Boats & Korea

Speaking of boats, my work 'Walls Talk', is, at this moment, in the hold of a boat bound for Korea...

...along with all of the other works that will fill the 10,000 sq ft pavilion built for the guest country at the Cheongju Craft Biennale.

On September 23rd the exhibition, 'Unity & Diversity', will open. There will be a catalogue in 3 languages, artist talks, artist demos, receptions, & thousands of people curious to find out what goes on in the fine craft world in Canada. www.cheongjubiennale.or.kr/eng/
What an exciting place to be.

Saying Goodbye Again

I had a lovely day sitting outside hand stitching 'Walls Talk'. It is so calming to be hand stitching again after doing only drawing & research for the last 3 BA (Hons) modules I have completed. But I have to admit I have been putting off doing doing this hand stitching because it is remedial work to solve the hanging problem the work was having.
I had already said my goodbyes to this work thinking I had sent it off to Korea for the Craft Biennale in October. Now here it is back again. It is like sending your child out into the world where you are excited they are healthy, happy & strong, ready to make it on their own. Then they appear on your doorstep again.
Like a child, 'Walls Talk' just needed a little more loving care before it was sent out into the world again.

Walls Talk at the Alberta Craft Council Gallery

Here is my entry to the Korean Craft Biennale having its first public showing. Joanne from Alberta Craft Council had driven down from Edmonton to pick up all of the Calgary entries and taken back them to hang in the lower craft council gallery for the month.
When Donna and I went up to Edmonton last Monday to take down Articulation's exhibit in the McMullen, we checked on my 'Walls Talk' work. And just as well we did. It wasn't doing too well. With a combination of spot light heat and gravity it was sagging after a month. Joanne kindly let me take it down and bring it home so I can work on modifying the hanging mechanism. I am so pleased to have the opportunity to do this before it is crated up and heads off to Korea where it needs to look its best. It also needs to be robust enough to survive 3 years of touring Alberta once it returns from Korea.
Apart from a short time at the photographers, this was the 1st time it had been on a wall. It reminded me, yet again, I need a large enough design wall in my studio to put up my work so I can see it as it is meant to be and so prevent this kind of issue from happening. Thanks to Joanne I'm getting a 2nd chance with this one.

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.