Remembering Barbara Jean Jones and the lace|heart|art challenges

April 8th was a special date in the New School of Lace. On this day, for three consecutive years of 2018, 2019 and 2020, we celebrated an opening of the lace|heart|art, International Online Exhibition of Handmade Bobbin Lace in Colour . We took delight in sharing beautiful lace creations from all around the world with online audience. Each heart reminded us of our dear friend, Barbara Jean Jones, whose memory the lace|heart|art challenge was dedicated to.

The following years brought another kind of challenge, rather devastating to small artisanal workshops. While the New School of Lace was closed, the lace|heart|art competition was put on hold. Unfortunatelly, it was not possible to reopen the school and resume all related projects. 

Yet the lace|heart|art challenge still lives on this website. The free patterns and working instructions are still available and are frequently downloaded by many visitors. That makes us think that the heart patterns are still doing their magic, inspiring lacemakers to explore colours in handmade bobbin lace. With instructions offered in fibre as well as wire medium, lacemakers are encouraged to explore both materials. Making the heart in traditional threads and then in wire provides a wonderful comparison between the two mediums. I often recommend it as a self-study project to lacemakers who are asking questions about wire lacework.

Barbara first learned lacemaking with fibre, like most of my students, and she enjoyed working on patterns of torchon, bucks point and tape lace. And then she really wanted to learn how to work with wire. Because she loved colours, she was attracted by brilliant hues of coloured copper and also by potential of embellishing wire lace with crystal beads.
Barb’s slender hands had a delicate lacemaker’s touch, and she found working with wire difficult at the beginning. With her characteristic enthusiasm and perseverance, she practiced new tensioning techniques on a simple heart pattern until she succeeded. Handmade bobbin lace in wire proved to be a perfect match for young lacemaker’s imagination and creativity, and she enjoyed the fine craft as long as she could.

Today would be Barb’s thirty seventh birthday. She remains in our hearts, and her positive attitude lives on as an inspiration for us to face life challenges with acceptance, equanimity and love.

Let’s keep the lace|heart|art alive for present and future!

Free Patterns :

1st lace|heart|art  challenge 2018 – free pattern and working instructions

2nd lace|heart|art challenge 2019 – free pattern and working instructions

3rd lace|heart|art challenge 2020 – free pattern and working instructions

Online Exhibitions :

1st lace|heart|art online exhibition

2nd lace|heart|art online exhibition

3rd lace|heart|art online exhibition