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Thursday, February 28, 2013

Mi'kmaq Material Culture


I continued my research on the material culture of the Mi'kmaq.
Inspired by the cover of this excellent book by Ruth Holmes Whitehead...

...I worked an image of a bark house in cotton on evenweave canvas.

After more reading...

...I collected materials to represent the ones the Mi'kmaq used in their daily lives.
Now what to do with them?
How can I tell a story about how the Mi'maq lived in the Bay of Fundy? 
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Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Articulation Work


I have been working on a series for the Articulated Materials: Bridging Waters exhibitions Articulation and Material Girls have organised. Each member of Articulation made and sent one work to the UK where it was exhibited with a body of work produced by a similar group, Material Girls, based around London.
After a successful 3-gallery tour in 2012, the work has been returned to Canada, including one work from each of the Material Girls group. There are 3 galleries in Canada booked to show Articulated Materials: Bridging Waters over 2013 and 2014 (see side bar on the right).
In the meantime, Articulation members are in their studios producing more work to add to their response to the Bay of Fundy to complement Material Girls' study of the River Thames.

For my first work I researched some of the many rock carvings left by the first inhabitants of the Bay of Fundy coastline. I have continued my research of the Mi'maq material culture.

During 2 visits to the Fundy area I found Mi'kmaq artifacts in museums.
A chair seat cover (mid 1800s) made from dyed porcupine quills on a birch bark ground. The technique is often described as a form of weaving but I see it as an embroidery technique because the quills are manipulated the same way as thread. They are twisted, laid down and couched, while the ends pierce the ground.

This colourful porcupine embroidered basket is newer as evidenced by the use of aniline dyes to produce brighter colours. It was entered in the 1901 Nova Scotia Provincial Exhibition in Halifax.
The small basket in front would have been produced for the tourist market. It is made from ash splints, hickory bark and grasses by a member of the Waban-Aki group in the mid 1900s.

I found Mi'kmaq footwear in the Bata Shoe Museum, Toronto.
The white decoration on the vamp of these moccasins (1830-1840) is beadwork, using the smallest beads on any shoe in the museum's collection.

Beading techniques allowed embroiderers to move away from traditional geometric designs. The more organic lines and shapes were appropriated from European embroidery styles at the time. It is an indicator of increasing contact between North American aboriginals and Europeans.
My research continues...
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Sunday, February 24, 2013

The Quilters Hall of Fame


I found this such an interesting book.
I went through it twice, once for the photos and again to read the well written bios of mainly American quilters.

It is a 'Whose Who' of the past and present North American ( mainly) quilt world.
By featuring quilt artists from the early 19th century to the present it also does a very good job putting the contemporary art quilt in its social context and illustrates its historical development.
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Friday, February 22, 2013

Sewing Machines


When I left home at 17 my parents gave me a Bernina sewing machine.

I gave my machine a thorough cleaning and oiling...

...and put it, with all of its accessories, into its case...

...and tucked it under my sewing table....

...because I have bought new machine.
There is much excitement in my studio.

My sewing corner got a thorough cleaning while I just looked at my new machine and felt a little sad about my faithful old Bernina tucked under the table (just in case I need it).
It will be a steep learning curve to go from an all mechanical 40-year old machine to working with the newest addition to Bernina's stable. I am ready to master my new machine.
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Wednesday, February 13, 2013

Hard Twist - Toronto


Hard Twist 6:Touch Me, Feel Me  was an independent exhibition during the World of Threads Festival, held in the historic Gladstone Hotel as their annual juried show.

Jolie Bird (Halifax) wrapped gold thread around headphones but it looked as though she had gold wrapped the record player and the record as well. The exhibition title says Touch Me, Feel Me but Jolie's work had a bold 'DO NOT TOUCH' sign in front of it, which only made me think more about wanting to touch that gold thread.

Kali Brown's (Burlington) small, dark blue Block stuck on the wall was fascinating. It was so simple yet it strongly appealed to my memories of touching things.

Made from rope it had a utilitarian familiarity but I still wanted to touch it to remind myself of what rope feels like.

Kaili's work made me reassess what I thought I was familiar with. 

Gillian Collyer (Toronto) Bound

This work made me laugh. I thought about the chair no longer being touchable, how a soft tactile layer covered a hard surface, how the binding made the object unusable but mostly I thought about what fun this work would have been to make. 
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Thursday, February 7, 2013

A Day at the ROM


My 1st visit to the Royal Ontario Museum was a most interesting experience.
I got totally engrossed in artifacts displayed in the more traditional vitrines.
(above - woman's 'apron', Brazil)

In the newest area of the museum there are more contemporary display methods.
(Above - early 18th century silk on silk embroidery made to be an apron).

New display methods allow for satisfyingly close inspection of artifacts.
(Gilt and silver threads worked with silk threads).

Supporting images and artifacts cut down on the need for much text and help to place the artifact in context.
(Painting of early 18th century English drawing room where the women wore the heavily embroidered aprons).

However, the enjoyable viewing experience was deflated every time I had to move to another display area within architect Daniel Libeskind's 5 interlocking crystal forms built between 2 older wings of the museum. I found no natural flow from one area to another but I did find many dead ends. The architect's ego seems to have got in the way of meeting human needs within a space.

Yes, that door is on a disturbing angle.
Random lines on the floor appear and disappear making the walls feel insubstantial and temporary.


No, the left door can't be fully opened.
Acute angles are dust traps the cleaners' machines obviously can't get into.
People repeatedly kick unexpected wall protrusions and knock their heads on acutely angled walls then put their hands out for protection. The whole place is building up the patina of  a well used obstacle course.
If large mirrors were added to the walls it could possibly be more successful as a fair-ground type, mirrored, fun house maze. Ooops, that's a bit harsh.

Actually, there was one display area where I felt the jarring, discordant spaced worked. It was the most serious and emotionally intense exhibition - photographs of victims tortured by the Khmer Rouge regime in Cambodia between 1975 and 1979, Observance and Memorial, Photographs From S-21, Cambodiawww.rom.on.ca/cambodia
Check this link and look at the images on the right hand side. The 2nd to bottom one, where the book is open for people to sign. I hit my head while trying to get in a line to sign the book - awkward!
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Friday, February 1, 2013

El Anatsui at the ROM


After the World of Threads exhibitions in Oakville, Articulation moved to Toronto to explore the city while waiting for more World of Threads exhibitions to open. We spent a morning at the Royal Ontario Museum.

The ROM highlight for me was to see a work by El Anatsui for the first time.
Called Straying Continents, it was commissioned for the ROM in 2010.


Using his signature material, liquor bottle caps, he has linked them to make a huge metal textile.

 What I hadn't noticed before, when looking at images of his work, is how he snips the metal caps into lengths to make a metal mesh-like textile which is much more open and flexible than the textile of round caps.


 The experience of viewing his work was better than I imagined.
The way he controls his medium to work at such a vast scale is inspiring.
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