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Angharad Rixon

"I completed my BCA with honours at the end of 2000, with a major in visual arts (textiles) my area of interest being lace. Having been ill during my honours year, I elected to take some time out in 2001 to assess my options and simply to have a rest.

My decision to take this time was a difficult one, as one's first year out of university there is a lot of pressure to go straight into full-time work, but I was prepared to work part-time and have less money in order to find out what I really wanted to do. I combined part-time work (which was not art-related) with my own art making, and was invited by Rosemary Shepherd, lace specialist at the Powerhouse museum, to do a research project on the 16th and 17th century laces in their collection.

In terms of my studio work I found it a very rewarding year, I was able to be more experimental that I could be at uni as the pressure of assessment was not so dominant. In September participated in the international miniature textile exhibition in Como (Italy), and in November I was awarded the gold medal for innovation in lace design at the Cantu biennale of lace, also in Italy. I also had an exhibition at gallery 4a in Sydney during March this year.

The year was also very rewarding in terms of my research. The research into the fibres used to make lace during the 16th and 17th centuries which I had begun during my honours year was able to continue, and I presented this research at the Northern American Textile Conservation Conference which was held at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, in April this year. The conference was an invaluable experience in terms of my own presentation skills, hearing about other's research and the interesting people who I met.

After looking at countless internships, masters and PhD programmes I eventually decided that a PhD was the best way to move forward. Due to the limited amount of lace available for study in Australia, I asked a number of colleagues for their opinions and Thessy Schoenholzer Nichols, a colleague, mentor and guardian angel based in Florence, came up with a collection which I could research for my PhD. The collection belonged to Regina Margherita di Savoia, who was the first queen of united Italy, and is of considerable cultural and historical significance, tracking the history of lace making in Italy over four centuries.

I am currently in the early months of my research, based at Monash university. I go to Italy in August where I will stay for the duration of my research and shall be based at Monash's Prato centre which is approximately 20 minutes from Florence. I feel really lucky to have such an opportunity, and relieved that I did take the time to find out what I wanted to do, and how to go about it.

Wollongong's FCA was a great place to begin this journey, and I particularly want to thank Sue Blanchfield for all her support and for having that incredible gift of being able to give practical advice without taking away one's dreams." - Angharad

Page created August 22nd 2003