Embroidery on Tulle - books, books!

Well, an interesting few months have kept me from posting and the stack on my floor of books and other ideas for blog posts has grown into a mountain! While I have not had a moment to post, I have not in the least forgotten you!

I have posted about Ars Panicalensis before and I want to tell you about the latest developments of Paola Matteucci and her fabulous applications of this beautiful Italian needlework.

Traditional Ars Panicalensis is a whitework technique embroidering on tulle.

Paola produced a detailed manual in 2013, the cover of which is shown above. It is an extensive step-by-step tome of some 130 pages. While the text is in Italian, the photos are very clear:

I have had the good fortune to see Paola's work up close and it is truly breathtaking. I will never forget the bridal veil... I have a kit of hers for a cushion cover waiting for me to find the time and I managed to purchase a scissor case and fob, just to have a piece of this exquisite technique to appreciate at home.

While Paola excels at the traditional, she also has an eye to innovation. She has developed works of art embroidering on coloured tulle with silks and wool threads!

Her second book is 40 pages of combinations of Ars Panicalensis, Bandera Embroidery and Crewel work... on black tulle. The effect is so pleasing to the eye! This book concerns itself with the use of wool, specifically the fine wool of the French company La Route de la Laine, I think we know it as Fine d'Aubusson here in North America.

This time, the text of the book is in Italian and English! The English having been translated by British ex-pat Patricia Girolami who lives in Italy and runs her own embroidery school. She has translated many Punto Antico books for the Edizioni Punto Antico.

The title of this latest book is "Coloured Wool 1" so I hope this means that there will be a series to come and perhaps even one about her adventures with silk threads on tulle. Paola's talents are inspiring and I look forward to seeing what she does next!

Both Embroidery on Tulle books are available directly from the author Paola Matteucci's website and she excepts PayPal.

Ars Panicalensis - Purses

What do you think of when you think of Embroidery on Tulle? Do you think of Church vestments? Bridal veils? Christening gowns? How about purses?

Paola Matteucci, the extraordinarily talented needleworker from Panicale in the province of Perugia, Italy, has created an incredibily beautiful batch of purses with her Ars Panicalensis Embroidery on Tulle technique. She hand-dyes the cotton fabrics and tulle with natural dyes.

Purses at the Ars Panicalensis booth at Italia Invita 2011. Photo copyright Ricamo Ars Panicalensis.

I saw some of these lovely creations at the 2011 Italia Invita Forum in Parma last May, there was always a crowd around the Ars Panicalensis booth and during one of the workshops the TV station was there with their video cameras so I hope Paola received some good exposure for her Art.

Later this year at the Valtopina XIII Embroidery and Fabric Show there were more exquisite purses to see, done in Ars Panicalensis.

Ars Panicalensis purses at the Valtopina 2011 show. Photo copyright Maria Bissacco.

The intricate embroidery of Ars Panicalensis and the designs that come from Paola Matteucci are breathtaking and, if possible, they get more so with every new creation!

Detail of a piece of Ars Panicalensis at the EGA National Seminar in 2010.

The town of Panicale has its own Tulle Museum where from October 27, 2011 to January 8, 2012 there is an exhibit on Pinocchio and the most important imitations featuring antique and modern marionettes and toys and fairytales embroidered on Tulle.

Ars Panicalensis - Embroidery on Tulle

Panicale is a small town in Umbria, Italy. It is where an Italian lady by the name of Anita Belleschi Grifoni founded a school of embroidery and named it Ars Panicalensis [Art of Panicale] in the early 1930s.

Born in Panicale in 1889, Anita lost her mother at a young age and was then taken in by the Institute of the Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish were she received her education and was taught embroidery. When she was in her forties, Anita was asked to restore a veil owned by the Countess Barabino di LeMura. Whether the veil was Venetian or French is unclear, in any event Anita was then inspired to start a revival of the technique of Embroidery on Tulle. She studied many antique pieces at the Collegiate Church of St. Michael Archangel and in other local churches and the embroidery school was born.

Anita's designs were of typical 19th century taste: mostly floral motifs enriched by volutes and festoons, or birds of paradise on flowering branches, love knots, ribbons, landscapes, swallows and rural elements.

The school provided a means for local women to earn some financial and moral independence by making and selling their work. Anita was so convinced of the potential of Ars Panicalensis that she sent some samples to the House of Savoy. As a result, Anita and her daughter embroidered the christening robe for Princess Maria Pia of Savoy. The embroideries became well-known and sought after by the upper class and noble families and the school was commissioned to do bridal veils, tablecloths and other items destined not only for individual use but also for Embassies and many pieces went out to foreign markets.

Today you can see many of these works in the Panicale Tulle Museum in the Church of S. Agostino in Piazza Regina Margherita, Panicale. A few photos are here. Paola Matteucci, a master of the technique of Ars Panicalensis consults and assists in the management and promotion of the museum. She also teaches courses on the technique and in 2004, wrote for and co-edited the book, Ars Panicalensis, il Museo del Tulle 'Anita Belleschi Grifoni'.

I was lucky enough to see her display in Rimini at the Italia Invita Forum. The work was breathtakingly beautiful and the display was the talk of the show. Be sure to watch the slideshow of the display at the Italia Invita Forum in Rimini in 2007.

Read about Ars Panicalensis at Tuttoricamo under the 'Techniques' heading, the article is entitled: Embroidery on Tulle. While you're there, check out the book reviews for a review of the book Ars Panicalensis, il Museo del Tulle 'Anita Belleschi Grifoni' and the CD offered by Paola Matteucci in the 'Books' section under the heading: Other Italian Techniques.

The book (with text in Italian and English) and the CD (Italian but has some English text - step by step photos are very easy to follow) are available directly from Paola Matteucci's website. She also sells kits!