Women's Domestic Needlework Group

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The Women's Domestic Needlework Group was established in 1976 by Australian feminist artists Marie McMahon and Frances Phoenix, members of the Sydney branch of the Women's Art Movement, with an interest in reclaiming and focusing attention on the undervalued field of women's traditional craft work. [1] [2] The other members of the collective were Joan Grounds, Bernadette Krone, Kathy Letray, Patricia McDonald, Noela Taylor and Loretta Vieceli. [3]

Artworks and exhibitions

Phoenix and McMahon collected d'oyleys from second-hand shops and donations, and began running weekly workshops, open to the general public, initially at the Tin Sheds and then at the South Sydney Women's Centre. Their goal was to share and learn such skills as crochet, embroidery, lacemaking and weaving. After obtaining Crafts Council funding, their major exhibition, The D'Oyley Show, An Exhibition of Women's Domestic Fancywork, was held at Watters Gallery, Sydney, in October 1979. It then toured regional New South Wales galleries in 1980. [4] The group collaborated with Earthworks Poster Collective to produce a series of screenprints about women's needlework, which served as wall panels for the exhibition. [5] Examples of the posters are in the collection of the Art Gallery of New South Wales and the National Gallery of Victoria.

The group sought to counteract ingrained attitudes in education that positioned craft as a minor art. [6] Needlework was strategically chosen to reflect the traditional patterns, symbols and images that have reoccurred throughout history, and the common techniques that many women would relate to. [6] The traditional forms, techniques and patterns of d'oyley work displayed in the exhibition included: Teneriffe lace wheels; Rose and Shamrock pattern; Latin American 'Sol' lacework; continuous braid lace; filet crochet; spinning star pattern; embroidery with crochet edge; flora and fauna designs; ecru cushion covers; sandwich d'oyleys and jug covers; scalloped d'oyleys; snow crystal pattern; crochet and knotting; limerick lace; Italian 'Punto Tagliato' lacework; petit point; and applique. [6]

As Australian writer and journalist Anne Summers argues in the exhibition catalogue, "It is only at this (level) of culture - everyday life - that women have an explicit and acknowledged place." [6] As well as documenting the works in the exhibition, the extensive exhibition catalogue included research and practical information on Aboriginal crafts, Australian Designs and Designers 1890 - 1940, historical exhibitions and competitions, poetry, histories of women's labour in the textile industry (European and Australian), the development of craft guilds, and caring for textiles. [6]

The exhibition, Dissenting D'oyleys: The Women's Domestic Needlework Group, exhibited ten of the original screenprinted posters, and was shown at the New England Regional Art Gallery, Armidale, New South Wales, in 2021. [2]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crochet</span> Technique of creating lace or fabric from thread using a hook

Crochet is a process of creating textiles by using a crochet hook to interlock loops of yarn, thread, or strands of other materials. The name is derived from the French term crochet, meaning 'hook'. Hooks can be made from a variety of materials, such as metal, wood, bamboo, or plastic. The key difference between crochet and knitting, beyond the implements used for their production, is that each stitch in crochet is completed before the next one is begun, while knitting keeps many stitches open at a time. Some variant forms of crochet, such as Tunisian crochet and broomstick lace, do keep multiple crochet stitches open at a time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Embroidery</span> Art or handicraft of decorating fabric or other materials with needle and thread or yarn

Embroidery is the craft of decorating fabric or other materials using a needle to apply thread or yarn. Embroidery may also incorporate other materials such as pearls, beads, quills, and sequins. In modern days, embroidery is usually seen on caps, hats, coats, overlays, blankets, dress shirts, denim, dresses, stockings, scarfs, and golf shirts. Embroidery is available in a wide variety of thread or yarn colour.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Needlework</span> Craft of creating or decorating objects using needle

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The Earthworks Poster Collective was an Australian artist collective that operated out of the Sydney University Art Workshop, more commonly known as the Tin Sheds, in the 1970s. The collective, based in Sydney, New South Wales, was active from 1972 to 1979.

Frances Phoenix (1950–2017) was an Australian feminist artist known for needlework and poster designs. Phoenix contributed to the Women's Art Movement groups in both Sydney and Adelaide, as well as multiple community art projects.

Toni Robertson is a visual artist, art historian and printmaker from Sydney, Australia. She is known for her poster making and involvement in the Earthworks Poster Collective, which operated out of the "Tin Shed" art workshops at the University of Sydney.

Sera Waters is a South Australian textile artist, arts writer, and arts educator. She lectures at Adelaide Central School of Art.

Lilian Margery Dring was a British artist known for her paintings, poster designs and textile designs. needlework and embroidery work.

Marie Elizabeth Rita McMahon is an Australian artist, known for her paintings, prints, posters, drawings, and design work. Born in Melbourne, she has worked in various communities of Australian Aboriginal people and as of 2020 works in Sydney. Her work has focused on social, political, and environmental issues. Her posters about Aboriginal rights and Aboriginal life appear in major gallery collections in Australia.

Australian poster collectives were artist collectives established in the late 1960s, 70s and 80s in the capital cities of Australia, largely led by women and focused on various forms of political activism.

Carolyn Yackel is an American mathematician who has been Professor of Mathematics at Mercer University in Macon, Georgia since 2001. From 1998 to 2001 she was Max Zorn Visiting Assistant Professor of Mathematics at Indiana University.

The Tin Sheds was the common name of the Sydney University Art Workshop was an Australian art workshop in Sydney, New South Wales, founded in 1969. Its name lives on in the Tin Sheds Gallery at the University of Sydney School of Architecture, Design and Planning. Groups such as Optronic Kinetics and the Earthworks Poster Collective operated out of Tin Sheds.

References

  1. "The forgotten workers, 1979, The D'Oyley Show by Women's Domestic Needlework Group, Sydney, Marie McMahon, Frances Phoenix". www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au. Retrieved 2022-03-12.
  2. 1 2 "Dissenting Doilies: The women's domestic needlework group". New England Regional Art Museum. Retrieved 2022-03-12.
  3. "Women's Domestic Needlework Group :: biography at :: at Design and Art Australia Online". www.daao.org.au. Retrieved 2022-03-12.
  4. Marsh, Anne (2021). Doing feminism : women's art and feminist criticism in Australia. Carlton, Victoria. p. 38. ISBN   978-0-522-87759-5. OCLC   1284877513.
  5. Mayhew, Louise R. "Jill Posters will be prosecuted: Australia's women-only print collectives from the 1970s and 1980s".
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 The D'oyley show : an exhibition of women's domestic fancywork. Sydney: D'oyley Publications. 1979. ISBN   0-9595795-1-6. OCLC   27622188.