The Nettle Dress film, followed by Q & A
About The Nettle Dress film, followed by Q & A
Please note the special time on Saturday morning. This Free Lecture will NOT be recorded (with the exception of the Q & A with Allan Brown, which will be available for 30 days.)
Textile artist Allan Brown spends seven years making a dress by hand, using only the fiber of locally foraged sting nettles. This is “hedgerow couture,” the greenest of slow fashion and also his medicine. It is how he survives the death of his wife Alex and how he finds a beautiful way to honor her.
‘Grasping the Nettle” is at the heart of this story. The challenge of making zero carbon clothing means relearning ancient crafts: foraging, processing, spinning, weaving, cutting and sewing. Making a dress this way becomes devotional and healing.
“While making the dress over all these years, I felt like I was being transformed by the nettles rather than the other way around,” says Allan. “When Alex was ill and going through chemotherapy, as soon as I began spinning yarn, I felt calmer. It became much more than just a piece of cloth; it’s been woven with the stories of people who know and love you.”
The dress is made up of 14,400 feet of thread, each one representing hours of loving attention. In the film the dress is finally worn in the woods where the nettles were picked by Oonagh, one of Allan’s daughters.
Director Dylan Howitt says: “This is a story about the deep value of creativity and imagination, and a slow, mindful craft that is more in tune with the natural world.” View the trailer here https://vimeo.com/728785623.
Visit The Nettle Dress website at https://www.nettledress.org/
The capacity for this lecture is 300 students.
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When
Single 2-hour live online session.
Film will not be recorded. Q & A will be recorded and available for 30 days.
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MAFA - The MidAtlantic Fiber Association
The MidAtlantic Fiber Association (MAFA) represents and supports a community of fiber arts guilds in the greater Mid-Atlantic region.
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