Articulation's 2016 Study Session

This year Articulation members collected in Winnipeg Manitoba to begin their annual 2016 Study Session.

Winnipeg has wonderful artwork on its buildings - old and new.

View from the rooftop of Mandy's studio building.

This rooftop building has stories to tell.

Descending

Wendy, Mandy, Donna

Go to the Articulation's blog  link here to see more of what we got up to.

Articulation's Victoria Study Session Continues

On the ferry, crossing to Saltspring Island for the day: to visit Articulation member, Shannon Wardroper's home and studio, to check out potential gallery space and time for a little retail therapy. 

Stitches Fibre Art Supplies, http://www.stitchesfibreartsupplies.ca/ very kindly opened up their store just for us, even though it was Sunday.

Continuing our study of railway hotels across Canada, we took a tour of the Empress Hotel.

This is the view from a 6th floor corner suite looking out over the inner harbour.

A table in the present day Empress tea room, set for their famous afternoon tea.

On the tour we learnt the tables were made from the original hotel floor boards after it was replaced.

Articulation taking the harbour ferry from the Inner Harbour, below the Empress hotel, up to the Upper Harbour.

We got off at Point Ellice House where we walked the grounds and toured inside the house with its intact, original contents. All chattels both inside the house and in their archives are thoroughly cataloged making it a perfect place to research the Victorian era in Victoria.

Leann Clifford

We did stop for afternoon tea while sitting out on the lawn but passed on a game of croquet.

We toured Fisherman's Wharf with its floating restaurants and floating houses that make up the village. 

We continued our driving tour around the Victoria peninsular, stopping and walking the historic sights, including Ogden Point breakwater without a breath of wind and barely a ripple of water.

After a week exploring and researching in Victoria we have returned to our respective studios across Canada to make a body of work for exhibition some time in the future.

Articulation Study Session in Victoria - Day 3

Articulation members at work; Lesley Turner, Donna Clement, Ingrid Lincoln, Leann Clifford, in the inner harbour. The Empress Hotel is in the background.

First appointment was a morning visit to the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria http://aggv.ca/ to see 'Kimono: Japanese Culture in its Art Form' with many magnificent kimonos revealing the complex codes and etiquette of garments in Japanese culture. Articulation member Shannon Wardroper shared some of her extensive knowledge of Japanese culture to give others a better understanding of the exhibits.

A 2nd exhibit 'From Geisha to Diva: The Kimomo of Ichimara'  is a collection of personal effects of one of the most famous geishas, Ichimara. 

Next were visits to the Fort street auction houses Lunds http://lunds.com/ and Kilshaws http://www.kilshaws.com/ to see if there were any maritime history artifacts that may be useful to acquire. There were none this week but it was fun looking.

There was a long wait in the line-up to get into the popular Blue Fox for a late lunch.

Next was a visit to the Royal BC Museum to see the current 'Vikings' exhibition and a search through the museum's other rooms for maritime history-related displays (no cameras allowed).

The Victoria International Chalk Art Festival is on. A large chalk drawing is being made on the floor of the museum. The distorted perspective makes it look 3D.

A walk back along the inner harbour, past the Empress hotel...

...and a variety of street theatre acts.

SALTS sail boats (floating schools) in the setting sun with the Robert Bateman Museum (Originally the Steamship Company building) next to the legislature buildings, across the harbour.

It was a day focused on getting a deeper understanding of the importance of the sea in the development of Victoria from a shallow place to pull up a canoe to an urban centre.

Articulation 2014 Study Session in Victoria

Each year Articulation does study in a special place in Canada.

This year they are in Victoria researching the maritime history of the west coast of Canada.

Donna climbing up the stairs from the waterfront to the street full of old warehouses, hotels and shops.

Into The Maritime Museum, up in their iron elevator - the oldest working elevator in Canada...

...to the 3rd floor library and archives.

Donna and Leann doing research.

Lunch break at Venus Sophia's Tearoom and Vegetarian Eatery with retro afternoon tea served along side delicious light meals.

Venus Sophia's is in Chinatown, the oldest china town in North America. 

While in Chinatown, Articulation visited Ground Zero Print Studio www.groundzeroprint.com/  owned by Victoria Edgarr and Alain Costaz.

The magnificent gated entrance to Chinatown.

A visit to the University of Victoria's down town gallery, Legacy Art Gallery, where they showcase works from their extensive art collection.

A visit to the oldest tea and coffee company in Victoria, Murchie's.

Murchie's continues to blend their own teas and runs a tea room.

That was Articulation's 1st 2 days of research on Victoria's maritime history.

Articulated Materials: Bridging Waters Exhibition by Articulation and Material Girls

The 1st showing in Canada of the Articulated Materials: Bridging Waters exhibition opens in a month, at the Cre8ery Gallery in Winnipeg.

The name of the exhibition explains how the it came about and also it's content.

Articulated Materials - Articulation, a Canadian group of fibre artists teamed up with a similar group called Material Girls, based in London, UK, to produce separate bodies of work to be shown together.

Bridging Waters: Each group chose an iconic waterway in their respective country to research. Articulation chose the Bay of Fundy and Material Girls chose the River Thames.

The resulting bodies of work are both contemporary, personal responses to the water ways and they tell stories of the long history of human interaction with the physical environment.

The 'bridging' part happens when Articulation's work was sent to London and toured galleries over 2012, then was sent back to Canada with the Material Girls' work for a 3-gallery tour across Canada over 2014.

The 'bridging' also happens when the viewer makes connections between the two bodies of work.

Donna Clement designed the poster using an image of Ingrid Lincoln's work.

Both are Articulation members.

Fundy Study

I have started working on a new body of work

It began with an Articulation study week, where we explored the Bay of Fundy.
Here we are stopped for a roadside lunch

I have decided to explore all things red because it struck me as the dominant colour whereever we went around the coastline.
Fields of red-leafed low-bush blueberries.

The earth is red

The sea is red

I have started collecting red threads
It is a start....

Fundy Study Session

We eat in a Chinese restaurant in Sussex....

... before beginning our AGM.

Saint John is full of interesting architecture. Here is one in the Second Empire style, popular with the French speaking Canadians long after Napoleon was deposed in Europe.

Donna and Leann in 'the oldest common law market in continuous use in Canada' (since 1867). Carpenters with shipbuilding skills made a roof like a ship's hull - very beautiful.

Fundy Study

More local architecture - a Classic Revival/Gothic Revival mix of forms, possibly expanded as the family and fortune grew. With the front door a step from the road I don't think they use that door much.

When we arrived in Sussex a 'Take Back The Night' march was going on down Main Street.

So some of us joined in - a reminder of university days. It was fun but a bit sad that women feel they still need to march 35 years later.

We checked into the Jonah B 'n' B. Leann and I have a room up in the gables of a Victorian house, with a spa bath!

First Exhibition Space

This is the view on the right as one enters the 1st of 3 exhibition spaces.
'Reading The Past II' - mine
'Hoodoos' - Ingrid Lincoln
'A Hole of My Own' - Vickie Newington
'A Walk in the Park' - Leann Clifford

'Fallen Leaves' - Donna
'Sucession' - mine

'Sleeping Giants' - mine
'Outwash' - mine

This is a poor image and you can't see the works but it gives you an idea of how we worked with the space to find the best place for each work.
The 2 square works are Donna's and the round one is Miriam Birkenthal's.
This collection of 3 illustrates the wide range of materials and techniques Articulation members use to express their ideas and to tell their stories.