Just in time! I have finished my work for the Gawthorpe Lace Inspired 2012 campaign.
I made a pair of ladies cuffs: machine embroidered net decorated with hand-made paper couronnes. Hand cuffs to bind Victorian women, financially to their husbands, intellectually to the expectations of society and physically by a well-defined sense of duty. With limited means of expression, I imagined a Victorian woman stitching I dream of escape and set me free, unobtrusively working the words into the decoration. The key motif is reminiscent of a chaterlaine worn by a house-keeper (the only suitable job for a woman). The paper couronnes are fashioned from old books, alluding to the power of the written word to change the status quo.
Photos and design: copyright Claire Ketteman
I love it Claire, you are really beginning to develop a strong voice in your work using this combination of historical reference to apparell and adornment to highlight the history of women's lives in a conceptual way. Love your use of materials and techniques too!
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