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.

in Marian Bijlenga's studio

Last May, I had the privilege of visiting dutch artist Marian Bijlenga in her studio in Amsterdam.

I was there with other members of the European Textile Network who attended the Leiden conference in 2015.

Marian Bijlenga creates serene, contemplative drawings from small elements.  The little parts that make up the larger whole are similar but never identical.  The artist takes her inspiration from nature, the curves and movement of leaves on the trees, the swirling motion of water, the fungus that grows on rocks and trees.

Marian was very generous and showed us her methods of working, her walls of inspiration, her collection of art, and the loft where her children would sleep when they were little.

a wall in Bijlenga's studio

a wall in Bijlenga's studio

She has had this studio for 30 years.  There are two buildings close together with 120 artists working in them.  Above you can see a glimpse of her wall of postcards  that she calls her 'brain'.

Her materials are dyed horsehair, cotton thread.  She can manipulate the horsehair into circles and other shapes.

These she sews into a water soluble fabric which is then washed away.  Her technique gives the pieces a look of fragile transparency, but they are actually quite strong.  The cast shadow on the wall is part of the work.  A video of this process is here.

Every two years, Bijlenga creates small spiral bound albums that record her recent work as well as the exhibitions and her sources of inspiration.  These are personal records.

 She makes small samples of 3 inch squares and puts them together as an archive.  

Her newest book of sixty miniatures has just been published.

Marian Bijlenga doesn't do commissions.  She works alone and rarely teaches.
Although her work keeps evolving, it remains true to her personal aesthetic.
I plan to write more about her work and will indicate that article with a link here.

Canadian Contemporary Textile Collection - stitching

Dorothy Caldwell Untitled 1985  gold leaf, discharged cotton, resist, thread

This post is just a brief note about my visit to Cambridge Ontario today to see the Contemporary Textile Collection in the Idea Exchange gallery-library system there.   There are three exhibitions on now that feature the permanent collection of the gallery, which for over twenty-five years has had a focus on contemporary Canadian artists who work with textiles.

We went to the Queens Square gallery and to Preston gallery but were not able to go into the Design at Riverside Gallery because it is closed on Monday.  The two exhibitions that we did see were thoughtfully installed, with respectful space surrounding each piece or group of pieces.

Anna Torma Troubadour Song Part I 'she' and Troubadour Song  Part II  'he'  1998 

This post is focused on those artworks that are hand stitched.

Several pieces in the exhibition are by some of Canada's most beloved textile artists.

Heather Cameron Arbor Vitae 2012 crewel embroidery on canvas

One of Heather Cameron's set of new embroideries that translate the fantastical drawings of Louis Nicolas, 17th C French missionary to the new world, is included in the permanent collection and was part of the exhibition at the Queen's Square gallery.

Her careful enlargements of his naive renderings of native flora and fauna use the intimate method of hand embroidery and we are touched.   We wonder.  How strange it must have seemed.

Kirtley Jarvis  Victoria Hospital, 1991  2001 hospital linen, wool

Kirtley Jarvis also translates ink on paper into thread on cloth, basing much of her work on found lists and hand written notes.  This piece shows the shopping list her mother made as Christmas approached while she was in the emergency waiting room at a hospital as her husband sank into a brain tumor.   He wrote 'Billy Mink', his father's pet name for him on the surgery consent form.

Shuyu Lu  Welcome To The Village  2010 cotton, thread

The exhibitions continue until Feb 21 (Riverside) , Feb 28 (Queen's Square) and March 6 (Preston)
I wrote about just the stitching in this post, but crochet, felting, weaving, basketry, sculpture (such as Kai Chan's dyed bamboo and tooth pick pieces) are included in the exhibition.

Susan Bidinosti  Leave (the nest) 2006  paper and thread

 There is a call for entry out now with deadline of March 28 for fibre artists based in Canada.  here.

ten artists who work with cloth

Lindy Fyfe's Interweave series
Paintings using a complex substrate - sweaters found in thrift shops
Showing in the World of Threads festival until November 30

 Lindy Fyfe's above piece is showing at the world of threads festival 's main venue in Oakville Ontario.  Lindy is from Toronto, Ontario.

Lindy Fyfe's Interweave piece above - showed at Fibreworks in Idea exchange Cambridge. sept 12 - november 2, 2014.

Dagmar Kovar's installation in the Red and the Black exhibition, World of Threads festival, Oakville
There.......silk, cotton, dye 2014

 Dagmar Kovar - detail of There......  stitched.  Dagmar Kovar is from London, Ontario.

James Arendt's solo show at the world of threads festival, Oakville, Ontario November 2014
above:  Dad and Mom - life size figures

 Mom, reclaimed denim by James Arendt from South Carolina, USA.

 Dad, reclaimed denim - by James Arendt

Trina Perry Carlson  Cocoon 2012  vintage baby shoes, cotton and thread, solo show at world of threads main venue in oakville Ontario - continues until November 30.  Trina Perry Carlson is from Seattle, Washington, USA.

Merce Mitchell  Pod (Marigold) 2014  wool, beeswax, marigold petals, thread, felted, solo show in corridors of Oakville's main venue, World of Threads festival.  Merce Mitchell is from Taos, New Mexico, USA.

Kirsten Lund  Transfuser  2014   cotton, muslin, cotton floss, in the corridors exhibition venue , World of Threads festival, oakville ontario.  Kirsten Lund is from Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA.

 Victoria Carley   Apollo 2014  dress and upholstery fabrics and cotton floss

Victoria Carley   We Saw it Shoot Across the Sky  2014   dress and upholstery fabrics, floss.  Victoria Carley is from Toronto, Ontario.

We Saw it Shoot Across The Sky - detail shown above
All three of these pieces are in the World of Threads exhibition in the main venue...a solo exhibition of her pieced art work.

 Victoria Carley   Heaven and Hell 2012, dress and upholstery fabrics, floss

Pat Loucks   Skin Deep series 2013

More of the Skin Deep series by Pat Loucks.  Re-purposed cotton and silk fabrics, plant and earth pigments, stitch.  Pat Loucks is from Bedfor, Nova Scotia, Canada.

Pat Loucks, Skin Deep series  2013.  Photo above as installed in corridor galleries in the main venue of the World of Threads festival.   Address :  2302 Bridge Road, Oakville, Ontario.  free admission.  Monday - Saturday 10 am - 6 pm.  Sunday noon - 5 pm.

Susan Avishai  deconstructed man's shirt, wire  Gyre and Gimble 2013  showing in the exhibition entitled Strung out and Undone at the Living Arts Centre gallery in Mississauga, Ontario until the end of November.

Susan Avishai  deconstructed mens shirt, wire, thread - He's Come Undone 2014.  Susan Avishai is from Toronto, Ontario, Canada.  The exhibition in Mississauga was curated by Megan Press and is part of the World of threads festival.

Amanda McCavour   Neon Field 2014 and ongoing - polyester thread, starch

Amanda McCavour's work is in the Mississauga Living Arts Centre exhibition of the world of threads festival.  Amanda McCavour lives in Toronto, Ontario.

I have seen an incredible amount of excellent textile art recently.  I am just sorry that time and space only allow for ten artists from the group exhibitions I viewed in Cambridge, Oakville and Mississauga.  The World of Threads festival is really very stimulating and shouldn't be missed.   I wasn't able to see everything so allow yourself enough time if you are planning to go.