Edward Burtynsky's work was at the ROM

I have seen his photographs in galleries in several cities. He is my absolute favorite photographer- a Canadian who has achieved international recognition for his large format photographs of industrial landscapes. I think his works are beautiful and often his subjects are disturbing- our world and its pollution. Below is the photograph of his work I took at the museum.

Oil Spill #2, Discoverer Enterprise
Gulf of Mexico,
May 11, 2010,
Chromogenic print
To see his work for sale, click here.

The image reminds me of Yoko Okuyama's scarf.

Yoko's painting digitally transfered onto silk.

The silk scarf is signed
The fabric under it is from Bhutan.

I'm glad MY ocean off the coast of Italy does not look like that!

our summer spot

I leave today.

Another Cooking Clip

Siamo Donne has edited another of the video recipes I did last May while in Verona.

pancakes and maple syrup

This one is way less serious! But what is with that eyebrow??

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bIn9frIjX-Y

If you remember from previous blogs, Marina, the host, is a textile artist.

blunder

I really blew it with my mini art work this morning.

don't look!

I believe even when things go wrong there is a positive lesson.

Find it.

quiet down

Making the stars has reminded me how much I like hand sewing.
How quiet it is as an activity.
How different it is from my daily life.

I appliqued a piece of silk by hand onto painted cotton.

I embroidered.

Did you know that basting a work using a tailor's basting stitch holds the layers of the work better that a running stitch?

I wasn't sure about the embroidery. I did not want it to fight with my painted design. I can always take it out if I decide it is the wrong thing.

For now I like it.

It's too damn hot

Toronto has been suffering an extreme heat wave. With the humidity, it felt like over 40 degrees celsius all week! I heard from friend in Italy that we made the BBC news with this heat.

I sat in the park in the shade of a tree to sew my little stars. There was a little breeze.

my new hand project-
mini stars made up of six 60 degree angle diamonds

I made some refreshing lemonade when I got home.

Perfect for snack.

Cool down!

Keep Smiling!

Making Sense

I have been asked by the 18th Carrefour Europeen du Patchwork to curate a show of textile, contemporary and traditional, that would demonstrate what is going on in textile in Canada at this time.

Judith Tinkl is one of the artists that has agreed to be part of the exhibit in France for September 2012. Her work was part of the exhibit, Making Sense, (900 Bay Street, Toronto, closes July 22). I went to see it today.

"Thanks to Mr Ammann" work by Judith Tinkl
71"x84"

There was a daycare group that was in the gallery while I was there. The teacher said, "Oh look. There is a blanket on the wall," and Megan, who looked about 4, corrected her and said, "It's a quilt."

I heard this little Megan say at the end of the visit that the quilt was her favorite.

Piece by Piece by Judith Tinkl, masonite

There is my foot to give the piece some scale

Both pieces are for sale.

giving

Can you read this? It says "GIVE MORE".

I gave someone a quilt. I know she appreciated it
and understood how many hours went into making it.

Today, I made a small gift for a 9 year old.

I am mailing this zippered case tomorrow

 I hope she likes it.

Happy Birthday, Charlotte.

Don't ask me why

About 4 years ago, I started sewing together strips, end to end, left over from my cotton fabrics, making one very long fabric string...which turned into a knitting project.

It goes with what I believe in - using what you have, making it work, managing. There is a word for this in italian- ARRANGIARSI. The people in the south of Italy understand this concept. They use it when they cook. They create wonderful meals from little!

Not sure how I will use it. Patience. The right use will show itself in due time.

I will keep knitting.

I do love the colours and texture.

Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition

This weekend Toronto held its 50th outdoor art event.

booths at Nathan Phillips Square

booths with the view of old city hall 

Amanda McCavour 's booth was my favorite.

Amanda and her installation

It was so fun standing under it and looking up!

Alice Vander Vennen is a textile artist that has exhibited at this show several times.

Alice in front of her work. She arrived at
 textile art through sculpture.

Dave Hind described his work to me as "quilts made of metal".

detail of the above work

Even the visitors were artists!

Dolores and her beautiful dress

 Dolores used the crocheted doilies her mom made
and appliqued them on a white dress.

It is good to see other artists' work. 

Where was I?  Didn't apply...too many trips to Italy!

Omni News interview

Click here to view the interview. (THE INTERVIEW IS NOT AVAILABLE AFTER SEPT. 1, 2011)

Click Italian News Ontario-July 7, 2011, which is on the right of the video screen.

The interview is at 17:50 minutes.

The interviewer, Laura D'Aprile, filmed all the works in the show. Two of them are mine. She also got some shots of some of my other art works and blankets that are not exhibited in the gallery.

My grandparents in circa 1965, Montreal
One of my pieces is about her.

quilt designs

Quilt: from the latin "culcita" meaning matress.

A quilt is a textile item consisting of three layers, a top-usually decorative, a middle- a padding of some kind, and a back or lining.

The three layers are held together with stitching or "quilting" which has the twofold task of uniting the layers and creating a decorative texture at the same time. (loosely quoted from the Italia Invita catalogue, 2011, in which, I might add, they have a nice little bit about me and my work, including photo of my work!)

catalogue page

I am always on the look out for some new, quilting-design inspirations.

bottom of a cappucino cup

metal door, Concordia Sagitarius, Italy

shadow

facade across the street from Casa Mila, Barcelona, Spain

  

facade, Verona, Italy

booklet showing plans for a floor heating system

points of a cactus

cement covered in flowers

T-shirt design

design in cement wall, verona

design in cement wall, verona

design on moroccan cup

window wrought iron

stone wall, verona

my quilting hands