Morocco Part 2

A trip to a Berber village

Berbers (Amazighs) are an ancient ethnic group indigenous to northern Africa. The Romans named them Berbers,”barbarians”. While they worshiped various dieties, some were Jewish Berbers and some Christians. By the 600's most were converts to Islam. While some were stereotyped as nomads, the majority were traditionally farmers and lived in villages. Today most Berbers live in Algeria and Morocco, although there are large immigrant communities in Europe and Canada.

There was no standard writing system for the many distinct languages. For instance, when I visited a carpet house the manager showed me modern Berber carpets which told the story of the maker, her family and her village, pictorially, in the designs she had woven into her carpet.

In 2011 King Mohammed VI, ordered Berber as an official language of Morocco and compulsory in all schools. Today it is spoken by 30-40 million Arabized Berbers.

On a trip to the Ourika Valley at the foot of the Atlas Mountains we visited a Berber family. Lest you think Morocco is only desert, the Atlas range is the highest in North Africa (known as “mountain of mountains”), snow falling regularly from September to May. In the High Atlas Mountains the language is a dialect of Berber Tashelhit (with some Tamazight).

While Arabs tend to leave the family home upon adulthood and marriage, Berbers typically live in compound houses with extended family.

In Morocco, hot, freshly brewed mint tea is served to every guest. Made of green tea and mint it is quite refreshing and it is considered very rude to not partake of a small glass (even if it is your 3^rd or 4^th of the morning). The offering ranges from a full brewing ritual with many silver pots and kettles to brewed tea served in small glasses on a silver tray.

The lady of the house wore, for us, a traditional Berber costume,matching green pants and caftan, richly embroidered, and small green hat. Although no English was spoken, she graciously showed us her home and terraces , which held striking views. 

No home, however off the beaten path should be without TV!!!  The present king had electricity brought to the valley.

Morocco

The Bazaar

“Abandon hope all ye who enter here.”

       Dante Alighieri

The Divine Comedy – The Inferno

We just ended a perfectly wonderful vacation in Morocco. The weather was pleasantly warm and the people were fabulous hosts. If you have not traveled there, I would urge you to plan a trip soon. We stayed in riads (guest houses, usually with 4-10 rooms with baths,food service and most western mod-coms,even wifi. English is no problem,nor,of course is French or Arabic.

Riad in Marrakesh

The riads are located in the “old city” part of town, called the Medina. The Medina of each city is a miniature city in itself, walled from invaders or perhaps to keep the citizenry inside, the walls are reminiscent of castle walls. Within the Medina there are shops for everything necessary for daily life, as the inhabitants both live and work within these walls. 

The streets are not really streets, but a series of winding alleyways, often without names. They are often too narrow for cars and transportation is walking, motorbikes and carts (pulled by donkeys or people).

 Of course it it very easy to get lost, especially at night, with no street lights and everything looking the same. But there are two types of “lost” in the Medina. The second is the area of the bazaar, the market , the souks.

Every tourist guide book will have pages about the market sellers. Some areas are shops where the bargaining is civil (and somewhat limited, although one should always try for the best price). Other areas are stalls where the seller sits outside and tries to entice you to buy. The amount of merchandise is staggering. Hundreds of thousands of key chains, scarfs, tee shirts, jewelry. 

 Early in the day one can see throngs of tourists energetically pushing their way through large numbers of other tourists (just in case there would be some shortage of goods to buy).
They are sheep going to slaughter. They are accosted immediately by the sellers.

The words “just looking, not right now, I'll be back” or just plain “NO” are ignored. Having read their guide books, tourists know about the bargain process. Believe me, they know nothing of what is to come. By midday the energetic shoppers have slowed their pace, their eyes have a glazed look. The crowds, the noise, the heat are taking their toll. By early afternoon they are “lost”. They wander along loaded with large plastic bags filled with their treasures. It is not until they pack their bags for home that they realize exactly what has happened.

Do you avoid this experience? Never!!! It is part of a lifestyle different from our usual trip to the mall.

This is the stuff that makes the tales of our trips interesting. But remember this is the livelihood of the vendors. This is how they feed their families. No matter how strongly they push, be polite. Just walk away if you are not interested. Also be aware that using a credit card for small purchases decreases the money available to the vendor. In fact, many small merchants hesitate to accept plastic at all.

In the coming weeks I will share my other experiences, including the master of all sellers: The Carpet Seller.

A Talent Lost

“Good night sweet prince: And flocks of angels sing thee to thy rest.”

      Wm. Shakespeare

Unless you are residing on another planet, you will have heard of the untimely death of the music superstar Prince.  He has been called “iconic”, enigmatic, and, above all, supremely talented.  Prince was a composer, performer, musician and choreographer. 

As I watched TV footage of some of his many concerts and performances spanning the decades from the 1980’s, I was struck not only by his musical prowess, but his ability to transform a concert into a magical, often overwhelming experience.  It could never be said that the artist was boring, dull nor uninspiring.  Part of this mystique came with the costuming of his productions.  I am, after all, inspired by textiles and costuming and stage presentations featuring, what were, in the beginning of his career, considered, by some, to be well over-the-top.  Many a “tsk” could be heard when describing his outrageous and flamboyant use of dress ( or in some cases, undress).    Today we are used to the pyrotechnics, elaborate costuming and gyratic choreography preformed at every sports event, awards ceremony or ribbon cutting dedication.  In light of today’s standards there would have be few raised eyebrows by his provocative stage performances.

I heard one of  his costume designers interviewed who expressed the joy of working with such a talented, artistic mindset.  Prince Rogers Nelson was an original.

Art Therapy

Art Therapy

While on vacation visiting my New Zealand relatives, I mentioned to my sister-in-law that I really needed the vacation.  Sensing some degree of stress on my part, she told me about an adult coloring book that was given to my mother-in-law for Christmas.  Apparently, I was the only person who had not heard of this trend to eliminate anxiety and stress.  While shopping at her favorite book/gift shop, my sister-in-law introduced me to a large selection of these art books.  I was amazed at the intricacy and variety of designs, so much so that I bought several different “Adult Coloring Books”. Amongst my selections were two books of textile designs and one of traditional Japanese designs.

I began with a book of William Morris wallpaper designs. (See my blog about Morris- William Morris, Textiles and Interior Design, 6/18/14)

Brooklyn Museum, Pomegranate Publications, 2009

I decided upon one of his monotone designs which I wanted to reproduce, as much as possible, in the original colorway.

Illustrated coloring page - Arcadia Pattern

Original Pattern and colorway

My effort

My other textile book presents Liberty of London fabrics ( see my blog, Liberty Style, 2/16/14) and I am researching the original fabrics chosen for the book.

While this might seem a frivolous use of time, I found the degree of concentration necessary to complete these designs actually provided  stress relief.  One of the most challenging aspects of this activity is choosing the art materials to use (I selected ink and brush for my first efforts.  Next, I will try watercolor pencils.)    Of course, changing the color palette creates an entirely different look and this would be a good exercise for any textile student.

Food and Textiles

Food and Textiles

As I have written many times, I love books and have quite the collection.  Of course I have my textile books and, for nighttime reading, mysteries. I recently started collecting old cookbooks as I find the history of food and the culinary arts very interesting.  I recently purchased an illustrated history, which is a compilation of very old recipes.  Several short recipes are supposedly from Roman times including one for “boiled parrot”.  The recipe ends with the suggestion that if you cannot obtain parrot ( I guess the local butcher along the Apian Way didn’t get his weekly order) you could substitute flamingo.

While reading through these cookbooks I noticed many recipes had names in common with textile terms.  Think “cotton candy”.  Here are a few of the many I found.  Perhaps you can think of others.

Red Flannel  Hash

  According to Eric Quale (Old Cook Books, An Illustrated Histtory) the recipe was created in Vermont’s Green Mountains and favored by the Revolutionary Green Mountain Boys.  It is made from mashed, cooked beetroots and potatoes, mixed with minced, cooked steak, butter, cream, onion and salt and pepper.

  Flannel cloth refers to the weave used, usually a plain weave, not its fiber content.  It can be made from cotton, wool and manufactured fibers.  The term “flannel” comes from the Welsh”gwlamen”.

Chiffon Pie

    Chiffon is a word that can describe either a cake or a pie, light textured and fluffy.  A professional baker invented chiffon pie in the 1920’s, and another professional baker invented the chiffon cake in the 1940’s.  According to Women’s Day Encyclopedia of Cookery, the pie chef’s mother was taken with the dessert named it “chiffon” as it reminded her of a pile of the fluffy fabric.  For lemon chiffon pie, one would need a baked pie crust, unflavored gelatin salt, sugar, water, lemon juice and grated lemon peel, eggs and whipped heavy cream.

  

  Chiffon fabric, originally made of silk but, today it can be made from manufactured fibers as well as silk and rayon.  Highly twisted yarn in plain weave produces a transparent, fine fabric which is durable despite its delicate hand.

Chantilly Cream

    Chantilly refers to fresh whipped cream with the addition of egg white and flavoring. It is more stable than whipped cream and maintains consistency for 24 hours.

     Chantilly lace is a bobbin lace from Chantilly, France and was a favorite of royalty.  It was originally made of black silk , but also famous for white silk “blonde”  Black lace was extremely popular during the ‘mourning period” of Queen Victoria and during the American Civil War..

Shawl of black Chantilly lace

Crepe is French for a very thin, delicate pancake sweet or savory, plain or stuffed.  The recipe calls for eggs, butter, milk, sugar, salt and flour.  A crepe is almost always made from white flour (crepe de froment) but can also be made from buckwheat (galette ) Galettes are nearly always served s a main course, not as a dessert.

(.David Lebovitz, My Paris Kitchen)

  

crepe suzettes 

    Crepe fabric is woven in plain weave from yarn which has been twisted in extreme degree under tension, giving the fabric a wavy appearance.  The fiber may be wool, cotton, silk or manufactured. 

Red Velvet Cake

   Anne Byrn, author of The Cake Doctor, searched the origin of this dessert with somewhat mixed results.  One source traced the recipe to the Waldorf- Astoria Hotel in NYC in the 1930’s.  However, it seems as if the Waldorf chef was only responding to requests of diners, finally asking one of the callers to send him the recipe.  Basically, the cake is a chocolate ( or German- chocolate cake) to which a bottle of red food coloring has been added to the batter.  The food coloring adds no flavor but a certain dramatic flair.  It has been noted that there are versions of this dessert in green and orange!

    Velvet fabric -  Perhaps originating in Italy during the Reanissance, velvet is a plie fabric which can be woven from a wide variety of fibers.  There are two methods of construction.  One method involves cutting wires inserted in the weft.  The wires cut the pile as they are withdrawn.  A more common method is the creation of a double cloth with separate pile threads joining the two layers.  After weaving, the pile threads. are cut.  

Sprucing Up for Spring

Sprucing Up for Spring

Every magazine I have read this past month has had articles on cleaning the house and redecorating or remodeling.  Visit my blog,  “Spring Cleaning”, April 15, 2013 for care of your vintage textiles.  One tip, for now, is please check your collection every couple of months for proper storage.  Take your textiles and refold them in a different pattern or, better yet, roll them. When textiles remain folded the creases become difficult to remove.  If there is pressure on the folds (by stacking the textiles atop each other) the fibers will weaken and may, in time, break.

Now for the remodeling.  We recently remodeled our kitchen and are very pleased with the results.  But you don’t have to completely redesign or remodel to create a new look for your rooms.  Of course, the designers would love you  to consider new paint, new furniture, maybe remove a few walls.  There are many ways to freshen your living quarters without going broke or winning the lottery.  Naturally, I’m talking using textiles to express your design personality. 

Tip #1  Start with what you already have.  While you are refolding your stored fabrics, linens and other textiles, consider using them, in perhaps a different manner than they were first intended.  When you put away your heavy, winter bed coverings could you exchange them for an embroidered sheet and shams from the 1930’s?  Do you have a lace curtain panel that could be placed at the foot of the guestroom bed?   How about a 1940’s cotton tablecloth for your eat-in kitchen table? 

Tip#2  Consider when to purchase new fabrics or use vintage.  For kitchens, linens from the 1940’s and 50’s are entirely appropriate and easily found in thrift shops.  These textiles were made from cotton and are actually very durable.  They have been washed many, many times throughout the years and are found in cheery patterns and colors.

However, if you are looking for fabric to upholster a reading chair for your great room, new fabric is a better choice, as it needs to be strong, stain resistant and pet friendly.  If you like the look of vintage, reproduction fabrics are readily found,

Tip #3  If you are planning a new look or are decorating a new home do your homework by visiting high-end furniture and design stores.  They will display various vignettes  using coordinating styles .  You are no longer required to style your home depending upon your location.  Quilts are not only for New England, pastel palettes not only for Florida.  One suggestion I always offer: go “ethnic”.  This style is definitely in favor right now and very, very easy to introduce into your room décor.  In my home I have Indian dhurries as floor covers, Indonesian batiks and ikats as throws and table covers and African Kente cloth for pops of color and interesting, geometric patterns.  These all cohabitate with southwestern pottery and tribal art.  Many ethnic fabrics and textiles can be found , whether vintage or modern reproductions.

Tip #4  It is your home or apartment or dorm room.  Your surroundings should reflect your interests.  Some prefer a minimal approach, some like to display collections.  To keep from creating sterility or chaos include meaningful objects. More is not only more!!  More is confusing.  Complete absence of texture, color and form is not only boring but does not reflect your personality.  Decorating is a talent that requires some degree of experimentation.  If, at first, you are not entirely pleased with your efforts, try again and be open to new ideas!!!

This is one of my favorite references.  

The Textile Art in Interior Design, Melanie Paine, Smon and Schuster, NY 1990

Gods and Kings - McQueen and Galliano

Galliano and McQueen

This is one of the best biographies I have read in a long while.  The story of two young British designers who rose from humble beginnings to become major forces in the revolution of fashion in the last decades of the 20thC is told by fashion writer, Dana Thomas.

Gods and Kings - The Rise and Fall of Alexander McQueen and John Galliano,
 Dana Thomas,
 Penhguin Press, New York, 2015

The major fashion houses, Dior, YSL, Givenchy were relatively small, privately- owned couture operations. The changing dynamics of mass marketing and branding resulted in the inevitable entrance of the “men of high finance”.  These entrepreneurs  were money men, not fashion men.  By combining small fashion houses under  one umbrella, their power proved to be insurmountable.   They retained the famous labels, moved into the ready-to-wear markets and encouraged designers to retain their brand names, not only on clothing but branching into accessories and cosmetics.

This is the story of the transformation of couture into mass produced, affordable fashions.  The journey takes the reader into the culture of the period, from the seedy gay bars to the fashion runways.  Travelers in this journey included the rich and famous, the shakers and movers, and the up-and-coming celebrities such as Boy George and Madonna.

The meteoric rise the these young designers, who were only a few years off the dole, was so astonishing that they were referred to as the “Kings ”.  Reveling in their fame, they could not imagine their catastrophic demise at the hands of the “Gods”, the men of power and finance.  As Thomas notes, their problem was recreating fantastic, complicated designs, which would be able to be manufactured on a large scale.  They believed in their own “myth”.  

Also by Dana Thomas: Deluxe: How Luxury Lost  Its Lusture