"My Corner of the World" - Open at the Stratford Perth Museum

For the past year and more I have been working with SAQA (Studio Art Quilt Associates) to bring a spectacular exhibition of art quilts to the Stratford Perth Museum. 

It opened yesterday on a glorious spring day, with many exhibiting artists and visitors travelling from afar (Alberta, Nova Scotia,Virginia, Texas...)  for the launch. Check out this  media article for all the scoop!

It was super to have Lisa Ellis, President of the Board of SAQA with us and to speak during the opening remarks, as well as SAQA representatives from across Canada!

This beautiful piece, "A Fall day in Westport"by Joan Reive, is just one of the 81 pieces that are on exhibit at the museum until Labour day. It is so emblematic of the exhibition that with was

More pics to come soon. Stop in for an visit if you're in the area... or better yet, make the time for a road trip to Stratford - our corner of the world!

THREADWORKS April 16 - May 29

The jurying was finalized this week for the THREADWORKS exhibition opening at the Wellington County Museum in Fergus. I'm very excited to be in this exhibit and glad to finally be able to post my completed piece. It honours my great-grandmother, and through her, my Sami roots.

A detail of the work was chosen to be on the promotional material. If you're in the area, please come to the show. April 16- May 29. The opening reception is Sunday April 17 from 1:00 to 4:00.

How Time Flies!

Spring has arrived, according to the calendar, if not the weather, and I look forward to it as a new beginning. The past year has come and gone so quickly it's hard to fathom. So without further delay or boring explanation as to the posting drought, here is some news from the past year, and a some new work.

What's been consuming most of my time has been my day job at the Stratford Perth Museum. Heavy work load, but wonderful creative opportunities. The development of the exhibition "My Corner of the World"  in collaboration with SAQA has been in the works for over a year. It has been a privilege to work with the people in SAQA and bring this exhibition to fruition.  It opens May 21 at the Stratford Perth Museum.

Last August I was invited to join "Connections" - a group of talented fibre artists. Meeting and collaborating with them has been inspiring and helpful in moving forward and breaking through a creative block. As most artists do, we spend a lot of time working in isolation. For the most part, this is both good and necessary, but so are the friendships, insights, mentoring and critiques of fellow artists. The first piece included in a Connections show was this small piece - part of the "18 x 18" Exhibition which has traveled to a number of venues.

A detail from "On the Land" - recently accepted in the first stage of jurying into Threadworks 2016 at the Wellington County Museum. Final acceptance is April 8...  I wait patiently until then to hear the news. I'll post the entire piece once the show opens.

This is how it started.

 

Next... the Huron Perth Quilt Guild and the upcoming Piecemakers show in St. Mary's - April 21-23. A glorious show - don't miss it if you're anywhere nearby. It's a diverse exhibition of traditional, modern and art quilts made by members of the Huron Perth Quilt Guild and the Stonetown Quilters' Guild. Here's a little piece I submitted - "I Go Walking, After Midnight..."

Plenty more... but that's enough for now.

The Praga

For several years I have been on the hunt for an etching press. It's a critical piece of equipment to works like these:

Finally I found a beauty - just the size and brand I was looking for! A Praga - 24" x 42".

It now sits in the dining room, waiting for space in the studio to be prepared, and for felts to be ordered. The press bed is not yet installed, but it did get a thorough and loving cleaning.

On a miserable winter day we drove out near Peterborough to the studio of Michael and Melanie Robinson. With the help of some very strong neighbors, it was loaded in pieces into the back of our van.

It was far too snowy and miserable to be able to trek up to the studio - a distance from the house, but I hope to take a trip back there and visit. I'm thrilled to have a press with a history. Michael Robinson was a well-known artist - writer and printmaker. You can view his  work here. We had a most lovely and gracious visit with Melanie, and enjoyed tea and stories. 

This will change the work I do. I have been marking time for a few years, enjoying exploring other media, but this is the one I connect with. I should be set up and printing in a few weeks!

Surprise/Grid

Surprise, juxtaposition of colour, grids, subtle variations, unexpected patterns... and twin polar bears.

This

or this

and this.

A New Year - 2015

There is a lot of joy in working as a museum curator - story telling - creating exhibits - digging out the interesting details and history in significant and not so significant artifacts - caring for the collection, etc. (New database software arrived Friday! An excellent way to start off the year!) It takes a fair amount of creative energy and most days my energy gets consumed at work. No complaint - just fact. This is why long periods of time can go by when I don't post. The work I've produced in my studio over the past year is often "just for fun"...restorative.

This year I'm seeking more of a balance. Maybe more fun, and maybe more of significance. We'll find out.

Dyeing fabric is always a surprise, and I like surprises. In this case, the little afterthought bundle turned out to be the most interesting. I folded up a scrap and popped it in the leftover dye that ran off into a bowl when I poured the soda ash over it. I'm assuming it fixed more quickly to the fibres than the pieces which I added a dye-only solution to and  poured the soda ash liquid over afterwards.

The result of the braid are the three blue and black strips; the long blackish strip is a simple fold; and the white and black/turquoise grid pattern is the afterthought. I like grids.

  
 

At the Fall Fair

I was surprised at this, and very pleased, needles to say. This is a community of talented and skilled quilters. I didn't think this quilt would receive such an award.

The pattern is by Pam Geocke Dinndorf in the book Colorific. I loved making it and plan to make it again in a different colourway... maybe blacks and reds.