Tuesday, October 10, 2017

Following the Thread in Mississauga & See You At Woolstock 2017


Pinecone, 6 x 6 x 1.5, Alpaca, Wool, & Beeswax on Wood Panel 

Fragrant wood smoke, sweet apples, and trees aflame with colour. Couples kicking up dry leaves, holding hands and strolling along in warm WOOL sweaters.

That's right, folks. It is wool season. A time for wraps, scarves, hats, gloves, and gorgeous, stranded Fair Isle and Scandinavian patterns.

Wool. How I love you!

Snail Shell, 6 x 6 x 1.5, Alpaca, Wool, Hemp & Beeswax on Wood Panel

What better way to celebrate the beginning of wool season than The Woodstock Fleece Festival? Email correspondent, Hayley, tells me it is called 'Woolstock' by those in the know.

Woolstock!! Like Woodstock but for wool. It's embarrassing how excited I am by that.

Yarn Painting Workshop at the Woodstock Fleece Festival 2017!

So, yeah, I'll be at Woolstock this Saturday offering a workshop on my yarn painting techniques starting at 2 pm. The class is almost full, so register now if you want to come.

Did I mention there will be sheep?! And yarn. Lots and lots of yarn.

Cherry Blossom Pieces, Peruvian Highland Wool & Beeswax on Wood Panels, Assorted Sizes

In other news, the end of August brought me up to date with meeting my solo show deadlines as I dropped the pieces off at the Mississauga Living Arts Centre for Following The Thread, a sampling of my work on display from September 1 to October 31.

Vintage Thread Pieces, Assorted vintage threads, Embroidery flosses, and Crochet cottons with Tempra paint & Beeswax on wood panels, Assorted Sizes


Here is a snippet from the artist's statement:

Sometimes in my art practice, I am nudged in directions that I didn’t anticipate. An idea forms and, almost simultaneously, an emotional response is felt. Excitement, curiosity, and certainty can be there, but so can resistance, impatience, and fear.


Following the Thread is a sampler of the pathways I’ve been exploring in my recent work.


Disturbed by the disparity between my approach to learning to paint and learning to knit (judgemental impatience versus tolerant beginner’s mind), I followed a thread of thought that led me to create works of art using beeswax and wool.


Driven to reconnect with the Southwestern Ontario flora and fauna that filled my childhood and now is disappearing in my adult life, I follow this thread in my subject matter.


Admiring the textile works of William Morris and awed by the painstaking embroidery visible in antique tapestries, I follow the thread of ‘What if I incorporated fabrics into my work?’.


As the generations of women before me pass away and their treasure troves of silks, cottons, and wools are heaped upon me, I explore what I can do with these riches.


Gathered together, these threads form the rope that is my artistic practice, gaining in strength and surety as weaker threads end and the truest are refined and endure.


Textile Themed Pieces, Vintage Embroidery floss, Fabric, Tempra paint & Beeswax on Wood Panels, Assorted Sizes 

Okay, so maybe I messed up the thread metaphor in there, but the sentiment is real.

Strand by strand, we spin a stronger yarn  - OMG, how could I not have seen the spinning yarn metaphor before now? Okay - primary goal for Woolstock - learn to spin.

See you there!

Monarch, which found a great home with Katherine and John. Thanks!