CarmenConolly: An innovator in Craft
Miss Carmenwith her favourite piece of textile embroidery.
Carmen Conolly's East End residence is acraft-lover's treasure trove.
Mrs Carmen showcases her favourite piecesin her home. These works, in a wide range of media, are varied,sophisticated and inspired by many sources.
Walking through the front door, a visitormight notice the many pieces of textile embroidery depicting localscenes that decorate the living room walls. A doll in a confectionof mesh adorns the coffee table- Mrs Carmen reveals that the elegantgown is made from an unravelled bath pouf. There are also countlessornamental pieces in shell, thatch, straw and even some realisticlooking fruit apparently made from carved wood. In fact, she says,these last pieces are made from varnished and painted bread dough.
Asked to attribute the source of her endlesscreativity she credits a well-loved aunt with a similarly imaginativemind.
"Aunt May Watler was a seamstress,so the first experience my sister and I had with craft was makingdolly clothes from scraps of cloth. We learned to sew from her,we learned to cook from her, we also learned to work with straw,sisal and thatch," she says.
In the 1960s Mrs Carmen was one of the participantswhen government brought a trainer from Jamaica to teach thatching.In addition she practices crochet, embroidery, applique, smockingand quilting, but says that each time she travels abroad the craftsmenin countries like Guatemala, Jamaica and the United States inspireher to experiment with different styles and media.
Her goal, she declares, is to pass on allof the knowledge about craftwork that she has accumulated in asimilar fashion. A former teacher, she is at all times pleasedto hear from one-time students who are practising the craft, sellingtheir work professionally. She continues to make new convertson a smaller scale by assisting with summer-school and after-schoolprogrammes, but hopes that one day craft will regain a place inthe curriculum.
An equally important objective is establishmentof a craft co-operative in her native district. She cites a numberof East End residents proficient in traditional craft but lackingthe finances to set up shop, and argues that such an initiativewould stimulate the district's economy, culture and tourism.
The idea for a co-operative is just oneexample of Mrs Carmen's busy and creative mind.
She says all this endless invention comeswith a price. "Sometimes I dream things through the night,then I have to get up immediately and put it together," shelaughs.