Paper short abstract:

This presentation offers a case study of bobbin lace making in Central Slovakia. It reveals the ways in which paper patterns bearing instructions for the construction of lace designs are akin to cartographic objects. It also forms an enquiry into the transmission of embodied bodily technique.

Paper long abstract:

This paper examines the schematic notation of movement as a form of non-verbal knowledge essential for knowledge transmission in craft practice. A case study of the bobbin lace making conducted in Central Slovakia shows how paper patterns bearing instructions for the construction of lace designs are in fact a type of cartographic object. Bobbin lace is made though the weaving or plaiting of threads using wooden bobbins in repetitious, rhythmical sets of movements: physical activity is choreographed to produce a material expression. However, because of the embodied nature of craft knowledge and the haptic nature of skill appropriation through apprenticeship and experience, lace makers often have a hard time adequately verbalizing instructions. Consequently, their attempts to record and transmit weaves and designs take a form of a schematic representation of movement. Interestingly, unlike knitting or crocheting patterns, these aides are visual and record a movement in space, rather than simply listing a sequence of movements. In the process of creating the design, threads are plaited around needles that are inserted into a stiff cardboard template pre-punched with rows of holes. This template acts as the surface that is worked upon to create the lace, making lace fabrication appear logically as the manipulation of space. Thus, this paper forms an initial enquiry into how a form of embodied bodily technique can be 'read' by, and transmitted to, other bodies. Secondly, it probes the boundaries of our understanding of the nature of spatial practices, suggesting the possibility that mapping as a cognitive exercise is a pervasive element of everyday practice.