An Interview with Victoria Clarke

Hello, Lovely Tatters!  Wow, I seem to be on a roll, here, and I'm not going to complain.  If I find something I want to share, I do so, and I do it without delay.

I asked Victoria Clarke, aka Victats Clarke on Facebook, if she would agree to answer my interview questions a couple of weeks ago.  I know she's a busy person, so I didn't expect her to be so prompt with her answers, but here she is!

Vicky is a sweetheart.  I've never had the pleasure or the privilege of meeting her in person as it seems our paths seem to cross at all the wrong times.  I'm in a place before she is, or vice versa. Our emails and conversations online have always been very "in sync" and I've enjoyed them thoroughly.  I'm hoping one day our "ships will pass in the night" and I can actually put a face to this truly lovely person.

Again, my interview is based on a series of questions I email to the interviewee, and their answers are posted, verbatim (word for word) in red italics under each question.

So, my dear knotty friends, I present to you an interview with Ms. Victoria "Victats" Clarke of Ontario:

1. How long have you been tatting? 

Since I was 16, I am turning 46 this year so 30 years (not consistently the first few years because I couldn’t get supplies). 

2. What first drew you to learn?

My High School Home Economics class went to the local historical center in Campbellford, Ontario. There was a lady there demonstrating tatting. She taught me how to do it and then I practiced from there. It never occurred too me to call and ask her name. My high school was just down the road from the historical society. 

3. How did you learn; did you have a teacher?

The mystery lady at the Campbellford Historical Society and then I learned online from Georgia Seitz and from the book by Rebecca Jones, The Complete Book of Tatting that my grandmother bought for me when we were at Sears (they used to have a big sewing section) 

4. Needle, shuttle, both? Why? 

I do both needle and shuttle tatting but I am much better at shuttle tatting, mostly because that’s how I learned and practiced the most  

5. What do you get from this art form?

 I love lace and that’s what first attracted me. 

6. Are any other family members tatters?

Trying to teach my nieces… 

7. Do you have an online “presence”; a blog or Facebook page you’d like to see folks visit more?

I have a blog called Victats at victats.blogspot.com and there is a link on the page for a tatting podcast called the “Victats Podcast”. I find it easier to talk than to write sometimes. 

8. Have you published any books or patterns, designed any gadgets or developed any techniques?

I have 2 books published: Tatting the Stone (tatted pendants) and Brace Yourself: A collection of Tatted Bracelets. I developed a variation on Victorian Sets called Ruffled Sets. 

9. Does your family support your art?  What kinds of accommodations do they make?

Yes.  Sometimes they travel with me if I’m teaching. I am single so I don’t have to worry about husbands and have no children. My dogs are very disruptive to my tatting…  

10. What does tatting do for you? I like to make things and tatting is very portable.

 I like to make things and tatting is very portable. It was also a very cost effective hobby when I was a student. 

11. Have you entered competitions? Shows? Anything you’d like to brag about?

No competitions, I don’t trust that the local fair will treat the project correctly. I have completed the first part of Tatter’s Across Time. 

12. What do you hope to accomplish with your art? 

I would like to have people continue to tat and make lace long into the future. I use my tatting in my house for decorations and gifts for friends.  

13. Is there anything you DON’T like about tatting?

Not since the internet, it used to be hard to get patterns and thread. Now thanks to places like Handy Hands and Tatting Corner I can get a lot of supplies.  

14. Have you taught others to tat?

I have taught at Palmetto TatDays, Finger Lakes Tatting Seminars, the Fringe Element Tatting Seminars, and the Great Lakes Lace Guild Lace Seminars. I’m not great at teaching absolute beginners how to shuttle tat but I can teach beginners how to needle tat. 

15. Are any of your family members interested in learning? 

My nieces are sometimes interested but it comes and goes. 

16. Where do see this art form in general in, say, 20 years?

Thriving. I think that there are still a lot of interpretations and techniques to develop and the internet helps us to share our work. 

17. Anything you’d like to say about tatting in general? 

I’ve often noticed that casual observers are mesmerized by tatting. They are amazed by the lace being made with string and knots. 

And there you have it!  I have both of Vicky's books.  They're easy to read, easy to follow, and the patterns aren't horribly complicated, so should be easy for relatively new tatters to follow.  They're definitely good additions to a library, or good gifts to a new tatter to kick-start theirs.

As for Victorian Sets, I'm off to find out what this is!  And then to find out what Vicky's adaptation called "Ruffled Sets" is all about!

One thing I would like to add here is that if you have Canadian Tatters you'd like to see interviewed here, please let me know!  I'd love to know who you'd like to get to know better!  I'm not hard to find, just fill out the "Contact Me" questions in the sidebar to your right here and I'll do the rest!

Happy Tatting!