The Caron Collection Designer Spotlight Remembers
(Caron visitors: This designer spotlight was written before Mary's death.)
By Rita Vainius
Born in Virginia, but raised in California, Mary Duckworth
was still trained in the true Southern traditions thought necessary for
all young ladies learning the art of embroidery, how to mend, darn, turn
a fine seam and sew on buttons. Thus began a life long love affair with
the needle and its constant use in a myriad of applications. When she was
10 years old, she inherited her mother's Singer treadle sewing machine
and instantly became a sewing fanatic as well.
Though her parents considered a career in the arts to be decadent, Mary
longed to be an artist and involved in the theater. After graduating from
Notre Dame Convent School, Mary left home to pursue her dreams. Initially
she supported herself as a bank teller and pursued her interest in art
and theater as an avocation. (Click on the picture for Mary's FREE pattern.)
In 1948 Mary married Ralph Duckworth and, consequently the US Navy as well.
Over the next 35 years they were military gypsies until her husband's untimely
death in 1983. This marriage produced 2 wonderful daughters: Susan, a free-lance
graphics designer and illustrator and Carolyn, a free-lance writer and
photographer, both of whose artistic careers were actively encouraged by
both parents.
During
her husband's long sea deployments, Mary began in earnest to pursue and
develop her artistic talents. She became involved in dinner theater productions
wherever they lived, designing and executing costumes for both period and
contemporary plays, ballets and other dance performances and designing
stage sets and interior furnishings. Mary has done everything in theater
work from pushing a broom and wielding a paintbrush to directing and producing.
Mary is also an accomplished portrait artist, working in oils and pastels.
Her paintings are included in private collections throughout the U.S. and
abroad. While her husband was stationed at the US Navy Base in Guantanamo
Bay, Cuba, she was a radio disc-jockey and on-camera for AFRS/WGBY. In
her free time, Mary is a voracious reader, devouring anything from airport
"trash" books to fine mystery novels. Since childhood she has
been a dedicated museum goer and these forays are always fertile ground
for design inspiration. Crossword puzzles are another obsession and other
interests have included sculpture, ceramics and mosaics.
Despite
Mary's avid needlework interests, she did not gravitate toward needlepoint
until canvases with no pre-stitching became available. Then Mary took up
this needleart with a newfound enthusiasm. Even being a south-paw became
a distinct advantage as it forced her to carefully analyze the stitch construction
in order to execute it properly.
After moving to a new home in 1968, Mary started looking for needlepoint
canvases for a set of dining room chairs. Even with all her costume and
theater design experience, it never occurred to her to attempt to design
these herself. It took a needlework shop owner, who knew of Mary's talents,
to suggest it. She packed Mary off with a cut of canvas, a selection of
Persian wool and a copy of Hope Hanley's Needlepoint. After examining
the stitches in the book, Mary selected some to try on her chevron design
for a pillow. Only a true innocent would select a diagonal design as a
first effort! By the time she completed the pillow, her whole needlework
focus had changed forever. 30 years later, she has yet to get to those
dining room chairs!
During
the 1970's, Mary worked in the gift shop at the Wolf Trap Farm Park for
the Performing Arts. After seeing some of her needlepoint work, she was
asked to design some canvases with performing arts themes, which proved
to be popular sellers. With her husband's encouragement, she decided to
pursue a design career. In 1973 she started "Duckworth Designs".
The regional success of her designs spurred her on to go national. She
became a regular exhibitor at national trade shows, shipping her designs
to clients in the U.S., Canada, England and Australia. In 1977 she opened
and for 8 years operated her own successful needleart retail shop, "The
Designing Duck", in Arlington, Va. She reveled in the daily interaction
with fellow stitchers and credits her loyal customers as instrumental in
her growth and evolution as a designer and teacher.
Mary's strongest design influences have come from Oriental sources: textiles,
woodcuts, brush paintings and Noh theater of Japan. She finds the elegant
simplicity of these art forms captivating. Working with Japanese design
sources taught her two very valuable lessons: any two colors can be compatible
with each other if the correct color values are used and, in design composition,
less is best. Mary elaborates: "I work to achieve designs of classic
simplicity with an understated elegance".
Other
inspirations evolve as a result of clients' custom requests. The commission
which gave her the confidence that she could meet any design request was
for a tennis playing duck-billed platypus! Collages are Mary's most challenging
design assignments. The client presents a list of "must contain"
items that have little or no relationship to each other. Yet she must bring
all these elements together in a harmonious design. Mary's favorite project
was a Christmas stocking based on "The Cajun Night Before Christmas".
Santa appears as a swamp rat in a racoon suit, his sled is a pirogue and
the reindeer are crocodiles! The list also included the Notre Dame Cathedral
dome, a golfer, Lake Pontchartrain, the atomic energy symbol, skis and
a bottle of Tabasco sauce. Mary worked everything into a pleasing design,
except for the bottle of hot sauce, which had her stumped. Although it
was just a small element, the red label on the bottle made it an eye-catcher
no matter where or how she positioned it. Finally inspiration hit when
her own brand of deviant of humor kicked in: Mary opened the lead crocodile's
mouth and put the bottle between its teeth! Mission accomplished!
To
translate an idea into a design, Mary undertakes a great deal of research,
test stitching and trial and error experimentation. All of her designs
are meticulously charted beforehand. She then paints to the thread on the
canvas from the chart. It is of primary importance that each stitch, technique,
thread and color make a positive contribution to the whole. Mary will not
use any design element just for its own sake and asserts that using a different
stitch for each part of a pattern more often detracts from, rather than
enhances the design.
Mary's aim is always to create designs that a stitcher can personalize.
This, she finally concluded, could only be accomplished through charted
designs rather than painted canvases. Charted designs allow the stitcher
to choose the preferred counted technique, the desired mesh size and the
thread colors. The presentation of her work in charted form made her a
pioneer in presenting classic designs done in this manner to the stitching
public.
Now semi-retired, Mary continues to design, teach, judge, attend seminars
and take classes. Her current design work consists primarily of commissions
for ecclesiastical vestments and paraments. She has designed altar cloths
and sets of paraments and has designed and stitched embroidered stoles
and appliqued banners.
Mary
is a senior Master Teacher and Judge certified by the ANG. She is also
credentialed by the National Academy of Needlearts through their Level
I. Her motto, "Have Needle Will Travel"' comes into play when
she accepts a teaching contract. As a teacher, Mary is a maverick because
she steadfastly bucks the trend of having beginners work on samplers. She
is convinced that it is necessary for novices to be thoroughly grounded
in the tent stitch, and familiarized with a limited number of textured
stitches as enticements for future growth. The true test of a needleworker's
skill is the execution of a piece entirely in the tent stitch, as any flaws
in technique will be visible. She counsels her students that few stitches
are "set in stone", but it is essential to learn the rules in
order to know those which can't be broken, those which can be bent and
those which can be improvised upon. One of her greatest satisfactions as
a teacher is being able to show a student how to evaluate a given pattern
for conversion to another technique. Mary's free pattern is an example.
She originally introduced the "Or Nue` Chrysanthemum" as a "Noh
Collection Design Medallion" executed in the tent stitch.
Mary met Lois Caron when they were fellow exhibitors at the TNNA trade
shows. She was a longtime fan of Lois' work, admiring its elegance and
the qualities she valued in her own work- style and elegance. Upon opening
her retail shop, she became an immediate customer of the Caron Collection
designs and threads. Mary has used the Watercolours and Impressions threads
with great success and continues to experiment with other threads in the
Caron line.
Descriptions of Mary's Illustrated designs:
TEACHING PIECES:
1: CHEVRON SAMPLER # 1:
An monochromatic exercise in working various stitch patterns on the
diagonal to create a pleasing whole with Medici wool and Krenik metallic
braid.
Instructions are also included for finishing and creating the tassels.
2: CHEVRON SAMPLER #2:
A sophisticated interpretation of "Chevron #1". The patterns
and
stitches used are more intricate and challenging. Also, it serves as an
example of
color and thread balance using Kreinik silk and braided cord, Medici wool
and Abula
threads. Instructions for finishing and making the tassels are also included.
3: FANTASY PINEAPPLES:
Interlocking circles with the pineapples utilize a variety of
patterns and stitches using Medici wool, six stranded floss, Krenik metallic
braid
and linen threads.
4. NAVAJO SAMPLER:
A collection of authentic Navajo symbols create a layout presented in
the manner of a weaver's rug samples. Various techniques are used with
Perle #5,
six stranded floss, Flower thread and sewing thread. The background is
couched
with Caron's Watercolours as the laying thread.
5. TAXI!:
A street scene inspired by a design from a Chinese import porcelain
bowl. A variety of techniques are used to develop the design. Among them
are
Couching, Pulled Thread, Shadow work and surface embellishments. Major
threads are
Medici wool, six stranded floss, carpet and sewing threads.
6. THE CATCH:
The fishermen have been hauling in their catch of the day far from
their home shore. To bring this to life a number of techniques are used.
Among
them, Pulled Thread, Couching, Detatched Buttonhole, Random Split and Surface
Embellishment. Threads used are Krenik metalic braid, Soîe Perlee,
Soîe D'Alger,
six straned floss and sewing thread.
COMMERCIAL DESIGNS:
1. MARIPOSA:
The width of Krenik metallic ribbon chosen as the laying thread for
this piece was done so because the resulting random schrunching created
the effect
of shantung which was the desired goal. This is a very real challenge for
those
who enjoy working the Or Nué technique. Not because the design in
itself is so
complex, but because of the number of needles which come into play in order
to
execute it. Threads are Soîe Perlee as well as the metallic ribbon.
2. THE BALUSTRADE:
A chatelaine which uses Perle cotton and exposed canvaswork to
create a distinctive personal accessory. Complete instructions are given
for
finishing.
Note: All designs shown remain the exclusive property of the designer and
are protected as such under the U. S. copyright law.
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