2013 SDA Exhibition - Kathryn Clark

Foreclosure Quilts
This is the intro members got before viewing Kathryn Clark's work:
"Clark's life as an architect and urban planner influences her work as an artist. As the foreclosure crisis spiraled out of control, this exhibit took its form from foreclosure maps that marked the disintegration of neighborhoods in major U.S. cities."
Many of us had also previously read articles about her work.

'Detroit Foreclosure Quilt' 

But I wasn't prepared for the impact of her work.
The fabric was torn and roughly cut away. Each exposed, raw, red shape documented the upheaval of family homes or businesses.

We had all heard the statistics but Kathryn's quilted cloth mapped out the reality of the situation.

She translated the collected numbers into a story the viewer could relate to.

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.

Inspiration for Fundy Post Cards

The inspiration for Post Cards # 4 and #5 came from the Age of Sail Museum http://www.ageofsailmuseum.ca/, the sailor's costume for Post Card #4 and these woolen quilts for Post Card #5.

The quilts appear to be made from woolen clothing, particularly men's suits.

One of my favourite textile researchers is Anne Hollander. She has written extensively on the role the suit has played in society. Her books read like novels as she reveals the story. 

In the Post Card I incorporated 3 different horse hair textiles traditionally used to interface suit jackets. I collected these fabrics last November while exploring Toronto's textile district with other Articulation members.

Another important source of information for this series of work has been Allen Penney's book Houses of Nova Scotia.

Post Cards From Fundy - Research

Last post I was wondering which braid to put on the post card. Margaret sent me her opinion in that post's comments and I have gone with what her suggestion.
My research told me the heavier braid was right because the period covered by the post card was the industrial revolution when all sorts of textile related machines were invented. Many different braiding machines were built to satisfy the fashion demands of the time. But this vintage, metallic braid is too heavy for the work and the wrong colour. I considered the finer blue knit, tube braid but it doesn't stand out enough. I went with a fine black braid.
Thank you Margaret for your supportive comments.

The main source of inspiration for this post card is an 1816 sailor's uniform, reproduced by Charlene Delouchery-Roberts for a museum located on the shores of the Bay of Fundy.

The long-imported Indian ginghams were now being produced by UK mills.

For this post card I used the sailor's uniform colour scheme and similar textiles: cotton gingham, wool serges and felt.

Julia Caprara School of Textile Arts

I just got word the Julia Caprara School of Textile Arts has started to set up their web site, http://www.jctextilearts.com/ This will be a very interesting site to watch because of the innovative contemporary work the students are producing.
Presently I am working my way through the 10th of 18 modules towards a BA(Hons) in Embroidered Textiles. I am working on Fine Art Embroidery and I am fortunate to have Ruth Issett, the queen of colour, as my tutor. I have weekly phone tutorials with her where we discuss what I have done during the past week while looking at my Picasa Web album where I have added images of my work. It is a very effective way to learn independently knowing you have support and guidance along the way.

The Fine Art Embroidery module is about working out gender specifics on garments then developing your ideas from this study. Here I looked at females when they are covered.

This is a page of images of cross gender garments for protection.
Now I have to take one of the many ideas I have come up with and take it further: drawing, sampling and finally producing a finished work. It's all very interesting in the way it raises lots of social issues for me. .

Opus BA (Hons) New Module

I am in the second year of a BA (Hons) in Embroidered Textiles with the Opus School of Textile Arts. This semester I am working on a very interesting module where I look at embroidery in its social context. I find out what was going on when a specific type or style of embroidery was being done.

These passed two weeks I have been studying Dutch paintings from the seventeenth century to understand the world leading linen industry in the country at the time. Artist Jacob van Ruisdael is famous for his Dutch landscapes. What I have found most interesting about his work, apart from his magnificent skies, is how many of his paintings show flax/linen in various stages of production. One can see grassy fields covered in hundreds of meters of linen cloth going through the bleaching process.