UW-Green Bay flax project draws Medieval Studies attention
Prof. Alison Gates (Arts and Visual Design) and Heidi Sherman (Humanistic Studies) and their student, Alicia Engstrom (a Humanistic Studies major in the Ancient/Medieval track and and Art minor), presented three papers May 11 at the 47th International Congress on Medieval Studies held at Western Michigan University. They presented at a special session sponsored by DISTAFF (Discussion,Interpretation, and Study of Textile Arts, Fabrics, and Fashion). The session was titled “From Field to Fabric: The University of Wisconsin–Green Bay Flax-to-Linen Project” and included the following papers: “Ancient Fiber Crop Cultivation on a Twenty-First-Century College Campus,” (Engstrom); “Flax and Linen as Subject and Content in Medieval Images,” (Gates); and “Seeds, Scutches, and Retting Pits: Archaeological Sources for Medieval Fiber Production,” (Sherman).