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Serendipity and the Art of the Quilt

Serendipity and the Art of the Quilt

Creating with Brenda Gael Smith

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More (Again) About Hanging Textile Works

30 January 2013 Filed Under: Curator Knowledge, Exhibition: Beneath the Southern Sky

Curate (verb) – to select, organize, and look after the items in (a collection or exhibition).

This is a further instalment in my series of posts about my experience as curator of Beneath the Southern Sky travelling exhibition of textile works. Once again, my focus is on preparing textile works to ensure that they are displayed in an attractive and professional manner.

Back in December, I wrote about the importance of positioning hanging sleeves with clearance from both the tops and the sides of the textile work so that the hanging apparatus is hidden from view. Of course, it helps if you know what kind of hanging system is being employed. The hooks at The Q Gallery were bulkier than I had encountered in other galleries and sometimes peeked out:
Hanging Apparatus
Sometimes this issue can be addressed on the go by pinning along the fullness at the top of the sleeve so that the rod sits lower. I don’t have an “after” shot of this particular quilt but this is the effect that you are aiming for – no hooks in sight!Antipodean Adventure by Debra de Lorenzo
Today I am looking at hanging sleeves again. I have discovered that, depending upon the position of the hanging sleeve and the amount of “pouf” or slack in the sleeve, there can be lots of variation as to where the textile work sits on the rod. Here are a couple of examples:
BTSS1   BTSS2
Such variation is not a big deal when the textile works are hung individually and can be adjusted up or down. The exhibit looked fabulous at the Q:
Beneath the Southern Sky at The Q
AQS Quiltweek 2013The exhibit is now travelling to AQS QuiltWeek in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, USA 13-16 March 2013 and Paducah, Kentucky, USA 24-27 April.

AQS uses the Hangups system for hanging quilts. The system uses what has been described to me as “a sheer rod on steroids” (it is thicker and stronger than the rod you would use to hang sheer curtains at home) that hooks to a hook/cord system so each piece looks like it is suspended in front of the black drapes.

Because the Beneath the Southern Sky textiles works are relatively narrow at 40cm (15 1/2in) wide, it is likely that multiple works will be hung on a single rod. To ensure the works hang evenly, prepping the exhibit for the US shows involved some significant sleeve tweaking.

Sometimes the entire sleeve had to be completely repositioned but mostly all that was required was a line of tacking across the top of the sleeve. For example:
Tacking Sleeves

Tacking Sleeves

So now I have batches of textile works that sit in a similar position on a hanging rod. Ah, that’s better!
BTSS4

BTSS3

The exhibit is packed for Paducah. Here’s wishing it a safe, speedy and uneventful journey to the northern hemisphere:
Packed for Paducah

 

See related posts:

  • More About Hanging Textile Works
  • Hanging Arrangements for Textile Works
  • Shipping Quilts & Textile Works

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Comments

  1. Michelle says

    31 January 2013 at 11:41 AM

    I can’t wait to see it there! I won’t get in until Thursday night, so I’ll miss you’re Wednesday lecture though…which I’m bummed about 🙁

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