Sol Lace Workshop /// Taller de Soles
with: Zaida Adriana Goveo Balmaseda
Description
Learn how to make beautiful and intricate lace pieces through a simple and meditative
technique with Puerto Rican fiber artist, Zaida Adriana Goveo Balmaseda, who will
introduce us to the technique as it is worked in her native country of Puerto Rico.
Understanding the essence of the technique gives us a vocabulary that we can apply in
both traditional and experimental/contemporary contexts.
What are Soles?
Sol lace is a type of needle lace usually worked in pieces or appliqués. The technique
consists of drawing a net of thread and then weaving and knotting radially to form
patterns. It has its origins in Spain and arrived to the Americas in the 16th century,
where it continued to develop into variations known as Ñandutí, Soles de Maracaibo,
Renda, and simply Soles. Sol Lace is most often used to decorate heirloom clothing,
baby blankets and home linens, but also assembled to create beautiful lace fabrics and
accessories.
Workshop – “Immersive Introduction to Sol Lace” – 6 hrs
Join us for an immersive workshop, where you will learn about the origins of the
technique and see traditional and contemporary examples. Zaida Adriana will share the
basic knowledge to make Soles of different sizes, shapes, and decorative patterns. You
will leave with two completed Soles, and the materials to keep creating and
experimenting.
Details
Duration total: 6 hours (2 days)
Languages: English and Spanish
Level: No previous knowledge required
Number of participants: min. 5, max. 8
Price: $80 (includes materials fee)
Materials included in KIT: Sol cushion, Sol pattern, needle, thread, and instruction
booklet
Dates: Monday, April 23rd from 6-9pm / Tuesday, April 24th 6-9pm
About Zaida Adriana Goveo Balmaseda
Zaida Adriana Goveo Balmaseda is a fiber artist whose work serves as a hands-on
manifesto of the symbiotic relationship we can have with our surroundings. She makes
slowly and mindfully, using local/organic fibers, recycled or found materials, and natural
dyes. These materials are transformed through traditional craft techniques she
respectfully re-contextualizes. Her practice weaves together fiber-art, soft sculpture,
material rescue, and contemplative performance.
Zaida Adriana advocates the slow, ethical and hand-made through talks and workshops
at places like Duduá, Manufacture NY, Slow Fashion Spain/Ethical Fashion Academy,
Eileen Fisher, Bloomingdales, and the Brooklyn Museum of Art. She serves as the
Country Coordinator of the Fashion Revolution movement in Puerto Rico.
As recipient of the Lexus Grant for Artists, she is currently exhibiting a large installation
inspired by Sol lace at the Museum of Art of Puerto Rico, and is an Artist in Residence
at Beta-Local’s La Práctica. During the month of April, she is visiting NY and taking part
in the Textile Arts Center’s Work In Progress Residency.
