Textile Museum Visit

I took the leap. I went somewhere that wasn't my own house or wasn't my friend's garden! 

An artist friend, Ginette Legaré and I went to a museum. OMG. The Textile Museum of Canada.

It's a small museum. It was perfect. I wore a mask. There was 2 other people in the entire museum because of their preordered tickets and timed entry. We saw them once but technically we didn't pass them as they were sitting down in one of the rooms. I walked to the museum and back. Good exercise!

We went to see Anna Torma's, Permanent Danger. Thirteen large-scale works. 

The gallery blurb says works from 2011...But exhibited was Party with Dionysos which was started in 2008 and finished in 2015. 

It's difficult to say when you start piece, there is much thinking and planning before you actually start and then sometimes the piece gets pushed aside for even a few years before you take it out again to finish it.  

The artist is from Hungary but immigrated to Canada in 1988. She lives in New Brunswick. I have been following her work for more than 15 years now.

My friend said when she and her sister go to see an art exhibit, they select one work they'd like to own. Mine was this one below.

Permanent Danger, 2017
Hand embroidery, reverse appliqué on three layers of linen fabric,
silk thread.

reverse side of Permanent Danger

I love all the embroidery on this piece. I love the back...maybe even more then the front. I'd hang it so you could see both sides. 

Artist Judith Martin often has the backs of her works hung so they are visible and are part of the message. 

Tip #8

It is always nice to add a label when you make a quilt.

The label can have any information you like on it.

I usually write the date I finished the quilt. Other options are:

Made by
Made for
City, Country it was made in
Reason it was made
A special message for the recipient
If you name your quilts, you may want to include its title.

You can embroider the information on by hand or my machine.

You can write it out using a fabric marker that will not wash away in the laundry. Available at art supply stores. They come in different point thicknesses.

When writing on fabric, it is a good idea to lay the fabric on a piece of sand paper so it doesn't move and stretch as you write.

More great tips to come.

Mongolian Textiles

This weekend I finally went to see the documentary Eagle Huntress. Gorgeous scenery warrants this film to be seen on the big screen.

Besides the magnificent mountains of Mongolia, the areal shots and the breathtaking panoramic views what I enjoyed was the embroidered clothing of the Kazakh people.

When they interviewed a local person in their home I had to read the subtitles when what I really wanted to do was look at the background textiles!

I wanted to see the embroidered clothing at the Eagle Festival close up!

I really should see it again and focus on that.

These pictures are NOT Mongolian textile. These hand-made hats are from Thailand. The stitching reminded me of what I saw in the movie...kind-of...

Last weekend for World of Threads

World of Threads, another success!! Congratulations to the festival curators, Dawne Rudman and Gareth Bate.

Waiting #1, Remembrance Women's Loss, detail
Glenys Mann
Australia

It is always a pleasure seeing the works. There is a wide spectrum of styles, techniques and materials used. I got to see things other countries are working on and it is inspiring to me as a maker myself.

Interactions #28: Head to Head, detail
Gerri Spilka
USA

This year's show included 315 works from 23 countries!

Pages from Life's Journey, Series 1
Sung Ja Kim Chisholm
Canada

There were 134 artists and lucky me, I got to see a piece from my favourite Judith Martin!

 detail of Judy Martin's work

The program booklet was also really well done, as always. Nicely formatted and all artists' works photographed were acknowledged! That doesn't always happen in Verona at their festival and I am forever reminding them to write the artist's name. It is important!!

Judy Maryin's work left
Tammy Radcliff's work, right
Canada

Thanks to these kinds of very professional exhibits, the textile art form is gaining legitimacy and importance in the art world. This festival has been running for over 20 years!

Fragment
Neha Puri Dhir
India

Make an effort to see it if you can get out to Oakville.

Embroidery Festival

The Mostra di Ricamo is held in Valtopina every year on the first weekend in September.

Detail from Maria Grazia Giacomini
work exhibited at the museum
(it is a reflection)
area Trieste

 There are many booths where one can view the skilled workmanship of some very ancient embroidery and lace making techniques.

The mayor and the organizers welcoming
everyone to the opening.
Work above/below by Ilana Efrati

We also saw some innovative things.

Gorgeous work from Ilaria Margutti

There was some patchwork as well.

The town was lined with wrapped trees. Gorgeous!

We walked over to the small but impressive Textile Museum to see the "Il Filo Infinito, la Pace" (Infinite Thread of Peace) exhibit curated by Elvira Guglielmi.

There were 2 other exhibits to see on the walk back to the main area.

We stayed on the grounds for lunch and were ready for our 3 pm class with art therapist, Tiziana Luciani. She is an author and works in Assisi and Milano as well as collaborates with a university in Venice.

She taught an exhilarating workshop where we used the idea of a ball of yarn to express all the big moments in our lives.

We had a full day once again.

"In My Hands"
my piece from the workshop.

Today is our last day, actually!  I can't believe we are leaving tomorrow morning!

One of the travellers journal pages

Another traveller's first day entry

Still another traveller's second day entry

Carolyn's book is full!
She wrote some beautiful things!

People are packing as I write this. Outside there is some far away folk music.

Hand Embroidery

In the late 1960's households in Italy started purchasing washing machines.

With that, they also needed to buy laundry soap. That became a competitive market.

Some companies put "prizes" in their boxes to encourage shoppers to select their product.

The oval shaped boxes were made of cardboard. A company put hand-embroidered linen towels in their boxes. My friend's mom collected all 4 designs.

The difference was in the border colours; some were yellow, some blue, some pink, some light green. The flowers were exactly the same.

The  embroidery is hand done. The appliqué is super tiny and looks hand done but I think it maybe machine appliqué. Made in China.

The other embroidery sample I have for you is this one.

It was made about 100 years ago by a friend's friend.

It was originally the front of a parasol cover and had a kind of felted back but by the time my friend got it the back was ruined so she recycled it into a bag.

All hand done.

The underside was gorgeous and so neat! (forgot to take a picture)

Australian Textile Artist

                                       

Lucky me.

I got an email from Australian textile artist and author, Dijanne Cevaal, who will be passing through Verona, Italy, next week.

We met in Parma, Italy, in 2011 and I haven't seen her since although we have emailed. I also signed up for an on-line course of hers.

I am looking forward to catching up and hearing all about her works and her adventures worldwide.



To see more of my posts related to D. Cevaal click here , here , and here.

(Images are taken from the internet. All works/particulars by Dijanne Cevaal)

Women

I am part of a wonderful group of ladies in Verona, Italy, called Ad Maiora.

The group started almost 25 years ago by 6 friends who wanted to be together. To laugh. To share ideas. To help others.

The patchwork, the textile art and the knitting came later. The needle arts were something to do together. Someone enjoyed those skills and wanted to share them with others. The group is not a guild.

It is a fabulous network of women who support each other and are open-minded when it comes to new initiatives. We do community work. Our efforts have supported women in many countries- Kenya, Lesotho, Georgia, India, Italy. We are 80 members this year. Enrolment in past years reached 120.

With International Women's Day that just passed (March 8), I was reminded that many women still experience violence against them. Women are denied education. Women can not be independent. Women are not respected.

I look at my life and the choices I and my daughters are able to make. I am grateful to live in Canada and to have raised my children here.

(Images taken from the Textile Museum of Canada in Toronto. Sujuni hanging entitled "Peaceful Collaboration After the World Without Men" (1990-2000), embroidered by 2 co-operatives in India. The work is inspired by group discussions about their makers' lived experiences and the conditions they hope to change.)

Approximate size 60" x 80"

Antique Quilts

Over the years I have bought a few antique quilts. They are lovely to hold and definitely nice on a bed. The cotton has soften after so many washes.

a log cabin from my collection

The fabric choices are always interesting since no one went out and brought the "right" colours. They repurposed fabrics they had from a  dress or apron and used fabric sample booklets.

I love the hand embroidery added to the
 blue and white gingham. Clever addition!

While I was in Verona last week, I found out Jen Jones will be exhibiting her antique Welsh quilts during Verona Tessile. She will also be giving a lecture.

I like this one but ended up not buying it in the end.

You can watch a video of Jen Jones talking about her collection by clicking here.

This quilt is so soft from all the washings. I like the white tufts from the ties.
I also like the circles that come into view as your eyes scan the quilt.

If you want to join me in Verona for 10 days/9 nights and see her quilts and enjoy the city and the entire textile event (exhibits, classes, tours and great food!) click here for information.

Well Made Quilts are a Pleasure to See

I visited the York Heritage quilt show. It was on for only two days.

It's like a stained-glass! It was gorgeous!
by Kim Workman

Another quilt that brought back images of European
 church stain glass.
Work by Lynne Lee

Back in 2012, I included one of Robert Gutcher's quilts for the exhibit I curated, Tradition in Transition which was shown in France. His machine quilting is superb! His sense of colour appeals to me. I have a similar pattern that I kept from about 15 years ago and I may tweak it and use it for my Spring Clean-Up class I host in the spring. The aim for those classes is to use up your stash and not buy any new fabric. This quilt design would fit in for sure!

Quilt by Robert Gutcher
This quilt sparkles like a jewel!

I like the woven pattern below. The colours are definitely the hot choice these days. They follow the trends of the Modern Quilt Movement.

by Valerie Prideaux
The label stated:
Made with permission of the artist Eleanor McCain

The one shown below wasn't as flashy as some of the others but effective nonetheless.

machine pieced and quilted by Linda Morse
inspired by a Denise Schmidt design

It is a guild show that I try to attend because the works exhibited always demonstrate great skill!

I was able to purchase a few hand-made gifts to give away to my Verona friends when I visit them this week.

Hand-made ornament using felted wool, hand embroidery,
  beads and an antique button at the centre
 by Sandy Lindal

I always hear, 'I can make that', when I am shopping at these stands but why not buy something anyway and support makers!