| Priscilla Lowry is a Medievalist & Silk Historian, author, lecturer and designer
LATEST NEWS
Two big events: New Courses and an Exhibition. Priscilla is to be the Guest Exhibitor at the Shore Stitchers Bi-annual Exhibition to be held at Vauxhaull Arts Centre on Saturday 30th and Sunday 31st July, 10-4pm. Along with all the other wonderful Quilts and other items she will have six items themed along the Silk Road, a quilt, Flash Jackets, money beads and an art piece.
What a fantastic trip! Priscilla has just returned from six weeks co-hosting a group of enthusiastic travellers across the Silk Road. Many of the group had done her Silk Road Course at the University and were keen to see the actual sights and treasures mentioned in the Course. We arrived in Shanghai and went to see the vast Costume Museum before exploring Shanghai, and then flew to Changsha to see one of the great highlights: The Tomb of Lady Dai who had died in 168BCE, complete with her body and all the gorgeous goods she thought necessary to take with her to the Netherworld. It far exceeded expectations as did Emperor Jing's miniature army in Xian. As the trip was entitled Tombs Treasures and Textiles, we focused on the wonders of China, including the Tombs of One Thousand Buddhas at Dunhuang and the Urumchi Mummies before crossing into Kyrgyzstan to see the petroglyphs at Bishkek, the Registan Square and other Mosques, Medrassas, Minnerets, Mausoleums and Monuments in Uzbekistan, finally flying home from Tashkent.
At Auckland University, the Continuing Education Department is gearing up for the last semester and will be offering three of Priscilla's courses.
The first one is Medieval Business & Banking, beginning on Friday 22nd July to September 2nd, no class on 26th August, 10-12. This was a most successful course, new this year and there is little time left to enroll
Finally a day and an evening course. The day one is Medieval Medicine on Monday 12th September to 17th October 10-12 and the evening Course is Reading the Pictures, Thursday 15th September to 20th October 6-8pm.
This could be the last chance to join these courses as Priscilla teaches a number of courses and they are not usually repeated the following year.
MEDIEVAL BUSINESS & BANKING covers the early days, routes and traders, products and currencies. We look at the rise of the Guilds and the Merchant Bankers and in particular the well-known names, like the Peruzzi, the Bardi and the Medici. The Champagne Fairs were a special feature of the late medieval period, as was the involvement of the court and the church in trade. We look at the politics, where they got the money from and from whom and finally we examine the changes and the development into the early modern period. Enrolment is easy, TELEPHONE 373 7599 EXT 87831 OR 87832, or POST your request to Freepost 5058, Centre for Continuing Education P O Box 92019 Auckland. You can also book on line at www.cce.auckland.ac.nz or go to the 6th floor in building 810 in Short Street and talk to Aija or Jan.
The second new course is MEDIEVAL MEDICINE: IN SICKNESS AND IN HEALTH, such an exciting topic to discuss medicine and health care from the early days, the classical training with ideas based on the writings of Hippocrates, Galen and others, the value put on the Physician and the Surgeon, village health, blood letting, diet and many of the more unusual treatments. We look at the social aspects, charity and the development of hopsices and public health. This course begins on Thursday 7th April, Room 218, Level 2, Building No. 810, Short Street. Again,TELEPHONE 373 7599 EXT 87831 OR 87832, or POST your request to Freepost 5058, Centre for Continuing Education P O Box 92019 Auckland. You can also book on line at www.cce.auckland.ac.nz or go to the 6th floor in building 810 in Short Street and talk to Aija or Jan.
I do look forward to seeing you. All the series are enormous fun with lots of thought provoking ideas and great discussions. They are often oversubscribed and people have had to go on waiting lists, so do telephone the Continuing Education Department 09 373 7599 to secure your place.
Please feel free to contact Priscilla about any of the courses, and the BIG TRIP or if you saw one of her garments or jewellery and would like to have something specially made. silkroad39@xtra.co.nz
LATEST NEWS FROM ST JOHNS PRESS
Priscilla Lowry's first book, SILK:FROM THE MYTHS AND LEGENDS TO THE MIDDLE AGES has recently been republished in an ALL NEW SECOND EDITION. Also available is the second book in the series, THE SECRETS OF SILK: FROM TEXTILES TO FASHION. The third book, WORLD SILK is in preparation at this time. You can find more information on the books and a link to order them in this website or email her at silkroad39@xtra.co.nz for more information.
Priscilla Lowry's background is in teaching and for many years she owned Gallery St John in Remuera in Auckland specializing in wearable art in silk.
She gained her BA from Auckland University, majoring in Art History and Education and her Masters in Medieval History from London University. For the first seven years in London she was the Director of the Schuster Gallery, which specialized in antique prints, antiquarian books and her special area of expertise, Medieval Manuscripts. It was her experience and academic work that led to the publication of her books on the history of Silk, both published in the UK.
The period at the Schuster Gallery was followed by full time teaching and lecturing on silk all over the UK. She included demonstrations of identifying, spinning and working with different silks and a fashion parade of her original designs for handspun, knitted and dyed silk garments as part of the lively programme.
She traveled extensively to China, India, Thailand, Korea, France and Italy in search of sericulture and on her regular trips backwards and forwards to New Zealand, she was the guest speaker and directed workshops in the US, Canada and Thailand.
Increasingly, since her permanent move back to New Zealand she has been teaching at Auckland University on many aspects of Medieval History as well as being invited to lecture and give workshops around New Zealand and at major Fibre Festivals. These include Masterton in 2004 and Taradale in 2006, the Selector at the Creative Fibre Exhibition in Wellington 2005 and the New Zealand Fibre & Fleece Fashion Awards and Exhibition in Opotiki 2006, and Convenor of the Fashion Parades at the Home Show in Auckland. Her solo exhibition was at NorthArt in Northcote in Auckland and intitled SILK: DECONSTRUCTED. RECONSTRUCTED. She continues to be the guest speaker and give workshops to Spinning and Weaving Guilds, Embroiderers, Lacemakers, Patchwork, Quilters, U3A, Probus, Rotary and at other public events.
For more information about her books and topics for the talks and workshops, please contact her at silkroad39@xtra.co.nz
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