Comforting Scarves by Sue Michael
Every collection tells a story; and this one is best told in Sue’s own words. For her latest Cut & Make scarf range, Sue has taken the time to reflect on the ideas, memories, and creative influences that shaped each design. From the initial spark of inspiration through to the finished pieces, her blog offers a personal glimpse into the process behind the collection.
In this post, Sue shares what inspired her, what drives her creativity, and how this collection came to life; inviting you to connect not just with the finished scarves, but with the story behind them.
I wish to bring the uncompromising grounded-ness of lived experience that accompanies my thoughts on scarves. After the recent passing of my father, I has been enjoying the operatic music of Verdi’s Requiem, finding different performances on the internet to enjoy. A 1967 performance, conducted by Herbert von Karajan, brought new insights for me, into the role of scarves. Perhaps some may label the female choir’s grey wraps as stoles, or shawls, but for me, they carry the length and breadth of a scarf. They were a plain, un-textured, mid-tone grey upon their singer’s long black dresses. If you could imagine these choral singers only in their plain black dresses, the scene would carry a different atmosphere. The added scarves carried a shared elegance, a personal cosiness, and a sense of luxury with their inclusion. The scarves seem to elevate of the singers’ being and add to their sense of ‘heavenly presence’, despite the plainness of the scarves. There is a generosity sensed in the person who decided on such an accessory; it was not ‘necessary’. The scarves were also sharing a deeply felt message, in union with the lyrics, without calling for attention, as so often is the case in modern textile designs for scarves. The scarves can be seen in this YouTube link:
Where are those 1967 grey scarves now? Are they carefully wrapped in tissue paper, in a box, at the top of a wardrobe’s shelf? Are there granddaughters who find occasions to wear those same grey scarves?
It occurred to me that scarves could carry important messages to the wearer, and bring a sort of strength and comfort, and a deep meaningfulness that could potentially transfer to the wearer, from the fabric’s weave.
In 2024, I began a large series of images where good luck symbols, or representations from my family could be shared for their ongoing gentleness. There was a long history of scarves being savoured within the family, with silken treasures brought back from overseas, and cultural tokens kept from homelands, left centuries ago, as a way to confirm the family identity. There were also associated scarf clips that grew in their number, and have not been discarded, but treasured as further ways to highlight the importance of scarves.
Images from my handed down scarf collection. (Difficult to iron after being stored poorly!)
Scarf clips.
When you search for images of antique priest stoles, you can find scarf-like garments where intricate borders, fringed edgings, carefully planned vignettes, and particular ‘badges’ are fashioned onto the strips of often gently textured cloth. Teams of women, called borderers, are still stationed at cathedrals for such creative tasks as designing, manufacturing or repairing such garments. These antique stole placements inspired my choices to also make representations of plants, animals, or birds, for instance, at the ends of long scarves. Other scarves were kept as square cloths with borders.
Sketches of antique priest stoles.
My techniques of image-making are based on analogue collage efforts and fine art paintings, practiced over several decades, through my four Degrees in Visual Art. I hope others will be inspired by the ideas of wearing good luck charms, totems of resilience, symbols of hope close to them.
Notes on foundational papers, calculations, collage options, corrected measurements.
I continue to be interested in using tinted hues that blend with natural eye and hair colouring, as a way for my garments to harmonize with the wearer. Asymmetry is welcomed. Wilder designs are presented alongside more delicate traditional placements. Sometimes, two of the long sides of scarves do not match…perhaps this mirrors how life, itself, is. I utilize my own hand-painted, marbled, or paste paper resources to create collages. Any imperfect edges, wobbly shapes and imprecise dimensions, are a sign that the human hand has formulated these designs. My appreciation of vintage style is seen through the use of muted palettes and classical shape placements. My blog on Medium shares ways to explore backyard plants for inclusion onto scarves…it facilitates ways in which interested artists can make their own designs for print-on-demand. The link to blog No. 4.64 Trying to Convince shares a scarf inspired by a usually unseen backyard.
https://medium.com/@smichaelart963
I am open to any private commissions and can be contacted by email [email protected]
Instagram: soodiorama
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Youtube: ArtSueMichael Plant World: beginnings
https://youtu.be/o1l0gSltxAg
Twitter: soomichael
https://twitter.com/soomichael?lang=en
Facebook: Sue Michael
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Sample of original sketches, using coloured pencils.
You can check out Sue’s full range of Cut & Make scarf designs in our Fabric Shop. We can’t wait to see what you create!