N.Z. spinning wool of growing interest in United States

Press, 22 August 1978, Page 13

N.Z. spinning wool of growing interest in United States

By

LEONE STEWART

American spinners and weavers are developing an interest in high-quality spinning fleece from New Zealand, Mrs Elizabeth Soanes found during a recent visit to the United States.

Mrs Soanes, who specialises in weaving wool, attended the 2000-strong American Handweavers’ Guild annual gathering in Colorado. She believes that New Zealand could develop a thriving export in fleeces giving a reliable, fine-quality, spun wool from New Zealand.” land could become renowned in America. The American women, were, she found, intensely interested in everything about wool growing and weaving and spinning in New Zealand.

“They were hungry for information and would dissect everything, she said.

Bulky yarn used for big wall hangings was the most sought-after wool. In a Santa Fe weaving centre Mrs Soanes discovered skeins of bulky yarns, beautifully dyed in the subtle colours of the desert, labelled “handspun wool from New Zealand. The enthusiasm and dedication of the many young American women,

often with degrees tn textiles, delighted Mrs Soanes. And, fascinated though she was later by the weaving of Indians in North and South America, it was the ethnic clothing exhibition at the gathering that has most inspired her.

After the gathering, which she attended with

Mrs Jo Robertson, of Woodend, Mrs Soanes visited Navajo and Hopi reservations to see traditional North American Indian weaving. In Colorado Springs, and Flagstaff, Arizona, she saw excellent gallery showing of weaving and pottery. The work of both tribes was. she found, extremely expensive. One small tapestry was priced at $7200. “Indian weaving, jewellery, and pottery has now become a status symbol. Even the small Navajo bracelets were selling for $3OO to $400,” she said.

The traditional Indian arts and crafts seemed to be in a very healthy state. The irony of such work now being sought after by an affluent white population did not escape Mrs

Soanes. “The makers must be laughing all the way to the bank,” she said. Even good reproductions were much in demand and fetching high prices. The Spanish weavers, of Chimayo, whose tradition of weaving has been unbroken since their settlement in the hills near Santa Fe

in the 1700 s, were now making Navajo and Hopi reproductions. Mrs Soanes was particularly attracted to the Hopi work. She found it more restrained and controlled than the “rather flamboyant” designs of the Navajo. The tribes’ determination to preserve their traditions and privacy on the reservation — no photographs allowed —

also impressed her. Government policy provided a market for big wall hangings in the United States and Canada.

“It is stipulated that a certain amount of money must be spent on decorating public buildings,” she said. “I wish we had the same policy here.”

In a brief visit to Mexico and Guatemala she saw

traditional methods of Indian weaving' centuries old. In Oaxaca, an old Mexican town largely removed from Western influences. she found the children started weaving, using a tapestry-type technique, in cotton and wool from the age of about seven. The craft was passed to the new generation simply by watching and imitating.

There, in the centuries old town market, she watched Dona Rosa, world-renowned for her black pottery, at work. The pots were made completely by hand, without the aid of a wheel, and

polished with a stone to a strange, rich lustre. ".Most of the old potters are reluctant to teach others, but al the World Craft Council meeting in Mexico two years ago Dona Rosa polled for thousands of visitors," said Mrs Soanes. "She is a very frail old lady now. but has wonderfully strong hands still.” In Guatemala, where she stayed at Panajachel. on the shores of Lack Atitlan, in the Central Highlands, Mrs Soanes was saddened to observe a deterioration in the quality of some of the weaving.

A comparison of the basic braid commonly pm chased by tourists, and wunderfulij rich and varied braid she bought sei ond-hand from the local market illustrates her point. Mrs Soanes. who teaches night school classes in weaving at Haglev High School, is looking forward to developing her ideas in tapestry and cloth weaving. She is particularly interested now in developing the primitive shapes of folkloric clothing to a more shapely, stylised line.