Ann Allison

Ann has been a bobbin lace tutor, designer and maker since 1980. She 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.

 

At the 2002 International Lace Congress in Nottingham, an exhibition of Czech lace was wonderfully different from anything else she had seen. The designs looked simple but extremely effective, in that every thread and every stitch visibly contributed something to the design. Ann resolved to work in the same way.

 

In recent years, Ann has experimented with and developed the use of wire in contemporary lace. The intrinsic strength and flexibility of wire lace has great potential and versatility. Work can be flat or formed into three dimensional shapes.  It can hang against a wall or be suspended in mid-air and allowed to move freely.  It can be worn as costume jewellery or create large works of sculpture.

 

Whether working in wire or thread, the exploration continues.