art

Get Yourself to the Esker – Pronto!

Recently I had the privilege of attending an exhibition tour conducted by Naomi Potter titled “Colour Chart”. It took place at the Esker Foundation  in Calgary, where the current exhibitions are titled Jack Bush: In Studio, and Colleen Heslin: Needles and Pins. These exhibitions work incredibly well together. As much as I enjoyed the work when first arriving at the gallery, my appreciation grew as we learned more and more about these two artists. I can’t wait to go see it again! These exhibitions run until May 8, so if you are anywhere in the Calgary area – you have no excuse to miss them.

If you have never visited the Esker Foundation – what the heck are you waiting for? Rather than repeat myself about how incredible this place is, please check out my post Amazing Calgary Art Experience. Seriously people, what do I have to do to convince you? How about this – admission and underground parking are free. Got it? Now get going.

Here are a few photos of Colleen Heslin’s work. Colleen works with fabrics which she has dyed (linens and cottons) and sewn together to form her wonderful works of art. You must see them to appreciate them.

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Thanks for stopping by. Hope you get out to see this show. You’ll thank me for it.

 

Contextural Artisan Sale

Our very succesful sale is all over, but I wanted to share a few shots taken after set up. I don’t think you can imagine the chaos  that was evident a couple of hours earlier when a dozen people arrived with all their goods and we had to start “making the magic”! It was enough to make us all crazy, but within a couple of hours we had everything set up and everyone was happy (I think). Here goes:sale 1sale 2sale-3.jpgsale-4.jpgsale-5.jpgsale 6sale 7sale 8sale

Something has changed on this website and I’m not sure what this post will look like, but I don’t have time to play around so I hope you can see everything clearly.

Next post I’ll try to share what I’m up to – assuming I can load the photo that I need…

 

double screened quilt fabric

Drat! What happened to July?

Now it seems I can’t even manage to post on my blog once a month. How sad! But the good news is that I’ve been busy printing fabrics and creating screens in readiness to print more wonderful things. For the third consecutive summer I am taking part in a self-directed residency program organized by Contextural, utilizing the textile facilities at ACAD. This amazing opportunity is too good to pass on, and I’m afraid most other things in my life are put on hold for 3 months. We all know how fast 3 months can whip by, so it really isn’t that long, right?

Last summer I spent almost my whole residency printing on commercially printed quilt fabrics to alter or enhance the fabric, and to basically make it my own. I started this summer off by bringing in many of those fabrics and printing another layer on them. I’m delighted with the results, but I wanted to do other things as well. My next adventure in silkscreening involved printing imagery over the surface of a large variety of upholstery samples. I have used similar samples (unprinted) to make pin cushions, and the next round I make should be more interesting. We shall see.

My most recent work involves printing on purchased napkins, tea towels, table runners, place mats and table cloths. A large number of these will be available for sale at the Contextural sale in November. It seems early to start, but then again – we all know how fast 3 months can slip by! (Everyone knows that summer is printing season.) Here are photos of some of my work so far this season.

double screened quilt fabric double screened quilt fabric 2 double screened fabrics X design on upholstery fabric paisley design on upholstery fabric dash design on upholstery fabric circle design on upholstery fabric printed tea towels printed table runners leaf design on napkin

We’re having lovely hot weather here in Calgary, and I stayed home to write this post and do a few things around the house before I head to the art college. The long week-end is a perfect time to work – quiet studio and free parking. (Don’t get me started on the $10 parking fee charged by SAIT!) (Did I mention no in and out privileges?)

There will be an exhibition at the end of the month, showcasing work done by residency participants. I’ll post details – I promise! Until then, I’d better get to work.

quilt borders

work goes on

Slowly and steadily I continue to work on my quilts, and would people please quit asking what I’m going to do with them? I’ll let you know when I figure it out! Until then I’ll just keep working. This week I finished the hand sewing of the bindings on 3 more quilts (which means they are completely done!!!!). I also carved and stamped some images on my 2 newest quilt tops, sewed the backs, completed the labels AND got them into the mail for quilting. Yes, I’m pleased.

Now I’m sewing strips of fabric together to create my own “striped fabric”. I have a couple of ideas for the next quilts, but I need my “created” stripes to work with. Hopefully I’ll come up with something interesting. We shall see. Here are some tidbits of my work in progress.printed quilt top

hand carved stamps on quilt date stamp hand carved stamps on quilt striped fabric striped fabric