ANN ALLISON
Ann had been a bobbin lace tutor, designer and maker since 1980. She had learned the traditional laces from her mother and soon began to adapt old patterns and design new ones. Studying the City & Guilds Lace Course opened up a whole new world of design possibilities, where the strictures of traditional lacemaking could be stretched, manipulated or even broken. In recent years, Ann has experimented with and developed the use of wire in contemporary lace. Her first piece, ‘B-leaf,’ was created for The 98 Lace Group’s exhibition at The Bowes Museum in 2012, and then ‘Fleur’ was selected for the Lace 21 exhibition at Waddesdon Manor.
The intrinsic strength and flexibility of wire lace has great potential and versatility. Work can be flat or formed into three dimensional shapes; can hang against a wall or be suspended in mid-air and allowed to move freely; can be worn as costume jewellery or create large works of sculpture. The exploration continues.