Hand Weaving in Rural East-Central Illinois

From Sheep to Clothing: Hand Weaving in Rural East-Central Illinois

April 4, 2009-?

Temporary and Traveling Exhibition

Lincoln Log Cabin State Historic Site, Visitor Center, Sargent Gallery

Audience: Students, especially 5th, 8th, and 11th grades, as well as the general public Big Idea Curatorial Committee Saige Jedele, Lauren Wojnarowski and Chad Burroughs

The big idea of the exhibit is as follows: The complex process of hand-weaving evolved from a home-based necessity to an industrial and artisan craft, all the while maintaining an influence in people's lives. The purpose of the exhibit is to illustrate the complete process of hand weaving through artifacts, labels and first person interpretation. The themes of the exhibit are incorporated into our take-home messages, which include the following three primary messages along with secondary subsets for each: Primary Message #1: A basic understanding of the hand-weaving process -Hand-weaving was a lot of work. -Spinning and hand-weaving were a time consuming process with many steps. -Hand-weaving is a detailed process that relied on specific tools and skills. Primary Message #2: A general knowledge of how the process and product have changed -There was a change in home-based weaving to industrial weaving. -People continued to weave, even after it was unnecessary. -There were transactions between rural and urban communities. Primary Message #3: Thoughts about weaving’s role in the lives of people -Weaving played an important role in the lives of the Lincolns and the Sargents. -All family members participated in the weaving process. -Products of weaving are functional and artistic. -Weaving was a vital part of the local economy. Exhibition Planning Problems Registrar Committee Kitty Nowak, Katie Ebeling and Chris Davis

After taking inventory of the coverlets located at Lincoln Log Cabin, it is clear that we have an enormous amount of objects to deal with for this exhibit. We have to take into consideration the large amount at the site, and also the donated and loaned pieces that will be incorporated into the exhibit. The task of dealing with the selection of artifacts is quite daunting, but we are selecting pieces based on their relevancy to the exhibit’s themes. We are going to be under the overall guidance of both the Director of Lincoln Log Cabin, Matthew Middlestadtt, and the visiting curator, Sharon Stovall, deciding which pieces will ultimately be shown. They will further our understanding about what final pieces will be in the exhibit through their knowledge and expertise on weaving. Spatial concerns are numerous for this exhibit. The Sargent Gallery is only 33.5’ by 29’ in size. We also have to accommodate two very large and dominating looms: the Sargent and Martin Looms. We then have to consider the 21 coverlets within the collection, 6 to 10 of which are to be displayed throughout the exhibit, in addition to several other textiles such as sheets and pillowcases. The chosen coverlet pieces, in addition to the looms and coverlets, severely constrict our ability to adequately and properly show many of these items in their full size and beauty. We also have to plan our space around a dual-sided 10-foot traveling pop-up display unit, which will showcase the main focus of the hand weaving process on one side and discuss the role of weaving today on the other. This traveling portion, in addition to several other display cases that we will have to construct as the layout of the space is adjusted over time, will only add to the spatial constraints that we are already facing. Objects that display the weaving process will be selected from the collection to accompany the pop-up display unit while at the Lincoln Log Cabin Historic Site. These items will enhance the tactile experience of the exhibition, and a list of such artifacts will accompany the traveling portion of the exhibit. The Exhibit Voice Education Committee Amanda Paszek and Anthony Bowman

Determining the voice of our exhibition is an important step in creating an environment comfortable and welcoming enough that the visitor will feel able and willing to learn. The text of an exhibit establishes the relationship the exhibit builders hope to have with the visitor. We hope to have a relationship in which visitors feel comfortable to spend as much time as they like wandering the space and ask as many questions as they need upon leaving. Weaving is a process that takes great skill and patience to learn, master and teach. It is a practice that passes from generation to generation. To those who participate in this craft today it is an art and a valuable hobby. To those who participated in this craft during the time of Thomas Lincoln it was a necessity and the weavers were a vital part of society. Through the front end evaluation, it can be seen that the subject of most interest to potential visitors is the local story. Those surveyed have indicated they would most like to hear the stories of the people over the years that have woven materials throughout Coles and neighboring counties. The best person to present this information is the local scholar, a personality with colloquial charm and likeability, but a firm understanding of the skill and its components that has the ability to speak with authority on the matter. Coles County is filled with many such women and men on whom we will be able to base our text. The local expert’s voice will be able to instruct people on the process of weaving without seeming to recite lines from an instruction manual. This voice will seem familiar when speaking about everyday uses and practices within 19th and 20th century homes but seem informed and educated when mentioning the introduction of industrialization. In addition to this scholarly voice, we will include a children’s component that will introduce kids to the process through tactile learning and relatable information. These additional text boxes, pictures, and hands-on activities will be found throughout the exhibit and will allow the family to participate together in their viewing experience. This voice will offer questions for parents and teachers to raise to students from the elementary school level to the high school level. The Illinois school curriculum teaches American history in grades five, eight, and eleven; these will be the focus groups for this voice. Through readability statistics we will attempt to keep this voice informative while at a level of understanding for each of these levels of comprehension. Design Opportunities and Constraints Design Committee Jennifer Fair and Kimberly Grauf

There are several design opportunities and constraints of the Sargent Gallery at Lincoln Log Cabin Historic Site. Creating an exhibit within this space will allow for creativity when developing content and displaying artifacts. However, the amount of space and resources will limit the way the exhibit will be designed overall. The gallery itself is located in the visitor center. Visitors exiting the main galleries at Lincoln Log Cabin will exit into the Sargent Gallery space. We can therefore design the exhibit to start in the lower left corner of the room (see design layout). This allows for the exhibit to be constructed with the idea of a designated path for the visitors. The gallery also has limitations. The client wishes for large coverlets to be displayed in the exhibit. This creates a security issue for the textiles and a conservation issue if they are not displayed in the correct manner. The site has three large cases: one flat case, one slanted case, and one large Plexiglas case. These could be used to display folded textiles and would help protect them from damage. However, this solution will only work if we reduce the number of textiles wanted for display or if we build additional cases for the artifacts. The light in the gallery is another conservation issue. The hot fluorescent lights used in the gallery track lighting will damage the coverlets even through Plexiglas. By switching the fluorescent light bulbs to LED, we will reduce the amount of damaging light in the space. The gallery space must include two large looms and a 10 foot pop-up display unit. For the pop-up display, we should have durable hanging panels attached and ready for travel. Both sides of this display unit will have panels. The looms need to be placed away from the track lighting due to height. These components will serve to construct an education based context for the exhibit; however they will be difficult to design around because of their size. Overall, the design of the exhibit space for the hand-weaving exhibit will be challenging. The exhibit team must design a layout which addresses the opportunities and constraints of the gallery space. We will work to be innovative in the design process and uphold the exhibit mission's statement as well as protect the artifacts, and fulfill the educational goals of the exhibit team. Benefits of the Exhibition Registrar Committee Kitty Nowak, Katie Ebeling and Chris Davis

This exhibit will benefit the visitors by showing them how the process of weaving has stayed the same throughout time. We also hope to ensure that after people view the entire exhibit, that they take the knowledge learned and express that knowledge back into the community. This will serve two overall outcomes: increasing knowledge about the exhibit at Lincoln Log Cabin and furthering understanding of the process of weaving and the roles that it had within the homestead. The exhibit will benefit museums and staff by showing the detailed transition of weaving from a necessary household duty to an art form allowing those weaving freedom in design and choice for the items they were creating. This will be achieved through their interpretation of the exhibition’s themes. The traveling portion of this exhibit will have the ability to showcase this topic to vast audiences including other museums, schools, and visitor centers. This will allow us to reach the largest audience possible with our exhibit. We will be incorporating local guilds to ensure that the information presented within this exhibit is as accurate as possible. We want to make sure that no misconceptions are portrayed in our exhibit, and that the audience and viewers are taking in accurate and detailed information regarding weaving. We also hope to utilize the expertise of these groups through lectures and on-site demonstrations. In the economic hardship facing Illinois state historic sites, such as Lincoln Log Cabin, it is essential to provide learning experiences that will attract both new and returning visitors. We hope that this exhibit, focused on artifacts and histories of East-Central Illinois, will be of interest to people of the local community. This should generate revenue and promote the Lincoln Log Cabin in the future. Conceptual Planning Diagram Photography Committee Tamara Wolski and Betsy Giles

Gender Roles

Hand Weaving Jacquard Sargent Martin Others Cotton to Fabric

Individual Flax to linen Stories Process Sheep to wool Local History

General History Weaving for necessity in Patterns the home Coverlets on Weaving for display Industrialization pleasure, 20th of weaving Cent. to present Styles of the period Educational Goals and Objectives Education Committee Anthony Bowman and Amanda Paszek

Goal 1: Understand the basic hand weaving process Objectives A) Identify the steps of production B) Identify the skills and tools necessary to produce woven material C) Analyze how raw materials changed with processing

Goal 2: Understand how the process and products have changed and remained the same over time Objectives A) Realize the effect of new technologies on production B) Identify aesthetic changes and continuity in coverlet design C) Observe the transformation of hand weaving from necessity to craft

Goal 3: Understand the role of hand weaving in individual lives Objectives A) Recognize the generational connection in hand weaving (skills, patterns, etc.) B) Examine gender roles in home economy C) Examine the actions performed by different age groups in the home economy D) Identify hand weaving as a means of individual expression Exhibit Rendering Design Committee Jennifer Fair and Kimberly Grauf

Red: Exhibit cases, display units, and looms Green: Exhibit panels with text and graphics Purple: Coverlet locations Yellow: Doors

The preliminary exhibit layout intends to include several display components and exhibit panels with graphics, while highlighting artifacts and examples of hand weaving. The visitor will begin from the Lincoln Log Cabin’s permanent exhibit exit and proceed by turning left. There will be an introductory panel and a curatorial statement text panel. The large curved pop- up display unit will include information about the process of weaving and lead the visitor to cases with interpreted artifacts, spinning wheel, and loom. The visitor will then turn right and see text panels on weaving patterns and coverlet weaving. A small bed property will serve as a display unit for textiles and the Sargent Loom will be placed in a vignette interpreting the materials used in hand weaving in the home. The visitor will again turn right and see text panels on the industrialization of weaving in East-Central Illinois. Lastly, the visitor will see text panels on the other side of the curved display unit concerning modern hand weaving practices.