Name/Title
"Rings & Chains Blanket Shawl"Entry/Object ID
T2025.1.14Description
Artist Statement: I felt that the best way to interpret the Victor Knitting Mills sign was to create a handmade garment. Because the sign advertises "sweater" and "coat," I hand wove what is known as a blanket shawl, similar to a cloak. I selected the "rings and chains" overshot pattern, as recorded in the 1950s by Miss Josephine E. Estes of the Weavers' Guild of Boston, because the sharp points of the repeating star motif evoke the "v" of the Victor on the sign. In this way, my hand woven garment speaks to the history of textile production and consumption in Wisconsin.
I wove the shawl on my 1940s-era four-shaft Leclerc floor loom, originally owned by Mary Howe AtLee Brandt (1919-2017), an occupational therapist, activist, artist, and former resident of Ripon. As her obituary notes, "Mary was a founder of the Ripon Community Art Center" and "a volunteer curator at the Ripon Historical Society." She was also "an activist writing letters, demonstrating and advocating for social justice" who participated in local organizations such as the League of Women Voters. She received the Ripon College Founders' Day award in 2000. Mary was married to former Ripon College librarian William Brandt, who served as Director of the Ripon College Library from 1952-1980 and the library’s volunteer archivist from 1980-1985. The loom was passed on to Sarah McGowan, former Director of Lane Library; I inherited it in 2019 and have been weaving it on it since.Artwork Details
Medium
Hand woven cashmereContext
Art inspired by the sign, "Victor Knitting Mills."Lexicon
Nomenclature 4.0
Nomenclature Secondary Object Term
Loom, HandNomenclature Primary Object Term
LoomNomenclature Primary Object Term
ShawlNomenclature Sub-Class
Textile Manufacturing EquipmentNomenclature Sub-Class
OuterwearNomenclature Class
Textileworking T&ENomenclature Class
ClothingNomenclature Category
Category 04: Tools & Equipment for MaterialsNomenclature Category
Category 03: Personal Objects