Art and Science

Congratulations Lorraine Roy!

Her new body of work is entitled Woven Woods, a series of 12 circular textile works being shown at the Old Town Hall Art Gallery in Waterford, Ontario. The show is on until April 5, 2018.

It was nice the wall colour
complimented the work!
UBUNTU- Tree Rings

The works explore a thriving ecosystem that biologists discovered- Mother Trees and their vast communication system. She traveled to British Columbia for some of her research.

She said what helped guide her in this new direction was the Mineral exhibit (2014) I curated. Click here, here, here to see more about that exhibit. I was glad to hear that.

Below you'll see Lorraine's work from Minerals...

...and the similarity to Minerals from this show.

They really are spectacular LIVE. Go see the show!

UBUNTU- Germination, detail

The entire collection took 4 years to complete. Research, sewing, and living was in there too!

Textile Artist Lorraine Roy (left)
UBUNTU- Seasons

For more information about Lorraine's inspiration for this exhibit, click here.

Jazz Music

My favourite music to listen to while I work in my studio is jazz.

The jazz duo plays during PGW's 40th anniversary celebration
Alberta Room, Royal York Hotel

The station is Jazz Fm 91- best station ever! Canada's premier jazz station. It is on whenever I am creating, sewing and working in my studio.

Richard Underhill with his saxophone.

On his program from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., announcer Terry McElligott has a segment called "My Brush with Greatness" and I recently wrote in to share my crazy story about meeting musician Richard Underhill.

Richard Underhill and I in front of
my mineral piece,
Looking for Labradorite

My story was aired on Monday, April 22, around noon. Did any of you hear it? I listened on-line from Verona, Italy. How cool is that!

Looking for Labradorite was part of the Minerals exhibit at the PDAC in Toronto in March and also in Verona at Verona Tessile. It is one of 5 pieces selected from that exhibit to go to London for the EAGE conference in June.

Taking Down the Exhibits

The Canadians left early Sunday morning.

It was suppose to be my 'rest' day but instead I did an interview ...

An interview with art director, Daniel Kevorkian,
from KEVO.

Daniel filming my work Looking for Labradorite.

...and then helped out at the Loggia Barbaro. I explained the Minerals' exhibit. Some of the visitors were friends and students from other parts of Italy that I was happy to catch up with. All spectators were very interested in the works even if they were not in the textile field.

Work visible, Mica by Wilma Kenny

Work right: Fundy Flame Agate by Kate Madeloso

Work left: Memory Stone by Helena Scheffer

The prize ceremony took place the last day of Verona Tessile.

The President of Ad Maiora speaking at San Giorgetto.
Work by Canadian artist, Suzanne Neilson, hangs on the right.

It was packed.

Our tour guide, Christina Zuegg, received an award for her piece in the International Juried Exhibit "...E Lucean le Stelle".

The next day we took down everything.

Carolina and Luca taking a break outside San Giorgetto.

Today, they got packed up and are ready to mail back to the makers.

That timing is amazing! There were about 200 works. See what happens when people work as a team?

Found Paper

I use found paper in my textile work.

My mineral piece,
Looking for Labradorite
detail showing paper

What is found paper? It's paper that is FOUND.

And you can find paper in some wonderful places.

The piece of paper in Looking for Labradorite is from Arles, in the south of France. I found it while I was there on a holiday.

me in Arles-it was so windy that day
I had to sit down so my dress wouldn't fly up!

Well... I didn't really find it. I ripped it.

view from the top of the Arles amphitheatre

The Arles amphitheatre measures 136 m x 107 m.
The Colosseum in Rome measures 188 m x 156 m

It was an advertisement for a film, I think, and with the rain it had become unglued and was draping off the wall. The event was over so I decided to "find" it and I ripped it off. The raw uneven edge is very interesting.

fossils from the stone of the Arles amphitheatre

I have also used found paper in "My City", a collage I created for takepART 2012. The paper is from an advertisement that was on a pole in downtown Toronto. I specifically tore off the part with the letters.

The best time to find that kind of paper is after a rain.

Found paper seen in the creating stage.

Your found paper does not have to be found outside. Found paper can be a stamp from an envelope, a school child's homework, a chocolate bar wrapper, a page from a book that is falling apart.

Keep your eyes open.

Late Night and Early Morning

Five textile art pieces inspired by minerals were exhibited last night at the 40th anniversary party of PGW, consulting geophysicists.

Two works in the Alberta Room at the Royal York Hotel
 Fundy Flame Agate by Kate Madeloso from Nova Scotia (left)
"We dig. We cut. We polish. We colour our world!"
by Suzanne Neilson from Ontario (right)

I was setting up all 16 pieces of the MINERALS exhibit for the KEGS breakfast (Canadian Exploration Geophysics Society) at the Royal York Hotel this morning at 6:15 a.m.

I have never seen the Royal York main lobby empty.
Notice the time on the central clock.

Again so many compliments and many earth scientists came to speak to me as I was packing up the works three hours later.

The Imperial Room at the Royal York Hotel
For artists' names please view past posts.

I think these works would look stunning in an office! Click here for prices of the works.

More Mineral Pieces in the Imperial Room at the Royal York Hotel.
For artists' names please view past posts.

I am back home. Later I am packing up the works to send them to Verona for Verona Tessile.

Right now, I am going back to bed!

inspirational mineral: Labradorite

There are so many beautiful images of minerals. I was particularly interested in representing a mineral found in Canada.

Looking for Labradorite
79cm x 74cm
hand-dyed assorted fabric from Ms Emma designer S. Verna,
found paper from Arles, France,
magnetic map paper, machine stitched

I liked the variety of colours of the Labradorite and the black lines showing fractures on the rocks.

detail

I interpreted those straight lines as contour lines much like a geophysicist would do on a magnetic map.

detail

(text from the label of my piece for the Minerals exhibit I recently curated)

Copper Symposium

The MINERALS works are exhibited all day today at the Copper Symposium hosted by KEGS, Canadian Exploration Geophysical Society.

works from left to right by:
Pat Caffrey, Gordana Brelih. Wilma Kenny, Helena Scheffer, Sandra Reford,
Clare Kirby, Catherine Timm, Kate Madeloso

The textile art works that are in the meeting area will be enjoyed by geophysicists from across North America and around the world.

It is KEGS 60th anniversary this year so I am sure their event will be well attended.

works from right to left made by:
Sofia Verna, Suzanne Neilson, Lorraine Roy, Susan Johnson,
Joan Freeman, Anna Hergert, Joan Hug-Valeriote

During the set up, one geophysicist (works in Saskatoon) took tons of pictures! He was impressed!!

My apologies to Alice Vander Vennen who was one of the invited artists for this exhibit. Her piece arrived while I was at my grandmother's funeral in Montreal and I was unable to pick it up in time for the 6:30 a.m. set up. It will join the works in other events within the PDAC throughout the week.

Here is a glimpse of her art work.

Hidden Narrative,
25cm x 80cm
by A. Vander Vennen

Location Location Location

The location for the Minerals exhibit in Verona is Loggia Barbaro.

The exhibit Minerals will be in this building where you see
the arched windows.

It is in the historical centre of the city near Piazza dei Signori.

one entrance to the piazza

Our exhibit will be part of the textile event, Verona Tessile, from April 16 to 21, 2013.
(you can follow the preparation for the festival on their Facebook page)

BACK IN TORONTO...
I have received many emails of disappointment that the works will only be seen at the PDAC by the 30,000 people registered for the conference and that the exhibit is not open to the public. I agree, it is a shame.

The Sodalite Prospector, detail,
by Susan Strachan Johnson

I am open to ideas...anyone know of a place in Toronto where we can have the 16 works exhibited after they get back from Europe? (we are looking at September 2013)

More on Minerals

The 16 works for the MINERALS exhibit are stunning!

Fundy Flame Agate, detail
Kate Madeloso

The 16 Canadian artists are:

Gordana Brelih

Patricia Caffrey

Joan Freeman- see more of her work on Instagram: @gorgonjone

Anna Hergert

Joan Hug-Valeriote

Wilma Kenny- member of Kingston Fibre Artists
Clare Kirby

Kate Madeloso

Suzanne Neilson

Sandra Reford

Lorraine Roy

Helena Scheffer

Susan Strachan- Johnson

Catherine Timm

Alice Vander Vennen

Sofia Verna

I am so pleased with the works from Nova Scotia, Ontario, Quebec and Saskatchewan.

Her Love of Rocks, detail
Gordana Brelih

Potash=Potassium Carbonate, detail
Anna Hergert

Peas or Iron, detail
Clare Kirby

Salt of the Earth, detail
Sofia Verna

The stands have been designed and made. (Thanks Gordana!)

The labels are done.

It all looks very professional.

Next step: Bringing them down to the Toronto Convention Centre for the PDAC (Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada) from March 3 to 6, 2013.

(note: This is a private conference and the exhibit will not be open to the public...you could come to Verona and see the exhibit there...just a thought.)

"Minerals" Exhibit

The deadline for the Minerals call-for-entry was in early December.

Pisoliths

It is amazing to see so many different interpretations of "Minerals".

Calcite

We received many wonderful textile pieces from Ontario, Saskatchewan, Nova Scotia and even one from a Canadian living in Umbria, Italy!!

Pisoliths

The 6 member jury, made up of artists and scientists, have chosen the top 10 works to be exhibited at the PDAC (Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada) in March 2013 at the Convention Centre in Toronto. Six artists were invited to create a work to be added to these top ten selected for a total of 16 pieces.

Sodalite

There will be more posts about this exhibit in March, including pictures of the works.

Calcite

This exhibit has also been invited to be part of Verona Tessile, the international fibre festival taking place in Verona, Italy, from April 16 to 21, 2013.

(all mineral images from google)