Artless Fabrications

Gala Opening of New Exhibit

I am extremely pleased to report that this past weekend at “one speckled egg gallery” we held a successful opening of my most recent body of work entitled “extraordinarily ordinary”, a creative tribute to the beauty and art that lies dormant within the faded, the worn, and the rusted.

As an advocate for the discarded ‘underdog’ object, I’ve spent most of my life rescuing the strange cast-offs no longer valued by society. Somehow I’m able to see past the peeling paint, the chips and cracks, and the absolutely obsoleteness, to the art at the heart of these artifacts from our not-too-distant past. There is a potential for new purpose, even if only to inspire creativity. There was a time when our material possessions were treasured, maintained, and mended to extend their usefulness and when old materials were put to new purpose. When did we lose this desire for making do with less, being more resourceful and creatively innovative? How did we become such a disposable society? If we continue as we are, how will we end up?

Inspirational Art Quilts

This new collection of artwork showcases not only my latest art quilts, but new photography, paintings, and collage work, all  completed within the past six months. I was excited to present this collection as it demonstrates a varied cross-section of interests and mediums, all inspired by found objects.

Many of the art quilts found their inspiration in the old rag rug loom  constructed from a discarded window frame. In my mind this innovative re-use of materials was genius, as the weaving was done on rusted nails hammered into the frame and the body of the rug is woven using old stockings, therefore every aspect of this forgotten, unfinished project was re-purposed, rather than thrown in the trash. The fact that I have rescued it from going to our town dump, was the ‘icing on the cake’ in the life of this wonderful piece of art. The old loom inspired me to create a small art book containing many design ideas that eventually led to the completion of over a dozen art quilts.

Textile work and mixed media collage on canvas

In just under six months, I madly quilted and painted almost nonstop to complete this collection – a collection I am very proud of. This work shows the diversity of my skills as an artist and the strong relationships developed between individual pieces to create a fully connected series of work. I also challenged myself to round out the collection with a strong showing of complimentary artwork in other mediums such as photography and collage, without distracting from the textile work. These were my main objectives in doing this collection and I feel it has been a success.

I feel now I can boldly introduce myself as an emerging fibre artist, mostly self taught and definitely self-directed, in the pursuit of artistic expression in a medium in which I find great comfort and endless passion, fibre and textiles.

My artwork is motivated by personal experience and is emotionally driven, and combined with a genuine curiosity, has become a unique language in which I can communicate my viewpoint to an audience. When producing my work I am concerned less with beauty, but more with evoking an emotional response in the viewer. By creating work with a mysteriously interesting back story, I am allowed a form of expression that is hopefully thought provoking, and yet still leaves room for individual interpretation.

Madonna of the Dieing Trees

This has been an amazing year so far, with many exciting events happening and an incredible amount of time spent in my studio producing copious amounts of artwork. I’m still not sure why the time gets away from me though – it may have something to do with not wearing a watch, perhaps.

I’ve just returned from my second year of exhibiting with the Perspectives Art Group at their ninth annual art show in Kerrobert, Saskatchewan. This year I created some new works, in the form of mixed media collage, to hang alongside some of my art quilts. My series is based on goddesses from ancient cultures around the world and images of religious icons from renaissance paintings. Each one has a wonderful facial expression which certainly contributed to the somewhat humorous titles I gave them. The first ‘Madonna’ is representative of Mother Earth, protecting her ancient trees from reckless cutting and disease.

Our Lady of the Grand Tiara

Our Lady of the Grand Tiara was great fun to work on, especially when I decided to emphasize her crown in a whimsical way. Each of the pieces measure 12″x12″ and began as an acrylic painted canvas, with many layers of colour building up the background. Hand-marbled paper was collaged beside the image before adding stamping and dry brushing techniques. I embellished her crown with gilded leaves and glass bead jewels, and completed the artwork by adding hand painted braid trim along the bottom edge of the canvas for texture. I imagined Our Lady attending an inaugural ball or perhaps just a high school prom, or even better yet, just grocery shopping at her local supermarket. I think every occasion is perfect if you are wearing the right tiara, don’t you agree?

Moon Goddess

Our Lady of Household Accounts

All of these wonderful goddesses were a joy to create and I have such a feeling of peace wash over me whenever I gaze on them. I wish all projects could provide as much pleasure as these have.

Well this upcoming weekend I will be attending the Biggar and District Adjudicated Art show at the museum in Biggar. I have entered part of my series ‘artless fabrications’ in the hopes of gaining some recognition for the collection and perhaps the opportunity to tour it throughout the province of Saskatchewan. I will also be presenting an inspirational talk at the Kerrobert United church on Sunday, June 6th.

The date has been finally set in stone for the gala opening of my new show at one speckled egg in Plenty – mark your calendars for June 18, 2010. This exhibition has been a long time in the making and is all new work created since December, 2009. The title of the show is “extraordinarily ordinary” and features a collection of textile art, photography, paintings, and collage, all inspired by found objects. This exciting new show will open with a gala evening on Friday, June 18, 2010, 6:00 – 10:00 pm at one speckled egg gallery on Main Street in Plenty, Saskatchewan, and will continue on Saturday, June 19, 2010, 11:00 am – 4:00 pm. I certainly hope to see many familiar faces at the gallery, and the possibility of making new friends as well.

Local Artist Jean Humphrey

In October, 2009, the gallery at ‘one speckled egg’ had the special honor of  exhibiting local artist and dear friend, Jean Humphrey’s powerful body of work based on her personal experiences in coping with her husband’s battle with Alziemer’s disease.

The artwork comprises of paintings and sculptures created during and after her husband’s illness, and serve as both a personal healing therapy and a powerful message of hope to all who view the work. By publicly displaying this artwork Jean hopes to raise awareness and create a more open arena for discussion about this devastating disease, which affects an increasing number of  families each year. Jean was in attendance during the exhibit and visitors to the gallery had the opportunity to connect with the artist and discuss her work and creative process. The sculptures in particular evoke a strong emotional response, and most attendees were moved by this amazing body of work.

The gallery at ‘one speckled egg’ was extremely honored to present this talented artist and her thought-provoking work.

Pre-opening Friday, September 4, 2009

The fifty-two pieces of textile artwork that make up the ‘artless fabrications’ exhibit have finally arrived in their rightful home!

The journey has been an unusual one, covering many miles and bringing us to unexpected places, but there is a true sense of being home when I look around the gallery space and see the 52 steps that led me here. It seemed fitting that the vacant space on the main floor below my working studio be turned into this wonderful gallery, in order to properly display the body of work that was the catalyst in bringing us to our new life in Saskatchewan. The idea of seeing the potential of a run-down storage area and building it up to this elegant gallery space runs parallel with building up my  courage to publicly exhibit my artwork. Life is an adventurous journey –  be brave and take that first step towards your dreams. Trust me, they can come true.

September 5, 2009

I thought I would share a few photos of the ‘one speckled egg’ gallery opening event last fall, in an attempt to catch up with all that has happened over the past few months.

The gala opening was a two day affair, beginning on the Friday evening and continuing Saturday afternoon. Over the course of the Labour Day weekend we greeted almost three hundred visitors to the gallery, with many friends and neighbors from Plenty lending their moral support, as well as newcomers from near and far. We welcomed people of all ages from Saskatoon, Sask.; Alsask, Sask.; Kindersley, Sask.; Kerrobert, Sask.; Herschel, Sask.; Swift Current, Sask.; Stienbech, Man.; and Cochrane, Ab. We received such positive feedback from our community and visitors alike, and the response was more than we ever dreamed.

After working tirelessly for three weeks to renovate the space in time for the opening, we deemed it a huge success and look forward to presenting many more special events at the ‘one speckled egg’ gallery.