#52: Making Meaning with Wendy Ward

Dr Heidi Strobel is my guest in episode 56 about Mary Linwood. Heidi joined me from The University of North Texas, USA where she is is Professor of Art History. She is also the author of Mary Linwood: Embroidery, Installation, and Entrepreneurship in Britain 1787-1845 which has been invaluable for my exhibition research. Heidi and I have been in touch throughout this project and she’s been an amazing support in the development of the exhibition and in the general excitement I feel about being able to share Linwood’s work. This is a fantastic conversation in lots of depth about Mary Linwood’s life and work. If you need to start with an introduction to Mary Linwood, there are several previous episodes including a short intro in episode 45, as well as conversations with historians in episodes 49 and 55.  Heidi's website Find out more about Ruth's Mary Linwood project Full details of the episode, including a transcript

This episode is more of the summer of stitch series, this time with the brilliant Dr Isabella Rosner, Royal School of Needlework curator, podcaster and all round historic embroidery enthusiast. She has been part of the Mary Linwood fan club for years and we had a wonderful time talking about all the complexities of Linwood’s career and making practice, and reflecting on her legacy and why she’s been so ignored in the last hundred and fifty years.  Dr Isabella Rosner is the curator of textiles and contextual studies lecturer at the Royal School of Needlework. She is a 2023 BBC/AHRC New Generation Thinker and author of Stitching Freedom: Embroidery and Incarceration (Common Threads Press). Isabella also hosts the Sew What? podcast about historical needlework and those who stitched it. Website Instagram Sew What? podcast Ruth on Sew What? Podcast from 2021 Find out more about Ruth's Mary Linwood project Full details of the episode, including a transcript

Today’s episode is more in the summer of stitch series, this time with a very different kind of maker. Claire-Louise Hardie is a costumier and sewing teacher, expert in making clothes and understanding how clothes work and how they make us feel. This is a really fun conversation exploring very different things than this podcast usually covers and it was great to talk to Claire-Louise and share this with you. It's a great excuse for me to think about clothing construction, the importance of fabric in telling stories and all the nerdy details of working with museum objects, which I have really loved. I also love the way she ended this conversation by celebrating how sewing is such a varied activity and there are so many branches of it, united by this wonderful experience of making stuff.  The Thrifty Stitcher Thrifty Stitcher Instagram Buy Claire-Louise's book Clone Your Clothes Join Ruth’s email list Find out more about Maker Membership ruthsinger.com/membership Full details of the episode, including a transcript

Continuing with the summer of stitch theme, in this podcast episode I am talking to the brilliant maker Jennifer Collier, who makes amazing objects in paper using textile techniques. I’ve known Jennifer for years and we’ve worked together and supported each other plenty but still needed to twist her arm to do this podcast, for which I am really grateful. We had a fantastic conversation about making and meaning and exploring the heritage of stitch and creative practice.  Jennifer Collier Unit Twelve Gallery Craftspace Made in the Middle touring exhibition  Join Ruth’s email list Find out more about Maker Membership ruthsinger.com/membership Full details of the episode, including a transcript

Wendy Ward - researcher, maker and campaigner around clothes, sustainability and emotional connection to the things we wear. Wendy is a PhD researcher at Sheffield Hallam University investigating product attachment, craft and broken-ness in fashion. Prior to her PhD she taught sewing to adults and wrote five best-selling sewing books. Wendy has long had an interest in sustainability within fashion, she worked at both extremes of the fashion industry: as a designer in fast fashion and for a small sustainable brand, then went on to explore novel ways to recycle textiles for her MA.  Wendy and I have a lot of overlapping interests and lots to talk about. We explore sustainability in the home sewing world, emotional connection to the things that we wear and make, storytelling in making and wearing clothes sustainably and about her campaigning work around textile waste.  Wendy's Instagram Template letter and lots of other links Join Ruth’s email list Find out more about Maker Membership ruthsinger.com/membership Full details of the episode, including a transcript

This episode is a reflection on how I chose to create Cultures of Care Gathering and the sessions, talks and workshops it involves. I also explore the idea of project books, my way of collecting inspiration and ideas into sketchbooks. I'll be sharing a number of project books at the Gathering, alongside my finished works. Find out about Cultures of Care Gathering Join Ruth’s email list Find out more about Maker Membership ruthsinger.com/membership Full details of the episode, including a transcript

It's episode FIFTY! and the podcast's 4th birthday this week. This is just a mini solo one, sharing some of the story of the Cultures of Care project and how I've brought it all together to create Cultures of Care Gathering 19-20 July. Find out about Cultures of Care Gathering Join Ruth’s email list Find out more about Maker Membership ruthsinger.com/membership Full details of the episode, including a transcript

Deb McGuire is back! We recording a long conversation and I've split it into two episodes, of which this is the second. I suggest you start with Episode 48 first, as that's where Deb introduces herself and her work. This is a continuation of our chat which focusses more on Mary Linwood and my forthcoming exhibition about her (opening 13th September at Leicester Museum & Art Gallery). Much like the first episode, this is a fun chat between two people really fascinated by Mary Linwood's life and work. Find out about Cultures of Care Gathering Join Ruth’s email list Find out more about Maker Membership ruthsinger.com/membership Full details of the episode, including a transcript

In this series I’m exploring textile making and the many complex meanings around textile making practice. This episode is the first of a two-parter with quilt maker and historian Deb McGuire, because we had so much to talk about that we made two episodes! There’s such a lot of overlap in our interests that its not surprising that we talked for ages! We talk about her work in quilting in a frame, her research and lots about the emotions of sewing and working with others. Find out about Cultures of Care Gathering Join Ruth’s email list Find out more about Maker Membership ruthsinger.com/membership Full details of the episode, including a transcript

It's been a while, but Making Meaning is back! This series will be full of conversations about textile making and meaning. This episode is with Jayne Childs. We talk about lace and heritage and the passion to innovate and create as well as the history of materials and methods. We talk about creating artwork and wearable pieces, about the stories that old cloth can tell, about telling new stories through contemporary practice and about collecting and reusing lace.  You can find Jayne’s work at: https://jcmiddlebrook.co.uk/ Join Ruth’s email list Find out more about Maker Membership ruthsinger.com/membership Full details of the episode, including a transcript