"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!

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.

Fibre Content

Upcoming September 9-16 at the Art Gallery of Burlington (Ontario) is a wonderful and inspirational show of fibre art - FIBRE CONTENT exhibiting about 125 pieces by 80 artists. Please come if you are in the neighborhood.

I was thrilled to have my work selected for the show, and  honoured to have been selected by Emma Quin from the Ontario Crafts Council to receive one of the three Juror's Choice Awards for my piece "Settling".

It has reinvigorated me.


If it's not too late, can I still mention this past winter? It seems I haven't posted since January. I did not fall off the face of the earth nor disappear in a snowdrift. I have had many new beginnings, each exciting in their own way, and so there is much work waiting to be finished. It has been a challenging several months with work at the Museum absorbing much of my time and creative juices.

I have been working more with straight-up quilt making recently - quiet and meditative and restorative - and I continue to be under the spell of the grid.  I found these star squares at a second hand shop, put them together with pink sashing, and now it awaits a large border made up of 9-patch squares which were also picked up second hand. I love working with unfinished vintage tops. I must be careful that I don't create too many of my own!

World of Threads 2012

This stunning exhibition - World of Threads - represents some of the most contemporary and experimental work in fibre art. Venues are across Oakville and Toronto during much of November. Do yourself a favour and see as much as you can! Be inspired.

From "Quiet Zone"

Black and White 1 - Dominique Arlot

Peeking Willows - Camilla Belleth

 Energy Cloth -  Judy Martin

From "Variegated Threads"

Three Ploughed Fields - Pat Louchs

 Heart to Heart - Judy Martin

 Excitement - Line Dufour

Giunta la Tomba, Giaches de Wert, 1581 - Jacqueline Treloar

From "Myth Making"

Sculpture - "Tree Spirit" - Faye Jacobs. Tapestries by Maximo Laura.

And from "Memento Mori"

 Egg - Rochelle Rubinstein

Sentinel - Wendy O'Brian 

(I apologize for the distortion the lighting caused on this one. It is a very touching piece.)

I was thrilled to have have 2 pieces included in this show. They appear in other blog posts..

Gallery Stratford - Huron-Perth Exhibition 2012

Photos from the exhibit opening - it's a beautifully diverse and uplifting show. Visit if you can, and also take in David Leventi's spectacular photographs in the other galleries.

A few words from the juror's statement: "I found myself responding most strongly to work that conveyed a focused and intense engagement with materials, either in the understanding of traditional technique, or in an experimental and innovative way, forging exploratory extensions of the medium's possibilities.... As you walk through this exhibition I expect that you'll appreciate it's diversity, but I also hope that you'll notice threads that run throughout; the ways in which the works resonate with each other, whether through subject matter, technique, or the artist's innovative and personal use of materials."

Perth Huron Exhibit 2012

This piece has been accepted in the upcoming Perth Huron Exhibition at Gallery Stratford - July 8 - October 7.  The exhibit is juried by Doug Kirton. I'm especially happy to have been accepted since I admire his work and he was one of my profs at University of Waterloo.
If you can make it out to the opening, see you Sunday July 8, 1-3pm!

Accepted in the Perth Huron Exhibition

"Settling" is on exhibit at Gallery Stratford's Perth Huron Exhibition. It opens Sunday June 12 and is up until October. The exhibit is a selection of work in a variety of media by artists from Perth and Huron Counties. Gallery Stratford

Grand National Quilt Show

This quilt has been accepted for the Grand National Quilt Show in Kitchener - May 15 - Sept 11, 2011. It's always a worthwhile show, with work from many talented fibre artists.http://www.grandnationalquiltshow.ca/
 This is the same work that has been accepted for publication in "The Studio Art Quilt #6: State of the Art"