Lenka's Way of LaceOffering: Red Berries
Posted on March 26, 2019
Frame:
Cedar driftwood (designed and made by Colin Hamilton of Thuja Wood Art
Lace:
Enamelled copper and stainless steel wires
Semi-precious stones and beads:
Bamboo Coral, Clear Quartz Crystal, Hawk’s Eye, Rudraksha Seeds
Technique: handmade bobbin lace – TesseLace pattern
Dimensions in centimetres: h:43 x w:43 x d:5
Dimensions in inches: h:17 x w:18 x d:2
If cold winter months are good for something else than hibernating, it is for lacemaking. Long, dark nights offer quiet time for uninterrupted work and allow sustained focus that reaches almost a state of meditation.
Cocooning in my studio, I was looking for an idea for lace that would fit in one of Colin’s driftwood frames. Dried by sun and fresh air the wood feels so warm, as it is radiating energy collected over many summers. Just like standing cedar trees, the driftwood offers assurance that we, too, will survive yet another winter. Living on the West Coast of Canada for thirty years, I came to understand why cedar has been considered sacred by indigenous people.
majestic cedar tree in my backyard
An empty red cedar driftwood frame has been standing on the shelf in my studio for more than a year, patiently waiting for lace. Upon invitation, the images kept appearing, but none of them strong enough to stay and prompt me into action. One day, on a walk through fresh snow in Kwomais Point Park, I was amazed by dark lines of underbrush with embellishments of ice and red berries, set starkly against pristine white background. There is a lot of lace to be found in the forest, but rarely in such plain sight.
I started to work on my next offering. Once again, my connection with Veronika Irvine and her TesseLace worked miracles, and I was able to find the right grid and use the Circular Grid Templates for designing the mandala.
It worked so well that the piece was finished before the snow in the forest melted… It became my offering to the season that makes us revere cedar, to the beauty of snow and ice, and to the berries who know how to say ‘fertility’ like no other.
The Offering: Red Berries will be shown in juried exhibition ‘Just Gates’, organized by Arts Council of Surrey, in April 2019.
Copyright©2019. Lenka Suchanek. All rights reserved.
For Sale: New Items Added
Posted on November 29, 2018
I have added one new artwork, Meganeura, to my Way of Lace shop on Etsy, and a new line of wearable lace art, Copper Beech Leaf Pendants.
Enjoy browsing, and if there is anything you would like to buy, make sure to take advantage of the Christmas sale!
Meganeura
Posted on September 14, 2018
Material:
stainless steel and enamelled copper wires
drift wood, crystal beads
Technique: handmade bobbin lace – free form
Dimensions: 48 x 72 x 5 cm (19 X 28 x 2 in)
Meganeura is an offering to Gaia and her transformative powers.
Meganeura, a dragonfly’s ancestor from the Carboniferous period, symbolizes transformation, survival, and incredible ability of Earth creatures to adapt and evolve with the environment. Watching dragonflies and knowing that their progenitor Meganeura lived 300 milion years ago, always fills me with awe and reverence for this planet and all life it carries.
This offering is a prayer for us, people of this Earth, to listen to Gaia, and learn from her wisdom… before it is too late.
This work is listed for sale in my Way of Lace shop on Etsy.
Copyright©2018. Lenka Suchanek. All rights reserved.
Offering: West Coast Mandala
Posted on November 14, 2017
Frame:
Cedar driftwood (designed and made by Colin Hamilton of Thuja Wood Art)
Lace:
Enamelled copper and stainless steel wires
Semi-precious stone cabochons and beads (from centre):
Nephrite (BC jade), Almandine Garnet, Shell, Rose Quartz, Bamboo Coral, Rhodochrosite, Clear Quartz Crystal, Calcite, Blue Tiger’s Eye, Shell, Hematite
Technique: handmade bobbin lace – free form
Dimensions in centimetres: 64 x 61 x 12 ( 4 cm without stands)
Dimensions in inches: 25 x 24 x 5 (2 inches without stands)
West Coast Mandala is an Offering to the magnificent Pacific Northwest nature.
In harsh climate of the temperate rainforest, human life has never been easy. Ancient people called upon spirit powers to receive guidance and protection. They were taught to live in harmony with the land and the ocean, and respect all plants and animals. This wise, timeless teaching still resonates on the West Coast.
The Offering: West Coast Mandala is presented in a frame made from red cedar driftwood, which carries the spirit of the tree of life, and creates a sacred space for reflection and meditation. In its centre, the mandala holds a cabochon of the B.C. jade, and radiates the energy outwards through the copper wire weave. Inner sacred geometry circle with semi-precious stones, coral and shell beads, represents the earth’s depths. Surrounding three currents symbolize underground, surface and ocean water bodies. Water brings fertility and abundance to the soil and to people, and they present offerings of flowers and fish. Fertile land is encircled by a protective range of the coastal mountains, which merge into the mist of the sky dome. From above, water motion, vegetation growth and people’s lives are governed by the moon cycle. All is connected and therefore in harmony with the timeless wisdom.
This artwork is now exhibited in Talisman Gallery on Pender Island, BC.
Copyright©2018. Lenka Suchanek. All rights reserved.
Waves: Offering to the Moon
Posted on May 12, 2017
“Waves – Offering to the Moon”
transparent lace sculpture
42 x 36 x 8 cm
driftwood redcedar frame, stainless steel, shell moon
Story of The Waves:
I was looking for frames for a new body of work, and I found Colin Hamilton, an artisan-woodworker, who works with cedar driftwood collected on the beaches of Gulf Islands. He hand splits the logs and builds gates, furniture and art, using traditional joinery techniques. Colin agreed to make some frames for me and I left it up to him to chose size and shape. The frames were beautiful when they arrived – very organic, and like no other frames I used before. They were already art pieces in their own right, and it was not difficult to see how they should be completed with lace. One small frame was asking for waves and I decided to use steel wire, because the Pacific Ocean on the Canadian West Coast often looks like it is made of steel. I couldn’t see though what pattern to use for lace, because all traditional lace designs lacked the fluidity I envisioned. I decided to create my own pattern, but since that takes long time, I put the piece on hold to let the design percolate. By chance, I was contacted by Veronika Irvine, a University of Victoria PhD candidate and a fibre artist, who developed a mathematical model to describe bobbin lace tessellations. From this model she generated thousands of original grid designs. Veronika was looking for lacemakers who would test the new patterns. I tried, and immediately realized that this was exactly what I wished for for my new piece – and much, much more…
I found pattern that flowed like water, made the “Waves” and offered them to the moon. The piece sailed away, spent some time on the Gulf Islands with Colin, then crossed The Strait of Georgia and reached Veronika’s lace collection in Victoria on Vancouver Island.
We regard the “Waves – offering to the Moon” to be a truly West Coast creation, in sync with the ocean waves that connect us. And while we are all busy with our own work, we are open to future collaborations. Colin is working on new frames (thujawoodart.com), Veronika is doing her binary code magic in computer science and lace design (tesselace.com). And I am leaving all the rest to the moon.
Copyright©2015-17. Lenka Suchanek. All rights reserved.
Inspiration
Posted on February 12, 2014
Transparent Lace Sculpture
Materials: Copper – patinated, partially gold plated; metal frame
Techniques: Bobbin lace – point ground, free-form lace
198cm x 70cm x 30cm
This sculpture was created for the Internati0nal Exhibition of the IIX International Lace Biennial, on a theme “Lace as a Poetry” and was exhibited in Sansepolcro, Italy, in 1998.
In private collection.
Photography: Kenji Nagai
Copyright © 2014 Lenka Suchanek. All rights reserved.
Icon
Posted on February 12, 2014
Transparent Lace Sculpture
Materials: copper – enamelled, patinated or gold plated; metal frame
Techniques: Venetian plaited lace, free-form lace, knitted lace
Size: 198cm x 70cm x30cm
In private collection. Photography: Kenji Nagai Copyright © 2014 Lenka Suchanek. All rights reserved.
White Lotus
Posted on February 12, 2014
Transparent Lace Sculpture
Materials: Enamelled copper with amber, garnet and fresh water pearls
Techniques: Bucks point lace, free-form lace, beading, wire wrapping
56cm x 56cm x12cm
Copyright © 2014 Lenka Suchanek
Blue Lily
Posted on February 12, 2014
Transparent Lace Sculpture
Materials: Enamelled copper
Techniques: Handmade bobbin lace – milanese braids, point ground, free-form lace, braiding, wire wrapping
55cm x 55cm x 15cm
Copyright © 2014 Lenka Suchanek. All rights reserved.
Jewel in the Lotus
Posted on February 12, 2014
Transparent Lace Sculpture
Materials: Bronze and copper (patinated, enamelled or gold plated) with turquoise and carnelian
Techniques: Milanese braids, free-form lace, beading, wire wrapping
65cm x 65cm x 18cm
Copyright © 2014 Lenka Suchanek. All rights reserved.
Lenka's Way of Lace 