Summer

We could feel the heat and humidity of summer in Toronto this week.

Silencis, detail, by Spanish artist, Olga Gonzales Angulo

With the heavy rains though not many were at the cafés.

Chairs and shadows at an outdoor bistro, Paris, France.

But it won't be long before we are out enjoying our short season.

Tuilerie Garden, Paris France.

I will have to try hand sewing again and leave the machine behind...or bring the machine outside?

Silencis, detail, by Spanish textile artist, Olga Gonzales Angulo.

Treasures Found and Finished

Coming back home after I have been away for a while gives me the opportunity to see the house from fresh eyes. I usually say something like, "What? I live like this??"

After throwing out stuff that is broken and unrepairable or recycling clothes, books and bikes, comes the studio clean-up.

I have found many quilt tops that were 75% to 90% done. I wonder why I never finished them?

I have started to finish them using fabric I have and only buying back fabric IF needed. Sometimes I can sew a few pieces together and make a very interesting back. The pictures of the quilt tops seen in this post are the ones I finished in the last ten days. Amazing!!

They'll be dropped off at the quilters soon.

Once they are quilted, we'll be able to use them and enjoy them or give them away as special gifts.

Much better than being in a cardboard box!

Stitch and Miss

Patchwork in clothes is sometimes stunning ...

Top Canadian designer, Joseph Helmer, made a patchwork maxidress of linen (2008)
photo in Elle Magazine (Canada) March 2008
photo credit: Leda & St. Jacques

...and sometimes not.

Patchwork skirt, Oscar de la Renta
photo credit: oscar PR girl's instagram

Sorry Oscar.

Quick Response Codes

Artist, Diane Mohan's work.

Diane Mohan's textile piece made from 1 inch squares.
"If I Can't Afford a Smart Phone How Do You Expect Me to Read This"
48" x 48"
It was part of "Alleged" an exhibited in March 2013
at the Propellor Gallery for Visual Arts 

Advertisement in the Paris subway for a sushi place.

Made with pieces of sushi.

Knitted art by Greta Grip for the exhibit Hard Twist at the Gladstone Hotel, Toronto.

"Watch Me"
One of 8 of a series.

If you use a QR code reader can you actually read the codes? I don't know because I don't have a smart phone.

Expression for All Senses

I saw this piece in Paris.

We Stopped Just Here at the Time, 2002, detail,
by Ernesto Neto (1964-)

It's installed in a perfect spot at the end of a hallway at the Centre Pompidou and can be seen from far away.

We Stopped Just Here at the Time, by Brazilian artist Ernesto Neto.

The viewer participates in a sensorial experience.

It's a sculpture made of fabric and spices- cloves, cumin, pepper, curcuma. The smells arouse the senses. I feel the weight of it by looking at it. From reading about this artist, I see many of his works are interactive but I saw no one venture into this space.

View of the top of the soft sculpture

You can see an interview where he speaks about another piece he installed, The Edges of the World, at the Hayward Gallery in London, England, by clicking here.

Subway Art

A patchwork of stone.

A detail of a mosaic in the Spadina subway station in the city of Toronto, Canada.

Click here for more on art and architecture at the Spadina station.