My quilts help me to be brave.

Last Tuesday Rachel from Breaking the Blocks / Crafty Monkees interviewed me.  She asks artists to talk about their lives and how their artwork helps them cope. I woke up that morning wondering what I might say. 

What are my "blocks"?  

How do I "break" them?  

One block would be isolation but the internet broke that one for me. 

Another could be the mothering of four kids.   Many people would say this.

Except that I truly believe that motherhood gave me a subject and a reason to create so it was not a block for me.  It was a door.

Maybe I could talk about the breakthrough that happened when I became aware of my inner world and how huge it is and how stitching gives that world to me.  

It's interesting that this interview comes along at the same time as I've been working on my memoir.

My recent self study gave me more confidence when I spoke with Rachel.   

1.  I grew up in an isolated rural place with lots of books and art supplies and plenty of solitude.

2.  I met and married Ned early and had the four kids.  We determined to raise them with natural beauty outside their door.  Around age 30 I discovered how I could use traditional quilt pattern as a code to tell the intimate stories that were happening in my life.  I did a lot of teaching of watercolour painting, art quilting and classical piano for about 20 years along with full time parenting.  It was a busy time. 

3  In 2005, we had an empty nest and this began a new period.  Digital photography.  The internet.  

In 2006, I started writing this blog.   I took a degree in embroidery from the UK.  I retired from in-person teaching.  Over the next twenty years I stepped back into solitude and into the inner world.  

4  I guess that I am now in the period of my 'late work'.  

The unavoidable fact of life is death, but handmade quilts challenge that.  My quilts will outlive me.

Human mortality is a major 'block' for everyone but those of us who create hand-made objects break that block.   

All the images in this post are of a piece that I thought was finished.  See it here on my website.   I cut it in half up the middle and put a lovely wool batt in between the two pieces.  I've really been enjoying stitching it during this beautiful month of May.  

The title will stay the same:  Sky With Many Moons.

The podcast is available where ever you get your podcasts. Rachel called our podcast The Art of Imperfection.  Here is a link.   

Irene F Whittome

Irene F Whittome  First Words  1982  encaustic, plaster cloth on wood, collection of the National gallery of Canada

I started this post because I wanted to write about the stunning painting I saw by Irene F Whittome five years ago in the National gallery of Canada. (above)

sarah nishiura  big quilt

I wanted to write about the impact of that painting on me.  I saw it just as the gallery was closing and the guards hurried me past it, so I made a quick sketch from memory.  I came across the sketch yesterday and searched out the painting online, and found it on the National Gallery site.

root connection

Thank you Arlee for helping me to get Irene's painting from the National Gallery site.

It's really large (nearly 100 inches or 248 cm square) and in two parts.
It has high contrast - red and white encaustic, and it uses the archetype of the cross.
Why do some paintings hit you in the heart?

When I see a painting or a quilt on the internet that has that kind of impact, I save it.  I don't have a pinterest board, but like to visit the site every now and then and poke around.  How else do we learn what we like?

I am showing a few here that remind me (as Irene's does) to work with simple shapes and to consider high contrast.  Click on their names to see more of each artist's work.

ingrid press

Irene F Whittome is a Canadian artist who has been given one of the highest honours our country can give to an artist.  The Order of Canada.  Here is her web site but I could not find the painting from the National Gallery on it.  I did find many other really thought provoking works.

Irene's painting First Words uses the archetype of the cross.
The cross is just implied in the painting.  It is erased.
My sketch done from memory didn't erase the crosses!  In fact, my sketch was covered with crosses.
I was surprised to see the painting on the web site (see it with a quick link to here.)

ingrid press

This post is a bit of a ramble.
I thought I would also give an update on my left LEG.

I am now feeling much better, although I am still using a walker.
I had to have a second surgery on July 4 to drain what looked to be an infection.
As I heal from the inside out, I am being protected with strong anti-biotics.
Being mended.

sophie truong

Thank you for all your good wishes.

women's work, women's worth

I am re-blogging  someone else's post
about women's self esteem
and speaking out loud about our own worth
and our own work.
Arlee Barr shared it on facebook, which is how I found it.
Here it is:        The Pale Rook - June 5

However, all the images in this post are of the vintage crazy patchwork art-piece that Julia McCutcheon brought in to share with the slow stitch group last week.  She'd brought it in before, but I didn't have my camera with me and I asked her to bring it again so that I could photograph it.

 I thought that you might enjoy the zig zags and the birds,

the red thread,

 and the re-purposed hems from vintage linens.

The outlining of those perfect bits, discovered and saved.

Canadian Textile Artists

A post with three videos of prominent Canadian textile artists exhibiting in Ontario right now.   

Ottawa:  Sandra Brownlee just won the Saidye Bronfman award, one of eight Governer General's awards for visual and media arts.  An exhibit of five of her major pieces will be on display beginning March 28 at Canada's National Gallery.  This video was put out by the government of Canada.



Toronto:  And Heather Goodchild's exhibit is at the Textile Museum of Canada until April 13.  This video from Canadian art showcases not only her work, but also two other prominent Canadians, Kai Chan and Lyn Carter. 


Canadianartschool.ca: Textile Art from Canadian Art on Vimeo.


Peterborough:  Dorothy Caldwell's exhibition Silent Ice/ Deep Patience opened at the Art Gallery of Peterborough on the weekend.  Joe Lewis shared this video of her collections so beautifully displayed.  How many of us have thought of doing something like this?  Wow, Dorothy.



I do plan to get to all three exhibitions in person, but isn't it fantastic that we can see the work and listen to the artists speak for themselves through the internet.  

quote of the day

cross my heart    detail     2010    Judith e Martin   hand stitched

Karma is the eternal assertion of human freedom. 
Our thoughts, our words, our deeds are the threads of the net which we throw around ourselves.

Vivekananda

Jennifer's book of tea

 Sometimes all you need is something tangible.

 I woke up so early again, thinking about all the things I have to do over the next few weeks.   And there was Jennifer's book on my studio table. 

It had arrived last week, but I was too busy to say  anything.  Not even an email to her letting her know it had safely arrived.  Jennifer, thank you.  It is beautiful.  It is heart full. 

She also sent me a hand stitched card.
I am touched by her touching and by her time spent.

" our artifacts tell more about ourselves than our confessions"  Joseph Brodsky

Be safe today, my friends.

Quilt National

Cross My Heart, 2010 silk fabric, silk threads, hand stitch (detail)

Quilt National 11 is touring in the U.S.A. presently, (schedule here) and last week it opened in San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles and will be there until the end of April.

I haven't been keeping track of the tour and so was pleased when Darra Williamson contacted me yesterday to tell me about the review she has put on the See How We Sew blog. Thank you Darra for including my piece in your review along with quilts by Katie Pasquini Masopust, Bonnie J Smith, Fenella Davis, and Patty Hawkins.

There are two videos produced by Mel Van Dusen about the San Jose part of the QN tour, both nearly 30 minutes each. part 1 and part 2 (Bonnie J Smith's moving talk about getting her acceptance emails in the part 2 video, brought a tear to my eye.)

It's still exciting for me to think that I am in this show.

thinking again

I've been thinking more about the Ontario Craft Council.

I'd say that the most important thing I got from being a member in those early years was the magazine, Ontario Craft, filled with stimulating images and text.

Looking at other people's artwork challenged me to work harder and get better.

Today, the internet connects artists to information, opportunities and images of beautiful and thought provoking art. I can't quite name what it is I'm feeling. Not isolation. Something else.

blessings

the hogmanay blessing

Pinned to our entry way wall. Tiny, about 7 inches square. Cut from a work in progress because I just like this part.

Beside the coat closet for at six months, maybe longer. One day I'll finish the edges, maybe.

'the blessing of the spirit upon this house' is the first thing you see upon entering our home. An amulet, maybe.

To all of you who read this blog, thank you for giving me a place to say how I feel, to record what I've recently read, to show what I've made. Blogging has made me feel connected and understood.

My very best wishes for a creative 2012 for all of us.

Blessings.

magic feathers

keep your mouth shut guard the senses and life is ever full open your mouth always be busy and life is beyond hope Tao Te Ching Yesterday's circle stitching was learning how to make magic feathers. The feathers are for Jude Hill's beautiful internet quilt gift project.

Jude's blog, Spirit Cloth, is one I visit regularly. Her imaginative genius with stitch and her spiritual voice keep me believing in the good power of an internet community.

Jude has made an excellent video with full stitching instructions on how to make one of these magic feathers. Just click on the magic feather graphic in the sidebar to read more.

We'll be making more next week at our circle. If it's not possible to attend, it's still possible to contribute a feather. I'll send a bunch to Jude before the end of this year.

and still maintain a normal life

and still maintain a normal life, wax batik on cotton, hand stitch on wool flannel, 2010 I've made many pieces over my long career that show though metaphor how we each have two sides. A side we present to the world and a much more interesting 'inside'. This piece, however, is an attempt to just show our inner world. That too is a duality.

This piece is about our time, and being in it. One half is slow, but it seems fast. It seems a whirl. When joined together, the two halves make a whirlwind.

Please visit the World of Threads Weekly Interviews on my side bar or click here to read and view my interview with Dawne Rudman and Gareth Bate. It's beautiful and I am very honoured to be included.

My life is a whirlwind right now.

Celebrate

Two things to celebrate yesterday. The first was that it was his birthday, and we went for a boat ride after dinner. He fished. I stitched. Blues turned to golds.


The second thing? We finally have high speed internet. After five years of posting this blog with a dial up connection, this is a reward indeed.

Photos of Cross My Heart, my quilt national entry, are now posted for those interested. Please click here.

indigo hand work

The time I spend hand stitching is evident. In fact, time may be the most potent material that I use. Artwork made by hand is a physical outward attempt to communicate something terribly inner.


Thanks v much to Deepa for the chemanthi stitch tutorial and Penny for the private lesson. I visited Deepa's blog after seeing the stitch on Chris's blog and then on Penny's blog. It's so nice to be part of this wide world community.

Miriam Schapiro

Dollhouse 1972

Bits of fabric, discarded small objects and personal momentos traditionally collected by women but seldom used or exhibited in public. The house is on a tall podium.

It is both house and shrine.

Rooms: nursery, artist studio
In the windows: grizzly bears, the kremlin Artist's Studio

The house gives reminders of the constant danger of spiritual death that confronts the creative woman.

A private space made public.

In this piece, Schapiro and collaborator, Sherry Brody, made art of woman's lives. Their house validates the traditional activities of women.
The Seraglio Room

Merely to speak out, to describe the daily ways of your life, are political.

The images are from a variety of places on the web. Miriam Schapiro's dollhouse was included in the important installation Womanhouse 1972. It is now part of the Smithsonian collection. The text is from my 1995 journal.