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Sunday, May 17, 2009

BA (Hons) Embroidered Textiles & 'Friends' Shawl

I've been very busy this past week working at finishing off this semester's module for my BA(Hons) studies. This semester I did Professional Practice, a practical module that sets me up to run the business side of my art practice so I will hit the ground running straight after I graduate.
This year there has been a change in the school that runs the programme. Julia and Alex Caprara set the school up and ran it as co-principals - Opus School of Stitched Textiles. After Julia died last year, Alex decided to close the school. That's when Winy Smit-Vuijk and Sandra Flower picked up the BA(Hons) part and formed the Julia Caprara School of Textile Arts. Thanks to them our studies weren't interrupted.


I found this lovely woven shawl in a thrift store. I Googled the words on the label but haven't been able to find out anything about the company.


If you recognise this label or know anything about the company, could you please contact me, ravenmade@gmail.com


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Wednesday, May 13, 2009

McMullen Gallery, Articulation's Urban Textures

This is Articulation member Wendy Klotz's work in the Urban Textures exhibition in the University of Alberta Hospital McMullen Gallery.

'Winterized Winnipeg, Saint Boniface, Confederation Life, and The Kelly Building'

'The Gates' Puzzle'
This work really suffers from my photography because it is made from silk that shimmers and looks so alive with lots of optical movement.

'The Kelly Building'
This is another interpretation of this building that Wendy did. This one is appliqued & quilted while the other one is silk screened and hand stitched to give a very different effect.
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Tuesday, May 12, 2009

More McMullen Gallery Work



These are the 3 works Leann Clifford put into Articulation's 'Urban Textures' exhibition currently hanging in the McMullen Gallery, University of Alberta Hospital, Edmonton.
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Friday, May 8, 2009

McMullen Gallery Workshops

Donna and I drove up to Edmonton yesterday for our 2nd workshop in the McMullen Gallery. We encouraged those who came into the gallery to sit down for a while to play with some design methods: doodling within a divided basic shape & notan (dark & light) - a Japanese based exercise where one uses the negative as well as the positive space in a design.


Donna is showing a simple but effective Notan design. Jane Dunnewold, a well known US textile surface designer, shared this exercise on her website, calling it 'The Expansion of the Square'.


This is ReBecca Paterson's 'Illusion of...' work in Articulation's Urban Textures body of work.


Vickie & I hung it in the gallery facing the busy walkway inside the hospital because it is such an eye-catcher to people on the move past the glass walls of the gallery.
After a 6:30 a.m. start to the day it turned out to be a long one because we had a tire blow out on the way back to Calgary so we didn't get home until 1:00 am!
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Wednesday, May 6, 2009

Urban Textures McMullen Gallery


Gloria's 'Ashlar' is a response to the first Ford garage in Winnipeg. This image doesn't show the detail but there is a lot of hand stitching in the Kantha style.



There are 3 very different textile techniques in these works by Gloria. Just click on her name to the right to go to her website for more details about these works.
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Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Walls Talk Goes to Korea


I posted updates about this work, Walls Talk, during its creation. When it was complete I entered it in the 2009 Cheongju International Craft Biennale in Korea. This event is the Cannes Film Festival of Fine Craft - the work of over 1000 artists from more than 40 countries is exhibitied . Canada is the guest country this time (Italy was last time), so the Koreans have built the Canada Pavilion, a 10,000 sq ft gallery space. So Canadian Crafts Federation ran a competition called 'Unity and Diversity' to get work to fill the space. When I read the theme of the juried competition I knew they were thinking of my Tyndall stone wall. So I entered it. And it was accepted!


Yesterday, as I wrote out the 4 pages of instructions on how to install it and while I packaged it up, I said goodbye to it just as Martha Cole has recommended we do to our work. It was the last I will see of it for nearly 4 years. It will hang in the Alberta Craft Council gallery along with 29 other Alberta works, until June. Then it will be crated up and shipped to Korea where it will be on exhibit for the 40 days of the biennale, until November.


After Korea there are a number of opportunities for it, depending on which event it is picked for. There is going to be a book published on the 120 pieces being sent from Canada. Dr Sandra Alfoldy is writing an essay for the book about the state of craft in Canada based on the work and there will be bios on all of the artists. All great stuff.
I'll give you reports on Walls Talk's journeying whenever I hear anything.
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Monday, May 4, 2009

McMullen Urban Textures


More close-up views of works in Articulation's Urban Textures exhibition in the McMullen Gallery, Edmonton.
This is work by Linda Mackay.



Linda Mackay focused on telling narratives with the facades of Winnipeg's historic buildings. She dyed, screen printed and quilted.
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Friday, May 1, 2009

Urban Textures Opening

This is the 3rd work in Ingrid's 'Facade' series.


Ingrid's 'River City'

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The opening of Urban Textures

Ron drove up from Calgary for the opening & to pick up Katherine who had written her last exam that morning.
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