Embroidery Workshop Halberstadt

And we are back! My summer break turned out to be far less of a break than I had hoped for. Some non-break things were very pleasant, though! I very much enjoyed the Tour de Broderie shows I did with the FiberTalk Gang. They were great fun, and I encourage you to watch the recorded shows on the FiberTalk YouTube channel. The other major thing that got in the way of a proper summer break was I ended up helping out at my husband's place of work. All four of his colleagues fell ill within a couple of days of each other. At present, we have no idea how long this craziness will continue. They would love to have me there permanently for three days a week. Upon trying, we were quickly met by reality. The day only has 24 hours :). So, I had better stick to helping out as much as possible for now, helping my husband with his freelance archaeology work, running my embroidery business, and running the household. I hope they find new personnel real soon, or we will need to find a new Jessica! In between it all, I run a very successful embroidery workshop at Halberstadt Cathedral Treasury.

Late-medieval wattle-and-daub house in Halberstadt.

My husband and I returned from our 1240 km round trip to Halberstadt very early this morning. I am very grateful that he always agrees to accompany me so that we can share the driving. Especially driving back in the late afternoon after having taught for two days is not my favourite thing to do. I can manage a couple of hours but not the full 7 to 8 hours it takes to get back home. And since Halberstadt is a lovely small town with plenty of medieval churches, houses and a synagogue to explore, he happily comes along. The above picture is of a typical wattle-and-daub house dating to 1537. Many similar houses still line the streets of Halberstadt. Some have been converted into hotels and restaurants. And since these houses are similar in date to some of the late-medieval embroidered treasures in the Cathedral Treasury, some might even have been made there.

Workshop setup under the sky lights in the library next to the medieval Cathedral walls.

The embroidery workshop takes place in the museum's library. The library is conveniently located just outside of the exhibition area. Students can walk in and out to visit the medieval originals whenever they need a break from stitching. The library is equipped with large tables where you can work. Big skylights connect the modern building with the medieval cathedral. They provide beautiful natural light for stitching.

Singing Angels goldwork embroidery based on a mid-15th century original.

My students worked on the singing angels. The originals can be found on many embroidered chasuble crosses made in Germany in the second half of the 15th century. The spiral background is also typical of embroideries from Germany. The areas between the spirals can be filled with gold threads or, in this case, silk embroidery.

On the second day, we were visited by reporters from the MDR television channel. Seeing that they became enthusiastic about this medieval goldwork embroidery was great. Their 2:30 min. report will probably be aired tonight at 19:00h on the MDR show Sachsen-Anhalt Heute. I will share the link to the recording with you next week.

The museum and I hope to organise another workshop next year. We will aim for the same weekend. I will post this on my website as soon as we have set the date. The workshop is an excellent opportunity to learn medieval goldwork embroidery in a historical setting and with easy access to the originals. Halberstadt is a lovely small town with many historic sites. Whilst it cannot provide the luxurious accommodation of other historical embroidery retreats, you can book a beautiful room with a hearty breakfast in a historic building (no elevator, but ground floor rooms available). Excellent meals can be had at the Halberstädter Hof (also a lovely hotel in a historic building). Everything is within walking distance from the Cathedral and the workshop venue. As Halberstadt is in former Eastern Germany, prices are very affordable!

On a different note: Bookings for the self-paced Medieval Goldwork Course will open tomorrow at noon (12:00h) CEST. Due to the BREXIT tax rules, there are limited places available. If they sell out, new places will become available next year. Sorry! Former students of the course will find the updated course content on Padlet. Enjoy!