Quebec City - Door Study

Before I arrived in Quebec City I had thought I might do a door study.

And work with the symbolism and conceptual meanings associated with them.

Quebec City's doors are a tourist attraction.

I took the photographs but the ideas didn't flow. So no door study.
After 10 study sessions with Articulation and lots of preparation before each trip, I am still surprised by what catches my attention and the work that results. Each time it has never been what I initially thought I would focus on.

Saints' Relics in Quebec City

Articulation visited many cathedrals, churches and chapels while in Quebec City.
Two were the most memorable for me. One was originally the Petit Seminaire of Quebec's chapel but now a deconsecrated building and incorporated into the Musee De L'Amerique Francophone.
My 1st reaction to the chapel was surprise when we discovered all the wood, marble and granite walls and ceilings are in fact sheet metal painted in the trompe-l'oeil style - a response to the earleir chapel being burnt down.
My 2nd response was to feel a bit creepy and fascinated at the same time.
It was my 1st experience of collected and displayed human body parts - reliqueries.

In amongst the rich gold work on velvet are the skeletal remains of saints.
The chapel has hundreds and hundreds of them.
In spite of feeling a bit repulsed I was drawn in to see how these bits of bone, hair and ashes are attached to the ground with stitch.

This reliquery I liked. I felt someone, or a group, really respected Saint Charles Borromee when they displayed his vestments so carefully then added a large gilt frame.

The work is full of items representing different things as well as pieces of his religious clothing. 

I hope there is a written record of what everything means and which parts of his life different items are referring to.

Old Quebec City Architecture

One of the enjoyable things about a visit to old Quebec City is to look up at the roof lines.

There is a lot of history told in the architecture

 

 

Looking down at the foundations shows stories of the past also.

 

Articulation members spent many hours exploring the streets of old Quebec City.
It will be interesting to see what features come out in their group body of work.

Ursuline Museum, Quebec City

The museum shows different types of embroidery the nuns taught their students.
Hair embroidery was popular in the 19th century to memorialise loved ones.

Samples of different ways of working with hair.

The British tradition of girls making samplers was adopted in France and Quebec.
'At the boarding school, learning this type of embroidery, as with other needlework, aimed to inculcate young girls with qualities specific to their gender: patience, industry, concern for detail, and a taste for the aesthetic.'

These small samples demonstrating dress making skills were made by Eugenie Pouliot, who entered the Ursuline convent on 2 September 1867, at the age of 14. She was a border for 2 years.

Her fine samples demonstrate her ability to make clothes for herself and her future children. 

The nuns appear to have focused on teaching their students skills they could use to earn an income and would be invaluable when running a household.

Articulation Visits the Ursuline Nuns Workshop and School Museum

Articulation's 2013 study session was in Quebec City. One of the highlights of the week was the time spent studying embroderies produced by the Ursuline nuns and their students.

They had specialised in producing heavily embroidered textiles for the Catholic churches and their priests.

Their main techniques were raised gold work and long and short stitch silk and wool thread painting.

'Alter Frontal : Holy Family at Rest', early 1700s.

Wool, silk, Japan gold, Japan silver, gold and silver with plate, purls and spangles on moire silk satin ground; bobbin lace.

Articulation & Material Girls in Saint John Arts Centre

'Articulated Materials: Bridging Waters' is open in the Frazee Gallery in the Saint John Arts Centre, Saint John, New Brunswick. This is one of 5 galleries in the building and what a beautiful building.

ReBecca Paterson, who lives in New Brunswick, was responsible for getting the exhibit into this beautiful space and she has done all of the work needed to mount the work. She will be giving artist talks in the gallery over the next 2 months.
Congratulations, ReBecca, on a job well done.

In this 3rd Canadian showing of work about the Bay of Fundy and the River Thames the viewer has to work a bit harder to place each work in its geographical location - if that is important to them - because both bodies of work have been combined. In the previous 2 exhibitions they were hung separately. It is interesting to see the differences.

ReBecca made a large 3D installation. Viewers are encouraged to touch the tactile, felted barnacles - an unusual feature of an art exhibition, already being enjoyed by viewers on opening night. 

 

 

 

The exhibition is on until January 10th, 2014.
If you are travelling through New Brunswick sometime over the next 2 months do drop in to see the work.
And please let your maritime family and friends know the exhibition is on.

Articulation in Saint John, New Brunswick

Articulation's recent study of the Bay of Fundy coastline has produced a body of work being exhibited  across Canada. It is combined with a study of the River Thames by the fiber arts group, Material Girls, based in London, England. ARTICULATED MATERIALS: BRIDGING WATERS had a successful three-exhibition tour of London, UK, in 2012 then returned to Canada for its cross country tour. 

The work is currently on the shores of the Bay of Fundy being exhibited in the Saint John Arts Centre, Saint John.

Artist Talks: Nov 14th @ 1pm, Nov 27th @12pm, and Dec 11th @ 12pm.
Exhibition Schedule: Frazee Gallery, Saint John Art Centre, Saint John NB, November 8, 2013 - January 10, 2014

When is a bathroom not a bathroom?

Daughter Elizabeth went to work on another under-utilized wall in my wet studio....

... after I was told I couldn't remove that white porcelain thing.

A door on trestles fit into the space making a great print table.

With the door taken off the shower it is easier to get into the rinsing area.
A plastic shelving unit stores waterproof dyeing equipment close at hand.

The other rinse basin is only big enough for the small jobs.
And I get to look at myself while I work - ideal for taking selfies.

Two drawers of print tools.

When is a bathroom not a bathroom?
When it is a dye studio!

New Shelves in My Wet Studio

This blank wall in my wet studio could be put to use.

I made the measurements and bought the shelves.

Daughter Elizabeth knows how to use power tools.

Now this is a more efficient use of the space.