SHRINE canadian contemporary felt exhibition
canadian contemporary felt exhibition :: SHRINE
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felt :: feutre Canada l sponsors and supporters
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SHRINE :: canadian contemporary felt exhibition
SHRINE is a group exhibition of individual works created by felt :: feutre Canada members from across Canada. SHRINE challenged our member artists and makers to create a portable shrine that pays homage to a belief which is intrinsic to them. This belief can be based in religion, but can also be secular; a testament to an object/theme selected by the feltmaker. “Shrine - A place regarded as holy because of its associations with a divinity or a sacred person or relic, marked by a building or other construction: A place associated with or containing memorabilia of a particular revered person or thing; A casket containing sacred relics; a reliquary; A niche or enclosure containing a religious statue or other object.” Oxford Dictionary Shrines are devotional elements in many of the world’s religions, including Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Chinese folk religion, Shinto, and many more. Shrines can also be personal, communal, political and even interactive, and are often created by societies and by individuals to become the focal points for honouring, remembering, and healing. Feltmakers from across Canada responded, creating a diverse range of work, in concept, form and materials. We asked the artists to reflect on how making work for this exhibition was different for them, and how they reacted to the theme. The idea of SHRINE struck people deeply, and the makers’ words were so genuine and illuminating in regards to their approach to their pieces, we have included some of their observations here in this catalogue, interspersed amongst the pieces. felt :: feutre Canada exists to connect feltmakers from across our country, promote their work, and challenge them to create the best work possible in this medium. The exhibition includes work from artists and makers at all levels of practice, from emerging to internationally recognized. This collection crosses the country from our exhibition at the Canadian Felt Symposium in Nova Scotia, to the Craft Council of British Columbia’s gallery in Vancouver. Sharing this range of work and response, over such a range of geography is important to adequately reflect where felt in Canada stands today. Thank you to our jury for assisting in the difficult selection process and to everyone for presenting your work for this exhibition. It’s a privilege to share your work here. September 2018
Fiona Duthie President felt :: feutre Canada
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Trees inspire me. Their majesty, their tolerance, their determination humbles me. My shrine honours the interconnectedness and the interdependent nature of trees and is a reminder of what the human species should strive for. This shrine is composed of three hand-felted wool tree stump forms mounted on three hand-carved wood (my second medium) connected bases. The bases act to elevate the tree stumps to give them a place of honour and enhance the network of roots that anchor the trees and provide the structure of connectivity. The inspiration of this work comes from my love of all trees, of the more than 35 different species of trees planted on my village property over the past 40 years. The work of scientist Suzanne Simard (The Secret Language of Trees - How Trees Talk To each Other) has confirmed my belief in the importance of the environment and our human responsibilities to it and climate change. These books have also influenced this work: The Secret Life of Trees by Colin Tudge and The Hidden Life of Trees, What They Feel, How They Communicate –Discoveries From A Secret World by Peter Wohlleben. My textile practice often references nature’s flora and fauna in the forms I create, the surface treatment I use, the colour palette I choose and the use of natural materials and often natural dyes in my works. My signature would be “the organic nature of the work.” I also address societal and political issues such as environmental degradation, climate change, and human rights issues in my work. I have been felting for more than 25 years and exhibited internationally, nationally, provincially and locally. My studio is in my home in Meacham, Saskatchewan.
handwave.ca
June Jacobs l Saskatchewan 4
SHRINE :: canadian contemporary felt exhibition
Arboreal Stand 35 x 25 x 20 cm Wool, kid mohair, yarn, wood, wood glue 2018
canadian contemporary felt exhibition :: SHRINE
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Into the Forest 28 x 73 cm Felted wool and silk Stones are painted polymer clay attached with thread 2018
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SHRINE :: canadian contemporary felt exhibition
My deep appreciation of nature guides my artwork and fills my spirit. This piece is inspired by the quote “Into the Forest I go, to lose my mind and find my soul.” Amongst trees, near the ocean, or witness to a magnificent storm, is where I find peace, solace, and meaning. The connection we are all seeking, is all around us, if we only wander in nature for a bit. The ‘runestones’ are engraved with symbols of beliefs and religions, that I believe are all interconnected, like the roots of a tree. We can give these ideas different names, but ultimately, we are all searching for the same thing and it can be found in your forest, or your shrine, wherever that might be. The background and trees are needle- and wet-felted wool and silk. The stones are engraved and painted polymer clay.
Lois is from northern Newfoundland, Canada, and is a horticulturist by trade. She is a mostly self-taught, full-time felter, and owns a thriving business, Tuckamoor Wildcrafts. Her pillows, bird ornaments, whale sculptures and felted wool paintings are strongly inspired by nature. She is equally in love with moody, somber landscapes, magnificent trees, and bright, cheerful wildflowers and is happily exploring and experimenting. You can find her work on Etsy, in galleries and boutiques all across Canada, at numerous craft markets, and in private collections around the world. Lois especially loves to teach Felted Landscape workshops at every opportunity. Currently living in beautiful New Brunswick, she is a member of The Fibre Arts Network, and felt :: feutre Canada, and a juried member of Craft NB.
tuckamoorwildcrafts.com
Lois McDonald-Layden l New Brunswick canadian contemporary felt exhibition :: SHRINE
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Hold Dear Hat: 36 x 60 cm Jacket: 52 x 95 cm merino wool, yak, silk, seed pods, nuts and cones, photo transferred silk fabric 2018
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SHRINE :: canadian contemporary felt exhibition
Roger LeMoine, a photographer, captured a photo of an 80-year-old maple tree at dawn on a winter's day at my family's farm. My aunt planted the sapling when she was just a teenager. The tree has risen unencumbered to the sky on this rural property, spreading its roots and branches to a myriad of life forms. While it is a shrine to my aunt, it is also a testament to a rural, life-sustaining way of life. I chose to transfer the photo on to silk and set the photo in a wet-felted papal hat, paired with a nuno felted jacket designed with pouches to hold life-sustaining seed pods, nuts, and cones as sculptural elements. Much like trees hold life, the farm holds trees that foster life sustaining ways. Shrines are often built to remember. This piece evokes my aunt and her foresight, nature and the importance of rural preservation in an increasingly urban, nature-deprived world. I draw my felting inspiration from the 'systems and structures' that I see at play in the world – physical, political, social and behavioural. My challenge is to convey, through felting, the concepts and theories that help me better understand my values and beliefs, and hopefully evoke questions and ideas in others. In our highly plugged-in, consumer-driven, synthetic world, I enjoy the physical labour involved when working with natural fibres, soap and water. This process builds continuity between my past and the present and grounds me to begin to envision an optimistic future. I came to feltmaking in 2011 and have had the privilege of learning from national and international feltmakers. I am part of the Art Felt Collaborative, an award-winning group of five feltmakers who exhibit individually and collectively through online publications, shows and gallery installations.
Diane Goossens l British Columbia canadian contemporary felt exhibition :: SHRINE
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Hold Dear (Detail) Diane Goossens
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SHRINE :: canadian contemporary felt exhibition
I mulled the theme of Shrine for many weeks after first reading, asking myself “what DO I hold dear and deeply?” I had many answers and slowly they coalesced into a theme with the old tree on the family farm floating into my thoughts frequently. The choice of wearable art seemed right since it allows the wearer to hold near their “shrine” across place and distance. Since then, I’ve continued to collect seed pods, cones and nuts which likely will surface into other pieces. Diane Goossens
I readily identify with the theme Shrine, in fact, if I really think about it I have several in my home: the box of china from my grandmother, the wall of old family photos, my father’s tool box. I often incorporate found or discarded objects into my felted sculptures as a way paying homage to a person through an item or belonging and the stories and memories attached to it, and so responding to Shrine seemed a natural extension of my practice. I love the ability of felt to envelope and cocoon an object; it has this nurturing and comforting feeling and at the same time for me it is a metaphor for nature. During the creation of this piece I struggled with its simplicity because it wasn’t in keeping, as ornate or as colourful as any traditional shrine I’ve ever seen but in the end I’m pleased I let the process unfold and happen because the piece is true to my inspiration. Kimberly Tucker
I tend to think broadly about systems and the way the world is put together; it’s the way my mind works. When I first saw the theme “Shrine,” I immediately thought of values, social values and traditions. Textile traditions, like felt, have existed as a domestically gendered and overlooked art form. My work “taste,” explores questions of what we value and what we consider to be good taste, it is in a sense of shrine to gender and domesticity. Connie Michele Morey
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Taste 10 x 20 - 32 cm Corridale wool, silver plated forks, reclaimed wood 2018
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SHRINE :: canadian contemporary felt exhibition
Several months ago, I found a container of tarnished forks at the thrift store. I’d been thinking about entropy (a system’s natural inclination towards decay) and was interested in how things that we view as solid and impenetrable show evidence of our interdependence with nature and its re/degenerative forces. I brought the forks to the studio and began to build wool armatures around them. Combining the forks with wool and reclaimed wood references both of gender and ecology. Forks are often found inside the drawers of kitchens, wool used to create clothing and wood used to build a home; in this way these works act as a shrine to overlooked and often undervalued domestic history, such as textile practices and building traditions. The colour and form of the wool references the organic unseen or unpresentable body made visible, the female body beyond the surface. The felted silver-plated forks are shrines of ‘taste’ associated with class, gender and the body – things that we consider valuable or beautiful as a society, yet the entropic state of the materials complicate these values to show the eco-body as a site of both degenerative and regenerative beauty. Connie Michele Morey is an interdisciplinary artist whose work focuses on the materials and practices of sculpture, installation, and performance to explore relationships between the body, home and gender. Influenced her childhood experiences navigating rural settings surrounded by family traditions of masonry, construction, craft and textiles, her work often combines sculptural felting with household and building materials to create forms that resemble outgrowths or overpopulated organisms thereby exploring gender as a symbiotic organism. Connie received her BFA in Visual Arts from the University of Lethbridge, completed graduate work in Art History, an M.Ed. in Art Education and recently an studio-based PhD at the University of Victoria. She is the Programming Manager at arc.hive Artist Run Centre, a Community Arts Consultant and teaches at the University of Victoria and Vancouver Island School of Art. She has exhibited and performed locally, across Canada and overseas in Europe, Australia and Malaysia.
conniemorey.com
Connie Michele Morey l British Columbia canadian contemporary felt exhibition :: SHRINE
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One of the captivating aspects of felt is the capacity to encompass and envelop other objects with striking similarity to that of flourishing plants. The organic form of this shrine embraces the parallels between the natural world and felt, and so embodies the belief of Druidism, promoting harmony, connection and reverence for the natural world. “An Ode To Arlie” is created through the process of needle felting. As wool is added and compressed there is a natural fluidity to the development of the form. Enveloped within elements of the shrine are cherished bits of jewellery, things that were left behind. These inanimate objects preserve a connection to a person and offer a means of honouring love and loss. Inspiration is drawn from nature’s resourcefulness; the small yet powerful elements in our environment that embody resilience, healing and regrowth. It is what makes the natural world so unique and worth celebrating.
Kimberly Tucker makes her art on the Canadian shield in the village of Apsley, Ontario. She hikes daily and her interaction with the natural world informs her work. It may be something as small as the mound of green moss she has stepped on in passing, and taking a moment to watch as it recovers from her footprint. Kimberly is beguiled by both the smallest intricacies and the manner in which they are interwoven to create the whole. In 2012, Kimberly began her studies full time when she enrolled in the Visual and Creative Arts Program at Haliburton School for The Arts and after graduating with honours has since pursued further studies in felting. In 2018 Kimberly was a resident at the Vermont Studio Centre and Mildred’s Lane. She has shown her work in both private and public art galleries including the Art Gallery of Mississauga, the Agnes Jamieson Public Gallery, the Thames Art Gallery and the Gladstone Hotel.
kimberlytucker.ca
Kimberly Tucker l Ontario 14
SHRINE :: canadian contemporary felt exhibition
An Ode to Arlie 30.5 x 63.5cm Core Wool, found objects 2018
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IGNITE 30 x 98 cm Merino wool, hanji paper, ramie fibre, sumi-e ink 2018
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SHRINE :: canadian contemporary felt exhibition
IGNITE combines bold brushstrokes in ink with high contrast in colour. Traditional joomchi papermaking meets feltmaking and charcoal based inks to create a whole new form of cloth. This work is about movement and commitment, and the fire that consumes us as creative people, necessitating our making. This is a shrine to our creative spirit- to the imagination and the compulsion to create. As the brushstroke of ink on cloth necessitates courage, commitment, a deep breath and flow, so does our navigation through life- from the everyday to the big changes. Ignite celebrates the artistic nurturing of internal coals of potential; flaming these into life and strong gestures.
Fiona Duthie is a feltmaker recognized for her dynamic, sculptural clothing and artwork. She first encountered felt making in 1996 and immediately it became her medium and passion. She explores personal stories and connections and communicates those narratives through surface design and form in felt making. Whether in clothing, artwork, or outdoor installations, Fiona's work encourages the viewer to participate and engage, drawing out something deeper, bolder and stronger from within themselves. She strives for excellence in design and technique, while furthering the medium of felt through the use of new material combinations. Fiona has a full-time studio practice based on Salt Spring Island, British Columbia and has exhibited her work in Canada, the US, New Zealand, the UK and Australia.
fionaduthie.com
Fiona Duthie l British Columbia canadian contemporary felt exhibition :: SHRINE
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Self-Reverence is a tactile homage to self; a celebration and veneration of who one is at their core. One cannot possibly love and respect others if, at one’s core, the love and respect doesn’t first come from within. Self-Reverence encourages viewers to delve deep within themselves to find, embrace, and revere their uniqueness. Through the exploration of techniques outside of my felting comfort zone (employing photography, painting, hand-dying, and crocheting) a renewed appreciation and respect of self has blossomed. Jennifer Tsuchida is enchanted by the magic of turning wool fibre into a cohesive felted fabric. Employing both traditional and modern felt making techniques, Jennifer creates hand felted sculptural pieces of functional, decorative, and wearable art. She is at once inspired by the natural world and the underbelly of the darkest corners of her imagination. Throughout the years, Jennifer's work has been exhibited in galleries as well as non-traditional exhibition spaces both nationally and internationally. She also teaches felt making workshops nationally. Her art has been featured in various publications, such as Studio Magazine: Craft and Design in Canada, Filzfun- a German magazine dedicated to the art of felt making, in the book Worldwide Colours of Felt- a Dutch publication and Felt Matters, a magazine showcasing international felt artists.
jennifertsuchida.weebly.com
Jennifer Tsuchida l Ontario 18
SHRINE :: canadian contemporary felt exhibition
Self-Reverence 36 x 33 x 13 cm Hand felted and stuffed using wet and nuno felting techniques with merino wool fleece, various silks, cotton yarn (crocheted and hand-dyed), acrylic paint, textile paint, textile stiffener, photographs, canvas, doll parts, thread, fibrefill 2018
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TRANSFIGURATION 35.5 x 25.5 x 20.5cm Felting, Rug hooking, Knitting, wool, linen 2018
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SHRINE :: canadian contemporary felt exhibition
I kneel in a sea of broken pieces. It was a sudden shattering. Nothing will be the same again. Heart and spirit in shards. Hopes and dreams smashed into fear and uncertainty. Instinctively I clamour to grab handfuls of my broken self to clear a path away from the cliff. When the salty sea subsides I begin to see my grip forging each random handful into a new form. Raw and ragged but not without hope and beauty. Tender consolidations. Joy and colour fused anew. Transfiguration. A shrine to new forms of hope and happiness shaped from a jagged aftermath. Colour buoyant above dark pools to face the sun. I reflect from afar or cradle its intricacies in my arms.
Diane Krys was transplanted as a child from Nova Scotia to Edmonton, Alberta where she now has a full-time fibre art studio practice. Growing up surrounded by knitters and makers, she feels a great sense of inspiration and connection with these time honoured techniques and their culturally significant textile histories. She found her true artistic voice and creative oxygen when she developed her own techniques to combine rug hooking, felting, knitting and crochet. Her work stretches boundaries and is recognized for its originality and high level of craftsmanship. She infuses her pieces with her background in design, as well as, a sense of playfulness and surrealism. She exhibits in fine craft, art and design arenas. dianekrys.com
Diane Krys l Alberta canadian contemporary felt exhibition :: SHRINE
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Transfiguration (Detail) Diane Krys
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SHRINE :: canadian contemporary felt exhibition
At its core, Transfiguration is about honouring the act of picking up the pieces and reshaping a new normal, one that can find joy, beauty and hope within traumatic, unexpected circumstances. In my shrine the five irregular, colourful forms represent this transformation. They were formed in a completely random way where I dove into my bin of scraps and literally pulled up random handfuls that combined rovings, textiles trimmings, yarn ends, etc. Already in my grip a new form was emerging. I then solidified it using needle felting. It was important for me to have the process authentically reflect the concept of broken parts and unpredictability fusing together to create something anew. Diane Krys
‘Saint Marilyn’ has become a very personal piece for me. When I read about the theme I had an almost immediate sense of what I wanted to explore. ‘Saint Marilyn’ is a shrine to a specific person but really explores ideas of of aging and how we can have agency of what we want that to look like. My friendship with Marilyn redefined for me what it means to get older - that the experience of living doesn’t have to get smaller with age but quite the opposite. Old age can be defined as a time of adventures, creativity, curiousity, openess and new friendship. This piece for me has become a physical reminder of the important lessons my friend gifted to me and is part of my own personal meditation on getting older and what I strive for in my own life. Christianna Ferguson
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'Saint Marilyn' is a shrine to honour the life of a friend and is a celebration of aging gracefully. Marilyn embraced aging, she wintered in India, wrote stories and poetry, drank whiskey with friends, she made things. She had friends of all ages. The shrine is a physical object to reflect on her memory and the things learned from knowing her. It includes images of Marilyn, bulrushes and a bottle of whiskey, both things associated with her. A poem about her was written on mulberry paper and felted into the piece. The patchwork surface design reflects all the stories and experiences stitched together to make a life. Stones were felted into the work to symbolize her love of the natural world. The second medium incorporated was rug hooking. This choice was made to add texture and dimension and to experiment with rug hooking into a fulled piece of felt. Christianna Ferguson is a feltmaker with a full time studio practice in Lakefield, Ontario. Her work and practice are continually evolving and range from wearables and accessories to conceptual work with a focus on the human experience and the connections between us. Her passion for felt began on a year abroad in Western Australia where she joined a local felting group in 2012. Since then her work has been shown in several juried exhibitions and has been included in publications such as Fibre Art Now, Uppercase Magazine 'Compendium of Craft' and Worldwide Colours of Felt.
christiannaferguson.com
Dyeing House Gallery Sculptural Felt Award
Winner 2018
Christianna Ferguson l Ontario 24
SHRINE :: canadian contemporary felt exhibition
Saint Marilyn 35 x 25 x 15 cm Merino wool, recycled silk, mulberry paper, sumi ink, embroidery thread, black thread, silk yarn, stones 2018
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Sea Shrine 35 x 25 x 20 cm Felt (wool, bamboo tops, banana fibre, hemp, silk) with wire armature, rock, wood, vintage jewellery, fishing line, synthetic and shell beads, beach debris and shells, acrylic media and paint, sand. 2018
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SHRINE :: canadian contemporary felt exhibition
When looking for sea-glass a few years ago on a beach in Kauai – a favorite activity of mine whenever travelling where sea meets land – I came across an abundance of beautiful, blue, sparkling fragments. As I bent to collect them, I was dismayed to learn that they were pieces of plastic. These pieces are the inspiration for this shrine and are integrated into the mosaic labyrinth. Sea shrine is a place for contemplating the bitter-sweet reality of our existence: when enjoying the wonders of the ocean, or living our daily lives, we leave our mark – and it is not always a good one. Our challenge is to be aware of the “footprints” that we leave in the sand and to strike a sustainable lifestyle balance. While secular in nature, this shrine utilizes religious references including the rosary, shells, hermit, and labyrinth. The coral “architecture” is inspired by medieval drawings of trees integrated with the pointed arch of gothic cathedral windows.
“Art has always been a part of my life although I worked in another field for many years. Several years ago, I stopped working to focus on art and I am currently enrolled in the BFA program at ACAD. Felt-making has become a large part of my art practice over the past fifteen years and I enjoy integrating felt with other media. Two questions influence my artwork: why do we attribute an inner life, emotion or narrative to inanimate objects and what characteristics cause this? Felt as a medium, with its inherent organic reference, is ideal for exploring these questions. It feels like the wool is actively participating in the creative process. Hints of emotion, character, or personality appear as the piece takes shape and I see it as my role to build on and reveal these. In the end, the final piece feels like a collaboration between me and this inanimate substance that has a mind of its own.”
fayhodson.com
Fay Hodson l Alberta canadian contemporary felt exhibition :: SHRINE
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Humbles Gestes au Quotidien 20 x 35 x 23 cm Hand-dyed Merino wool, up-cycled denim, linen, silk, plaster of Paris, yarn. 2018
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SHRINE :: canadian contemporary felt exhibition
‘Humbles Gestes au Quotidien’ honours the beauty and simplicity of day-to-day actions such as the hand-stitching and mending clothes our grandmothers and mothers used to perform. These actions, so vital for the family’s well-being, often went unnoticed. I found Japanese Boro, meaning tattered rags, very inspirational. This term describes lovingly patched and repaired clothing to extend their useful life. To create this shrine I used hand-dyed Merino wool, up-cycled denim and linen, mulberry paper, yarn and plaster of Paris. Stitching each patch, I reflected on the routines and rhythms my grandmother and mother repeated daily. Their actions recall the Japanese Mottainai principle of a state of mind marked by a blending of humility, respect, and a sense of gratitude accompanied by a profound regret at the thought of wasted resources.
Carmen Laferrière’s love for fibres originates from her childhood on a farm in rural Québec. She recalls the excitement she shared with her sisters when her mother would open the cedar chest filled with textile remnants. Carmen’s work is highly intuitive with a strong narrative content. She loves to create works using wool and found treasures. Carmen draws her inspiration from prose, song lyrics, traditions and the natural beauty of the Okanagan region of British Columbia. Carmen loves to share her knowledge of felting and manipulating fibres. She offers workshops to people of all ages to allow them to explore felt-making and connect them with its history and with the transformation of fibres through hands-on projects.
carmenfelt.com
Carmen Laferrière l British Columbia canadian contemporary felt exhibition :: SHRINE
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Humbles Gestes au Quotidien (Detail) Carmen Laferriere
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SHRINE :: canadian contemporary felt exhibition
When I began my piece, I was going to explore “the apron” as the sole object for the theme of shrine. Then, as I was thinking of a title, I found “Humbles Gestes au Quotidien” which gave more meaning to what I was thinking about and how I wanted to represent the theme using two mediums. The underlying narrative became richer as I thought of the daily, unnoticed actions of women of the past as well as nowadays. Strongly inspired by the Boro work of Japanese women my piece came together very smoothly, stitch by stitch. Carmen Laferrière
"A shrine?! The atheist in me at once rebelled. I agonized through the obvious and landed on "Strong Spaces" - a three part journey of self-determination, resilience and recovery. I added symbols of unity, messages to inspire and tiny candles to light the way. This uncertain world gives us many reasons to retreat; but these strong spaces mean to give us places to grow bold." Sheila Thompson
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Strong Spaces 35 x 108 cm Merino roving, silk roving, silk georgette, knitted copper wire, candle wax, beads, copper wire, knitted linen fibre, silk rope, wooden circles 2018
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SHRINE :: canadian contemporary felt exhibition
My shrine of three circles honours strong spaces that promote growth, healing, recovery, selfdetermination, and general optimism. The first part with its embedded silk imagery considers the power of memory and begins the journey along the silk ropes. The 36 beads represent our past and present lives. The second part joined to the first with knitted copper wire shows five places to contemplate represented by the silk circles - fresh water, green grass, warm sunlight, cool forests and a copper net canopy. The QR code that goes with this piece links to a page on my web site containing inspirational quotes. Finally the silk ropes lead to the third circle joined again with knitted copper wire. This piece has tiny handmade candles encased in silk fibre containers. This section, which suggests night, is meant as a place of recovery and recuperation where the candles light the way. The nearby silk circles represent candlelight. The additional crafts incorporated are knitting and the handmade tiny candles. I made the candles using thimbles from my mother's thimble collection as forms for the silk georgette images that became the candle holders. There are stories in Sheila’s fibre art. Drawing on her lived experience, she tucks thoughts about geography, science, and social justice between the layers. She hopes they will start conversations. Her body of work, comprising abstracts and impressionistic landscapes, explores themes of harmony and conflict in community; inheritance and resilience; migration and movement; and transitions. Her latest work offers subtle commentaries via embedded silk images of her own work, fragments of articles and slides of biogeography field studies in Africa. Two new groups of work focus on the railway and their created myths about “opening the west”, and her fun experiments with slime mold. She has co-curated the award winning Canadian touring textile show “Edge of the Forest” and the online exhibition with felt :: feutre Canada called “Transitions”. She has been a board member on a couple of arts organizations in Toronto and has exhibited widely over the past 15 years.
sheilathompson.ca
Sheila Thompson l Ontario canadian contemporary felt exhibition :: SHRINE
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Inspired by the textural world, natural and human-made, this piece celebrates the slow movement, the creation of natural crevasses like canyons, the passing of time and the effects on its environment. This bright colourful work is an instinctively conceptual piece that resulted from a challenge I set myself and grew from there. Using two-tone handmade partial felt to define spatial boundaries to contain colours and play with plaster which has a nice somewhat symbiotic relationship with felt. I use felting to stretch my spiritual muscles, to find quiet in the busy and feel creatively fulfilled through problem-solving. My shrine IS felting; my process is my daily meditation practice. I feel a bit lost on a day I do not play with wool. Recent health issues have proven to me that if I slowly push through it (my felting), I physically feel better. “Happiness is the highest form of health” - Dalai Lama
I was instinctively drawn to this medium as to all the patterns and textures found both in nature's architecture and the human world. I am one of you who photographs, stores, “likes” and “shares” countless pictures of textures. There is a sort of wave, circular, or curve pattern displayed in most of my work and I now try to work mainly with locally acquired raw fleeces. I have a full time arts practice based at The Arts Factory. We exhibit as a group twice a year in our gallery. Since 2015 I have been juried into exhibitions with the East Side Culture Crawl, the International Felt Association, and felt :: feutre Canada. In 2019 I will be exhibiting my first body of work at the Gibson Public Art Gallery with Catherine Tableau and Aurelia Bouziard. FELT à la main with LOVE is about making connections, literally and metaphorically.
. feltalamain.com
Chantal Cardinal l British Columbia 34
SHRINE :: canadian contemporary felt exhibition
Complementaries 30x118cm Hand dyed local romney wool blended and carded with hand dyed merino, tencel, plâtre de Paris painted and varnished. 2018
canadian contemporary felt exhibition :: SHRINE
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Open Heart 40 x1 08 cm
Merino wool, silk fabric and fibres, linen, copper and beads 2018
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SHRINE :: canadian contemporary felt exhibition
I am fascinated by the sculptural quality and the creative process of making seamless nuno felt garments. For this exhibit, my inspiration came from my belief that the body is a vessel housing the soul. We are one with the divine. Our heart is the instrument connecting us between the earth and the sky - the human and the divine. In “Open Heart” the garment representation is cut open to reveal the heart radiating like a sun. Copper, being a natural conduit of energy, is the perfect material to include with nuno felting and beading. The heart shrine is my place of communion.
Marjolaine Arsenault is a feltmaker/fibre artist fascinated by the creative process of making seamless nuno felt garments. Her work is known for its bright colours, incredible lines and beauty. For Marjolaine, nature is a deep place of inspiration, from the ocean of her homeland region of Gaspésie, Québec to the depth of the forest in the Adirondack Mountains of New York State where she now lives. Marjolaine seeks to drape the body with style and beauty in contemporary pieces of wearable art. She travels the USA to sell at various juried fine craft shows and she teaches workshops internationally. Marjolaine was awarded the Collector’s Award at the Palm Beach Fine Craft Show in 2013 and the Outstanding Achievement Award at the Chicago Botanical Garden Craft Show in 2014. Her collection was presented in the Electric City Fashion Shows in 2016 and 2017. Her garments were published in Worldwide Colors of Felt and in various magazines. She exhibited at the Kent State University Fashion Museum in the exhibit "Entangled: Fiber to Felt to Fashion." Her studio is located in Diamond Point, NY.
marjolainestouch.com
Marjolaine Arsenault l New York canadian contemporary felt exhibition :: SHRINE
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This shrine is a metaphor for the story of my life. The copper doors are a tiny replica of the doors I designed and made as a newly qualified blacksmith and left behind at Wroughton Methodist Church in England. The quotation is from the Bible - 1 Peter 2:5 "Come as living stones, and let yourselves be used in building the spiritual temple" (Good News translation). The richly embellished exterior, the colour of autumnal cottonwood trees, represents the hearts of gold that have graced my life - contrasting with the simple mossy green interior, a symbol of both decay and regeneration‌ offering a bridge between this world and the next. The mask is made from thermoformable felt draped over a bronze casting of my face, then hardened. The lighting adds depth and an otherworldly dimension to the piece, exuding a sense of mystery, the pulsing breath of God.
Sandra Barrett is a blacksmith and felt maker in Fernie, BC, so naturally her choice of a second medium is metalwork. Her shrine has a felt-covered steel core, with lights between the layers. This sanctuary is her spiritual temple. Sandra belongs to the United Church of Canada, which has itself undergone transformational change this year. She is the last of the Presbyters. The sum of Sandra's training is knowledge, which has culminated in the skills necessary to build this reliquary. Previous work has been published in Worldwide Colours of Felt by Ellen Bakker, Felt Magazine in Australia, Felt Matters, the journal of the International Feltmakers Association, and in the online exhibitions Stories of the Trees and Transitions curated by Fiona Duthie. True North, one of Sandra's wallhangings, was accepted for a year-long tour of Britain, April 2017-2018 with the International Feltmakers Association travelling exhibition, Sea and Sky.
fernieforge.ca
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Sandra Barrett l British Columbia 38
SHRINE :: canadian contemporary felt exhibition
Spiritual Temple 35 x 25 x 20cm Steel, copper, brass, LED lights, magnets, mirrors, beads, glass, wool, silk, cotton, thermoformable felt 2018
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Memory House is a shrine that was created to hold the memories that are contained within us; some lie deep within our bones, some were created yesterday. It is a sanctuary that invokes a sense of reverie allowing one to connect with his or her most intimate self. In truth, what is remembered is often strange and haphazard; many things worth remembering simply vanish while some things that one wants to forget, remain. Modern life tends to lead us to the traumatic on a regular basis. Enormous anxiety can confront the most well-meaning individual on any given day. Memory House was imagined as a place to curl into and rest within the memories of our lives. The strongly painted antlers, the second medium in this piece, offer protection for the felted bowl that contains our memories. The beach wood offers a solid base; it has been tossed on rocky shores for years absorbing memories of its own. The red felted cord wrapped in strong cotton binds the sanctuary and protects and holds the memories we most need to keep. The Moroccan trading bead acts as a portal that draws us into the shrine.
Ten years ago I dove head first into the world of feltmaking and have since discovered myriad doors that have opened into a variety of feltmaking practices. I am drawn to vibrant colours and creating larger installations for juried art shows that involve multiples of objects. My work has been selected for several juried art shows including the Sidney Fine Arts Show and the Sooke Fine Arts Show. Recently, a piece entitled Last Swim, an installation of nine felted salmon swimming in a tight school was chosen to be in an upcoming exhibition at the North Vancouver CityScape Community Arts Space. I have had my work included in the last three felt :: feutre Canada exhibitions. My creative practice is based on Pender Island, BC.
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Debbie Katz l British Columbia 40
SHRINE :: canadian contemporary felt exhibition
Memory House 28 x 23 x 33 cm Wool, antlers, wood, cord, bell 2018
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Memory House (detail) Debbie Katz
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SHRINE :: canadian contemporary felt exhibition
The theme SHRINE evokes images for me of sanctuary, silence, caves, darkness, hiding, safety; all these images floated through my head for weeks. All winter I had been listening to music that continued to bring me back to memories of long ago, I had been talking with friends I hadn’t heard from in so many years. I had been reading about memories, the place they have in our lives. I was able to bring together the elements of my shrine - Memory House, using painted deer antlers to protect the soft felted bowl filled with beach stones, the memories now enshrined. Something very powerful had taken place in the months that it took to bring the piece to completion. It evokes a place so far away from this techno-strewn world, it truly is a sanctuary, a shrine to the memories of the lives we have lived. Debbie Katz
This exhibition gave me the opportunity to express what it means to feel connected to something bigger than myself, to the infinite. I felt invited to participate because it made me slow down and go within. The Shrine theme called for moments of reflection and peace, something that is very needed at this time in my life and in this world. For me, the sacred place to honor is not outside but inside within me. In my piece I express the divine body - a refined subtle body of light and energy connecting us to a source beyond ourselves. In the process of creating this piece I was constantly reminded that life is all about LOVE. Marjolaine Arsenault
The title Shrine brought to my mind images of reliquaries, created by the devout members of the Church. These objects were often decorated bones from saints, found within the Catholic canon. I decided on a Triptych which speaks to the holy triumvirate of Father, Son and Holy Ghost. But I switched that idea to focus on revered female figures with no religious connotation; Georgia O'Keefe. Frida Kahlo and Emily Carr. Throughout the creation process, I was imbued with a sense of connection with these iconic female artists. Each of them was challenged in the creation and acceptance of their art and I feel this is a apt way to honour three women artists who have inspired me to take greater risks with my art. Liza Hageraats
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Effigy: Frida, Emily, Georgia is a vertical triptych to honour three iconic women artists of continental America. The connection to Mother Earth and the feminine spirit is reflected in the images chosen to depict each of Head, Heart and Soul. For Frida Kahlo the Head, source of so many creative ideas, focuses on her often worn flower headdresses. Heart is bound in Emily Carr's stand of West Coast red cedar trees, where one discovers Truth. And the Soul that often remains after our departure from this world is seen in Georgia O'Keefe's reoccurring images of Skulls. The loops connecting one section to another are braided to indicate the weaving of inspiration shared between women artists. The inclusion of driftwood speaks to the fact that they have all been battered by the elements of life, but remain beautiful and strong. The individual pieces are all primarily wet felted, some using resist or a form as a base. There is the inclusion of machine embroidery as well as knitted felted yarn flowers. The wire is a connecting force.
A multi-media artist who has been exploring felt for seven years, Liza has also spent a couple of decades hooking mats, drawing and painting. She started delving into this particular form of fibre art by needle felting and then explored nuno-felted wearables of her own design and expanding that to framed, felted and embellished paintings. This resulted in a successful solo gallery show for the month of July 2017 which featured her felted paintings and hooked mats. Her textile work has been on display for three months in 2018 on the Artist's Wall at a Halifax public library. Her paintings and drawings have been a part of many group shows over the years. Liza has always been attracted to fibre arts and this is yet another way to stretch her artistic skin. The tactile sense of manipulating fibre as well as the joy of colour blending and creating 3-D forms excites her as she goes forward with this work.
artworks-liza.com
Liza Hageraats l Nova Scotia 44
SHRINE :: canadian contemporary felt exhibition
Effigy: Frida, Emily, Georgia 30 x 113 x 12 cm Wool and silk fibre, wool yarn, machine embroidery, driftwood and wire 2018
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Blue Labyrinth 84 x 42 x 32 cm Merino wool, silk and viscose fibre, cotton cloth, leather, copper 2018
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SHRINE :: canadian contemporary felt exhibition
Thinking about sacred places and shrines I came to the idea that a human body itself can be a shrine, as we all carry a piece of divine energy, we are all connected to the Universal power. I made a vest resembling an ancient armour piece such as warriors used to protect their bodies, as I want my shrine to be safe. The front piece is decorated with a labyrinth pattern as a symbol of the travels our soul makes searching for knowledge and happiness. The back side represents our past mistakes and delusions, but this chaotic mass is covered with another pattern of labyrinth, embroidered on the top, showing the harmony to which we can come. The vest is made from felt with leather straps connecting the front and back and copper buckles on the shoulders. Rings on the straps and little buttons, representing travellers in the labyrinth, are also made from copper. All copper pieces are made by jewelry artist Mary-Beth Piper. Hard and shiny metal adds contrast to the soft felt and leather, creating structure.
I have worked with felt more than six years and feel that this material is amazing. It is soft, but durable; it is flexible and warm; it can create various shapes, big or small. I find inspiration in nature – textures of tree barks, shapes of leaves and mushrooms, colours of the woods in fall. I like to combine felt with leather, metal or glass details, adding contrast between soft and hard. I have traveled around the world, learning different languages and cultures, and I like to incorporate traditional symbols in my work, exploring fairy tales and stories. My works mostly respond to feelings and I use dreams and stories as a starting point. Rather than presenting an illustration to the book, an image is created to inspire the spectators and give them food for meditation. I was born in Russia, spent ten years in China and now I live in New Brunswick where I work in my home studio. I graduated from New Brunswick College of Craft and Design, Textile Design studio, in 2018. I am a member of the local Craft Council and the Fredericton Fibre Arts Network. In recent years I have taken part in World of Threads Festival in Ontario and the Canada 150 exhibition in Fredericton.
artisalwaysmagic.com
Fiona Duthie Wearable Felt Art Award Winner 2018
fine felt
Tina Sharapova l New Brunswick canadian contemporary felt exhibition :: SHRINE
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Gallery space and the logistics of transporting work can be challenging in creating an exhibition. The full SHRINE exhibition was installed at the Canadian Felt Symposium in Nova Scotia, and included the work of nine additional artists and makers from across Canada.
Goddess of Spring by Carmen Ditzler
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While their work was not displayed at the Craft Council of BC’s gallery, we present their work in the following pages.
SHRINE :: canadian contemporary felt exhibition
Pilgrimage 30.5 x 48.75 cm Wool Roving, Prefelt, Thread, Interfacing, Cotton Backing and Facings 2018
A recent trip to Ireland was a pilgrimage to the land of my ancestors. We wandered through the site of the Seven Churches on the Aran island of Inishmore. These ancient stone structures, built around the seventh century, have been one of the earliest Christian pilgrimage sites in Ireland. Despite the name, there are only two churches surrounded by the footprints of the other buildings, graves, walls and fences. The combination of wet felting enhanced by free motion quilting and thread play enhances the texture of the stones, rocks, grasses and flowers. The stone doorway invited me to enter into this sacred place, to join the other pilgrims and to hold on to the memory of a shrine holy across the centuries. I create in Camrose, Alberta. A fibre artist for 25 years, I am a member of the Western Canadian Fibre Art Network, Studio Art Quilt Associates and felt :: feutre Canada. Retirement as a social worker/clinical lead in 2013, opened doors to pursue creating art, teaching and learning new techniques and art forms. A "Feltscape" workshop in November 2016 with Brenda Foster through the Edmonton Weavers' Guild, was the catalyst to combine wet felting with my other fibre art skills. I have shown in five group exhibitions with the Fibre Art Network, 14 Camrose Art Walks and was a featured artist in a two-person show that was a part of the Camrose Canada 150 celebrations. My work is grounded in my deep and abiding love of nature, my awe at the displays of beauty that surround me and my ongoing need to develop and grow my creative expression.
Mary Wilton l Alberta canadian contemporary felt exhibition :: SHRINE
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Heart Sutra 40.5 x 48 cm wool, paper, shells, ink, bamboo 2017
This piece began with writing the entire Heart Sutra on calligraphy paper, which is called "Shakyo" in Japanese, using a small calligraphy brush and ink to write the prayer. I then layered the paper, 108 shells (considered a sacred number) between wool fibre and various type of silk and more hand-made paper. Once I felted the pieces together, I hand-stitched and attached it to a piece of bamboo I harvested myself. "In Buddhism, according to Bhante Gunaratana [3] this number is reached by multiplying the senses smell, touch, taste, hearing, sight, and consciousness by whether they are painful, pleasant or neutral, and then again by whether these are internally generated or externally occurring, and yet again by past, present and future, finally we get 108 feelings. 6 × 3 × 2 × 3 = 108." My passion is taking advantage of the unique nature of fibre and creating new fashion incorporating fibre into cloth. I love the challenge of creating three-dimensional pieces that are completely seamless. There is an element of mystery when working with fibres, the end product is always a bit of a surprise and I find that wonderful and fascinating. I’ve been practicing calligraphy since I got my student teacher certificate at age 12. It’s been an important part of my life for the last 45 years and I love being able to incorporate this meditative practice with my art.
Ashford / Harmonique Two Dimensional Felt Art Award Winner 2018
Ayami Stryck l British Columbia 50
SHRINE :: canadian contemporary felt exhibition
Goddess of Spring 35 x 67 x 7 cm Merino wool, mixed breed wool, silk, clay, Wensleydale locks, cotton string, wood, LED lights 2018
As the never ending winter of 2018 ravages the hearts, minds, bodies and shovels of Canadians, they cry out…”Where is Spring? When will it be Spring? I am so tired of winter!” Spring; a talisman in our minds of sun, new life, fresh green, and no snow! But, in her tree, hidden, protected and cosy waits the Goddess of Spring. She takes her own damn time, waiting for the perfect position of the sun and the appropriate number of offerings to her whims. She is changeable, and bad ass, at one moment, sun and flowers and next storms, rain, and mud. She is a centre of fertility and growth of new life. We all contain some reflection of the goddess within ourselves. The clay was formed by Andrea Revoy and the untameable, crazy black hair is Wensleydale locks. Find me on a walk poking into nooks and crannies, pockets full of rocks and treasures. Fascination with nature is at the core of my art- noticing textures, colours, and weird lines. It's been nine years now, captured by wool, making felt in a crooked little studio, heated by trees in the Kootenays of British Columbia. Seeing what wool will do, what happens to the colour and the surface and the texture is endlessly fascinating. I have taken workshops with some fabulous felt artists in person and online and made an infinite number of mistakes to develop my skills. For Shrine I asked my friend and clay artist, Andrea Revoy (www.andrearevoy.com) to collaborate with me as I am inspired by her sense of whimsy, creativity and skill. Clay is the perfect material for the shrine structure and for Andrea’s naked, substantial goddess. I have participated in local art shows, and for the last two felt :: feutre Canada exhibitions. carmenditzler.com
Carmen Ditzler l British Columbia canadian contemporary felt exhibition :: SHRINE
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Sanctuary 40.5 x 25.5 x 20 cm Thermoformable felt, various wools, natural materials, acrylic paint 2018
“In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks” – John Muir My most reflective times are spent on the quiet spaces of our prairie farm, whether I’m watching tall grasses bowing like waves on the water, walking between trees hearing the subtle whispers of leaves, sharing the quiet lives of the wildlife who reside there or watching our magnificent, ever changing skies. It is my time to be part of something bigger than myself. Humans are such a small part of our ecosystem. Without recognizing the impact we play in our environment, it can be altered forever. I am inspired by its vastness and what we can learn if we only take the quiet time to absorb what is around us. “Sanctuary” utilizes felts and natural materials from our farm and echoes what I often watch over the course of the year within these small natural worlds to provide an opportunity to be a quiet observer –and to take a moment recognize the continuous cycles of lives that surround us. Rhonda has been involved in the fibre arts for approximately twenty years. It began with her purchase of her first llamas, which led to learning about spinning, knitting, dyeing and weaving. She was motivated to learn about various types of fibres and the wise array of creative opportunities this medium can offer. When she began felting more than ten years ago, she found that this art form which resonates the most strongly with her artistic direction. Inspired by her home and the prairies of Saskatchewan, she works to translate the colours, the environment and the quiet of her natural surrounding into each piece she creates, frequently utilizing motifs that reflect the natural ecosystem she is fortunate enough in which to live.
Rhonda Lamb l Saskatchewan 52
SHRINE :: canadian contemporary felt exhibition
Honour and Sacrifice 34 x 33.5 x20 cm Photo transfers, pottery felt, silk, wedding dress, seagrass basket, wooden dowels, photo transfers, battery operated candles, expandable wire, pottery 2018
The story of this shrine is of 2 lives/2 paths merging together at a temple in the forest for a wedding ceremony. My wedding dress was sacrificed to create the roof and inner walls – symbolic of the sacrifices made and the shelter received when getting married. The veil and the Red Gate create the effect of entering into the sacred unknown. The lace and felt together hint at the celebratory abundance of the wedding cake and flowers. A gift we received of a 2018 commemorative wedding medallion was photographed and then printed onto nuno felt over the doorway. Photo transfers on silk have a holographic “living” effect inside the shrine creating a mystical photo album. The Shinto philosophy that all of nature is sentient and to be honoured became the connective tissue. The felted trees reach to our highest selves and the roots to our ancestral support. The decaying leaves evoke the passage of time/past lives and the roof horns connect us to the Great Mystery. Our vows are the treasure in the inner sanctum and have been witnessed by the trees and rocks. The handmade offering bowls remind us to feed our relationship with care and attention. My art has a talisman quality…something to be seen and held for comfort, reassurance and empowerment. I like to create pieces that touch the heart and are often very personal, using special items collected from nature and life, with rich muted colours and soft textures. The Universal Medicine Wheel is a guiding structure underlying much of my creativity. I also love working one on one or in groups, helping people find meaning and joy in their lives by creating sacred bundles.
Adele Goodwin l Alberta canadian contemporary felt exhibition :: SHRINE
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Mum’s Chiclet Purse 30.5 x 18 x 15 cm shetland and merino wool, embroidery floss, found objects , images 2018
My shrine project honours my mother as a source of security and love but also mystery in the ways of feminine secrets. It has two parts: a sculpture and an icon. Together they play with notions of the seen/ unseen; inside/outside space; devotion and neglect; domestic/public boundaries; desire and taboo; temptation and repulsion – dichotomies that are essential to my understanding of a shrine. The 3D work represents my memory of her favourite purse, circa 1962 – a white, rope-like bag. It was an unspoken rule that it could not be opened by small hands - a taboo object. It held a variety of things that were forbidden to wee girls, e.g. lipstick, compact, perfume, house keys, pens and especially, the now unavailable Chiclets gum. As a kid, Chiclets with their soothing, sometimes spicy flavours were the object of my desire. Hence the 5” x 5” Chiclet “icon” mimicking the attachment devotees have to representations of saints or their relics. The squares with a black-running “x” stitch on the surface of the bag symbolize the sweet but forbidden fruit- flavoured gum. As a strong Christian, my mother kept small inspirational cards in her purse when traveling. Instead of these cards, pictures of objects - perhaps sacred to her - are held inside as references to the type of objects found inside an actual holy shrine: an image of a holy family, a protective scripture, glass votives with healing liquids. My secular images and texts are related to my mother’s life, my memories of forbidden things she might have carried in her purse. Together the sculpture and the icon form my project honouring mothers, female secrets and personal family history. I began my art career in the 1980s as a black and white photographer using photo oils and pencils in non-traditional ways. As someone who loves to experiment, I was soon painting photographs in “unreal" colours and “outside the lines.” Later, as a university educator, I used my photographic skills to capture religious artifacts on archaeological tours with undergraduate students. In 2014 I began incorporating my love of line, texture and colour into two- and three-dimensional works using thread, embroidery floss, fabric, and hand-made papers. Since 2016, I have exhibited with the "Out of the Box" fibre artists including the exhibition "Colour Unboxed" at the Mississippi Valley Textile Museum in Almonte, Ontario. Currently, I make 3D felted sculptures and am inspired by domestic history, ritual and archaeology.
Janet Tulloch l Ontario 54
SHRINE :: canadian contemporary felt exhibition
Bee Optimistic 33 x 20 x 15 cm corriedale, merino fibre, bronze, glass beads, gold thread, chicken wire, grasses 2018
Bee Optimistic is an intuitive response to the disappearing bees. The Bee was modelled, then cast in bronze to represent the bees' ancient history. Growing around the grasses is the hexagonal felted structure, paying homage to the modular form from which humans have benefited from for centuries. The use of gold honeycomb stitching and glass beads reflect the value that bees provide to our existence on this earth. We have been notified and it is up to us to solve the problem of the vanishing bees. Merrilyn has been a devoted "Kitchen Counter Felter� ever since taking a weekend course three years ago, creating mostly wearables. The smell, texture and the physicality of the process, combined with the fact that you have only so much control, makes felting so enjoyable. It is like painting with fibre.
Merrilyn Pinkney l Ontario canadian contemporary felt exhibition :: SHRINE
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Contemplating Death Creates Happiness 35.5 x 18 x 10 cm each Wool Felt, typed paper rolls 2018
Lately my personal shrine has been the App "WECROAK." It delivers quotes five times daily to remind you of the fact that you are going to die. In Bhutan people believe contemplating death brings happiness. This piece is my transformation from App on a phone to a visible shrine made of felt. My shrine is a visual offering and wants to inspire you to contemplate death and create happiness in return. Viewers are invited to help themselves to a quote. I have been working with felt since 2014, when I attended the Textile Program of the Kootenay School of the Arts. Since then I have been experimenting with various felting techniques and am currently working on a show about death. I started out with making my own shroud and various Bardo creatures, allowing myself to play with techniques, colours and shapes. Meanwhile I stumbled upon the App "WECROAK" which gives you each day five reminders that you are going to die. The quotes come from religious persons, writers, thinkers, artist throughout the ages. My shrine is a visual offering of this powerful reminder of our mortality.
Claudia Ring l British Columbia 56
SHRINE :: canadian contemporary felt exhibition
Beehive Shrine 35.5 x 25.5 x 20 cm merino wool, silk fabric, honey comb, lamp shade 2018
Beehive Shrine incorporates the honey and brood comb that the bees in my hives created this year from their inherent nature to swarm and expand. Honey bee colonies date back at least 30,000 years in their present form. The honeybee is a sacred life form and deserves to be revered in a shrine. Every supermarket should have one to remind us that pesticides kill pollinators and our industrial food production system is out of balance with nature. The hexagon shape is used by the honeybees to create their comb for raising their young and storing their food supply of honey to feed the hive. This form is reflected in the felt in the interior lampshade created with hexagon cut outs and the hexagon shapes within the felt lace. Laurie Steffler is a fibre artist, felt fashion designer and instructor living on Salt Spring Island. Her felt fashion has been selling at major shows across Canada and showcased on runways and productions. Her fibre art has been exhibited in past felt :: feutre Canada catalogues and galleries. Laurie has been teaching felt-making for 20 years. Her students are grateful for her 30-year wealth of textile and felting knowledge. “My passion for transforming fibre into an exquisite piece of art fuels my creativity in the magical process of felt-making. My creative expression has been nourished by my relationship with natures beauty. My personal focus on transformation and inner growth finds expression while I am in the creative process. I love to work on pieces that emerge in a whimsical and playful way. I also love to develop new innovations in my felting techniques that lead to exciting results.� saltspringfiberadventures.com
Laurie Steffler l British Columbia canadian contemporary felt exhibition :: SHRINE
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front and back cover artwork: Spiritual Temple by Sandra Barrett copyright Š 2018 fellt :: feutre Canada felt-feutre-canada.com .
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All rights reserved. No part of this work may be republished without the explicit permission of the artists
SHRINE :: canadian contemporary felt exhibition
Marjolaine Arsenault Sandra Barrett Chantal Cardinal Carmen Ditzler Fiona Duthie Christianna Ferguson Adele Goodwin Diane Goossens Liza Hageraats Fay Hodson June Jacobs Debbie Katz Diane Krys Carmen Laferriere Rhonda Lamb Lois McDonald-Layden Connie Michele Morey Merrilyn Pinkney Claudia Ring Tina Sharapova Laurie Steffler Ayami Stryck Sheila Thompson Jennifer Tsuchida Kimberley Tucker Janet Tulloch Mary Wilton
36 - 37, 58 38 - 39 34 - 35 48, 51 16 - 17 24 - 25 53 8 - 10 44 - 45 26 - 27 4-5 40 - 42 20 - 23 28- 31, 58 52, 58 6 - 7, 58 12 - 13 55 56 46 - 47 57 50 32 - 33 18 - 19, 14 - 15, 58 54 49
Artist Index canadian contemporary felt exhibition :: SHRINE
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felt :: feutre canada
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SHRINE :: canadian contemporary felt exhibition