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| Icarus, found lottery tickets, dental floss, by Rebecca Siemering |
Memory one:
The traffic in the city was thick and intense, it took an hour to drive from the Riverdale area in East Toronto where we had family over to the Gladstone Hotel on Queen West. It was also the opening night of the Toronto Film Festival - maybe that's why.
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| Rebecca Siemering collects scratch lottery tickets on her daily walk |
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| Rebecca considers the hope that is held in those tickets, discarded with disappointment |
Memory two: the lovely old manual elevator. The friendly operator greets us as if we are old friends
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| Red Moons, vintage wool blanket, mended Judith e Martin |
Memory three:
The crowd on the 4th floor where daughter and I search for my piece and don't find it. We go down to the 3rd floor where there are even more people because that is where the bar is. We find my piece in a side hall.
Memory four:
My work doesn't look as proud as it was at the home studio. It is across from
Andrew McPhail's sequined bed sheet and that pleases me because our two pieces converse well with each other.
Memory five: Looking for art work I can respond to but so many people stand in the way, talking.
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| Jamie: Trousers on wood stretcher by Jamie Ashforth |
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| Deconstructing these utilitarian objects exposes subtleties like stains, fading, smudges and tears, unintended marks that organically build composition and depth and embody memory. Jamie Ashforth |
Memory six:
Introducing myself to
Jamie Ashforth and telling her that I appreciate her work. The worn clothing and found textile objects that she has stretched around wooden frames make a simple and powerful statement. Jamie introduced me to her aunt, grey haired like I am, who spoke about textile art "back in the day" when we were young too.
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| Susan: Poncho and wooden stretcher by Jamie Ashworth |
Memory seven:
Finding one of the curators,
Chris Mitchell, and speaking with her about the show. Ms Mitchell told me that she felt that this 10th edition of the Hard Twist exhibitions was the strongest so far. She said that there is a real need for venues for conceptual textile art and that the galleries don't give this genre enough space. She thinks that this hotel space works well.
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| Chapter 2 page 1, silkscreen and hand painted pieces of mylar and discarded embroidery punch cards by Anu Raina |
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| "This is a tribute to my beautiful mother to whom I had to bid good bye at the tender age of ten: Anu Raina |
Memory eight: needing to go down a level to cool off. It was really hot and crowded.
Memories nine and ten:
Looking at the art and photographing just a few.
Realizing that I need to go back. I need more reflective time and space. I need to not be so concerned with the networking aspect of being at an opening.
