My work takes care of me

october 11

Making something slowly with one's hands is perhaps one of the most nourishing things one can do

october 15

As I get older I worry less and less about making a product that others might like.  Instead, I want to spend the time I have left allowing my work to be as intuitive as possible.  

I want to be led by feelings, not thought.

The Sleeping Giant peninsula
in the foreground, pier 2 of the new Prince Arthur's Landing waterfront park
with Mark Nisenholt's digital images of awake giants on lantern sculptures  
read about them here. 

Ned and I went to Thunder Bay last weekend to attend the celebration of life for Sandy, one of our longtime friends.  Thunder Bay is a special place for us because we met at the University there. He was in his second year of the new Forestry degree program and I was in Teacher's College. The city is finally developing the waterfront and we stayed in the new hotel right on Lake Superior.  I was so glad to be able to glimpse the Sleeping Giant from the window of our 7th floor room.  The Sleeping Giant is famous in the area and I’ve written about it on this blog before.   2013 here and 2008 here. 

november 3

Visiting Thunder Bay is full of emotion for both of us and we took some time to drive in our rental car through the grandeur of this beloved northern Ontario area.  Ned loves maps and we used an old map from his huge collection.  

november 3

It's one of our favourite ways to spend time together. 

november 3

About my work again:  

One of my ideas is to go back to making old folk patchwork quilts and using the fabrics that I come across in my studio almost by chance.  

I want to use what comes immediately to hand.

I want my work to take care of me and provide me with answers. 

november 3

I stitched during the drive, and also took photos out the window. 

november 4  

Back in Toronto, I was able to spend time with the grandchildren before their bed times and then in the evening, I continued stitching red thread into this yellow cotton piece.

The serenity found in a field of hand stitch is almost a religious experience.

november 5

On Tuesday we returned home via the north bound 400 highway.  It's a six hour drive from Toronto to Manitoulin.

Americans were voting for a new president on the day we drove home.  

november 6

I stayed up until 3 am to watch him accept the presidency.

The CBC newscasters and observers helped me to understand what seemed like an impossible event.  It was most certainly an historical one.  

I've named this quilt Prayer Cloth.

Hold Me

I made this quilt just as we were moving from Kenora to Manitoulin in 1993.

I remember stitching it in the truck during the 2-day drive back to Kenora to organize the moving van.  We left our kids with Ned's sister so that they could continue to attend their new schools.

I remember the beautiful views of autumn colour along the north shore of Lake Superior.
I remember quiet time with my husband in the vehicle as we drove back to the house I had loved.

I stitched, he drove.
We talked and looked out the window.

The text in the quilt borders is by Diane Ackerman from her book A Natural History of the Senses.  It reads:
When you consider something like death, then it probably doesn't matter if we try too hard, are awkward sometimes, and care for one another too deeply, in an effort to know life.

I entered the quilt into the biennial Fibreworks show in Cambridge galleries the following spring, and it was awarded the purchase award by the jurors, one of whom was Ralph Beney.
It became part of the permanent Canadian Fibre art collection and has been in the vaults of that gallery for over 20 years.  Hard to believe.

I am moved to write about this piece today, (and scan the old slides I have of it) because the Cambridge Art Galleries are showing the entirety of the collection this winter.  The launch is next week and there will be a symposium about the collection in January.

I believe that it is important for public galleries to collect work of artists.
I am so proud that Hold Me is part of this particular collection.

Also, my work is in permanent collections of two other art galleries, both in northern Ontario.  Click on their titles for more info. When Asked: She Replied  and Canadian Pioneer.

clouds of time

 the sleeping giant, under his cloud blanket

 cloud of time, mended world

 earth ark, layers of time, precious water

 not to know,  but to go on   220 feet installed

 there is a catalogue available from the gift shop , thank you Thunder Bay Art Gallery

trinity and book of hands

 the sleeping giant, seen from our prince arthur hotel window every morning

 

Ned and I were married in thunder bay 40 years ago and this trip home was very special and romantic.