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.

Articulation At The Whyte

This is the text panel at the entrance to Articulation's work in the Whyte Museum, Banff

With Vickie Newington's 2 works beside it - see below

In front of the entrance is this red wall with Gloria S Daly's work

Gloria S. Daly, 'Glacier', 42" x 38"
Gloria was inspired by A. C. Gault's sketch called 'Mountain Monsters', in the book 'Rocky Mountain Madness' by Edward Cavell & Jon Whyte. Indigo dyed cotton and silk rushing is hand embroidered with a zillion french knots and machine quilting.

Vickie Newington
 (top) 'Ice and Stones,' 17" x 20", glass, mohair wool - hand felting, glass fusion
Vickie describes this work, "As the mountain starts to warm up and come alive in the spring, the edges of the ice on the lakes retreats, exposing interesting stones."
(bottom) 'Ice Water,' 22" x 24", fused glass, polyester, wool mohair - glass fusing, machine embroidery, hand felting
Vickie describes this work,"The spring breakup in the mountains brings texture and reflection to the water and  the ice.
These 2 works are beside the text panel.
More Articulation work to come.

Articulation Opens At the Whyte

This weekend the Whyte Museum in Banff, Alberta, opened a new series of exhibitions, including one by Articulation

6 Articulation members traveled to Banff for the opening

There is lots of signage outside the museum

Opening speeches by Michale Lange, museum director, Gloria Daly, Articulation rep, and curator Mary Beth Laviolette

and demos by Articulation members: Wendy Klotz, Donna Clement

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....

Victoria College of Art Library

Over the summer I spent more time organising the college's library.

All of the books on individual artists are grouped and labelled with a bold sticker matching the first letter of the name of the artist.

The rest of the books and magazines are group by the courses taught in the college.

Each course has its own coloured sticker.
The system is proving to be most successful.
The books are being used and they are finding their way home.

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.

The Hanging

Friday morning Wendy and Bob hang the last works.

People coming to the exhibition in the Victoria College of Art, open the front doors and see my 'Reading the Past I' from the Badlands body of work.

Then they look up the stairs, to see Vickie Newington's Winnipeg - 'The Colours That Lie Within', which leads to the 3rd room of the exhibition.

Continuing along the corridor visitors see 2 works from Articulation's next body of work, Prairie, just a taster of what is coming next. These 2 works are by Leann Clifford,'Wheat' and 'Dirt Devils'( a poor image of this work, it is much richer in colour than shown and has lots of layers).

Canadian Quilt Associaltion 2010

More work in Articulation's booths at CQA.
Vickie Newington's work.

Vickie Newington and Wendy Klotz's work.

Ingrid Lincoln and my work.

Two of Vickie's works.

Continuing Tour - CQA

To continue the tour of Articulation's exhibition at CQA, here are 2 works by Vickie Newington. On the left is the companion work to 'Ally' called 'Concrete Reflection' and on the right 'Big Sky Country II'.

Next to that is Vickie's 'Colours of History'.

On the table was my 'Nana's Garden' series.....

...and Miriam Birkenthal's 2 exquisitely hand embroidered purses and a 3 dimensional table piece inspired by a vigorously growing dandelion.

More from Articulation's CQA Exhibit

(Left) Wendy Klotz's 'Gates Puzzle' silk piecing and applique and Vickie Newington's stump work and stamping.

Donna Clement's 'Spruce' and 'Cedar', free motion embroidery on cotton, silk, linen and paper.

Wendy Klotz's 'Colours of the Forest', hand dyed, hand/wet felted, machine embroidered wool and organza.

Vickie Newington's work. (not sure of the title of the left hand one, 'Alley' or 'Concrete Reflection', but it is from her Winnepeg series), painted, printed, burned, felted, machine embroidered, layered. Right, 'A Hole of My Own', cotton, rubber, metal , plastic has been hand dyed, embroidered by machine and hand and layered.

I think Articulation's work was successful in showcasing a wide variety of stitching techniques and materials.