitching sessions and asking for even more help from friends and family. The result is a truly amazing piece, which Maggie fittingly named “RADIANCE”. As she said:
“I decided to call it RADIANCE. Because that is what it felt like. A glowing thing radiating out into something big and bright and beautiful.”
The piece will be on display in Sydney at the Australian Design Centre until July 20, 2024, and Maggie hinted at plans for it to travel to more venues in the future!
Final Thoughts
I am so proud to have been a part of this global community of needle lacemakers. Contributing my own little leaf to “RADIANCE” and seeing it come to life alongside so many others has been an unforgettable experience. As Maggie so beautifully said:
“It’s not a dying art, it’s living and breathing and growing and changing.”
For more updates on the Community Lacemaking Project and where you can see “RADIANCE” next, be sure to follow Maggie on Instagram (@maggiehenselbrown) or keep an eye on my own social media accounts for updates.
You can always follow me on Instagram (@BobbinLaceNet) or TikTok (@CajahYupMe) for more behind-the-scenes looks at my lace-making projects.