Colour with a U is still touring Canada and will be on display at The Muse, Lake of the Woods Museum in Ontario from April 6 to May 22, 2021.
Below Janet Scruggs shares the inspiration behind her Portraits, Women I Would Like to Have Met piece.
Janet Scruggs - Portraits, Women I Would Like to Have Met
When thinking about what makes Canada Canada, I thought about our history and
the contribution women have made. There have been so many that I decided to narrow my focus to the Arts. Still a vast array of women who have contributed to our culture. I decided to look at those who were “first” in particular categories of the Arts. This took significant research to narrow down each one of those categories to one woman I felt represented a significant contribution and a first in some way. In
researching each of these women, I felt they embodied characteristics I admired.
They each battled norms in society and often persevered through personal tragedies or difficulties to achieve their goals. Once I made the choice of whom to include, the task then became finding usable photos of each one. As I worked on each step in the process of creating the photos on cheesecloth and stitching, I felt myself becoming not only an admirer of these women, but a kinship and pride in their efforts and their courage.
Once I had picked the women, it was time to find a usable photograph. There are several sites that have public domain photos and scouring these took many days! Trying to track down and locate relatives to obtain permission of photos on other sites seemed too daunting a task with the time I had available. Sometimes there was only one photo available to use so I had to ensure that it was in the public domain, even if the photographer’s name was known. The next step was to convert these old photos to black and white (instead of browns) and bump the contrast as much as possible.
Next I used paper lamination to get the photos onto cheesecloth. As the title of the exhibition is Colour with a U, I decided to choose a vibrant colour of hand dyed cheesecloth for each of the women. Luckily I have an overflowing basket of hand dyed cheesecloth pieces to choose from! It saved a lot of time. I also needed to coordinate a fabric for the cheesecloth photo as well, but I have a lot of that also, so it wasn’t too big of a challenge. (I am determined to use only what I possess, so buying new fabric was out of the question.)
Those decisions made, it was time to work through getting the photos onto the cheesecloth. I used the same screen to apply the gel medium as I did want some consistency in the look of the photos, even though one is never too sure what the result will be. This meant doing some of them more than once - after all you do want the face to be there! I no sooner finished this part of the process and hung them upon my design wall when I realized that one photo was wrong - she was much to small within the photo compared to the others. So, back to editing and redoing that one.
With photos complete, hand stitching followed. Many evenings filled with embroidering the backgrounds and choosing part of their clothing and how to embroider it. I wanted some variety in the stitching so each one is unique. Finally with each one stitched, I sewed the individual portraits to a felt background by hand. Finished…… well almost.
I realized that if this became part of a travelling exhibit, the cheesecloth (not attached) would be scrunched and mushed up (technical language). So, I added small bits of Misty Fuse around each portrait to ensure that the cheesecloth stayed relatively in place. FINISHED! And, so thrilled when I found out it was accepted as part of the exhibit! While I cannot here provide each life story of these wonderful women, I would encourage you to read about them.
Briefly, they are:
Esther Hill - First female registered architect & award winning weaver.
Portia White - First internationally acclaimed Black Canadian concert singer.
A person of national historic significance.
Lucy Maud Montgomery - Author of Anne of Green Gables, one of the best selling books worldwide. A person of national historic significance.
Mary Augusta Hiester Reid - First Canadian woman to have a solo art exhibit and first woman to have her work in the National Gallery of Canada.
Mary Pickford - 1st Canadian woman to win an Oscar. Co-founder of United Artists Studio. A star on Canada’s Walk of Fame.
E. Pauline Johnson (Tekahionwake) - Mohawk/English author, poet and performer. First Canadian woman, Author and Aboriginal Canadian to be commemorated on a stamp. A person of national historic significance.
This year brings a new opportunity for learning, sharing and connecting with other art quilt lovers for SAQA's annual conference.
Ocean's Apart Connected by Art is open for registration now!
For this year, we’re going to beautiful Oceania—mainly Australia and New Zealand—for a deep dive into unique, exciting art quilts, and textile art. New York Times bestselling author Austin Kleon will discuss how quilting has inspired his work and ideas about creativity during quarantine. The world’s leading wearable art competition, World of WearableArt, will give us a special look behind the scenes. Prepare to be WOW'd!
To learn more about registration and conference details visit this link.
There are many wonderful things going on in our art quilt world despite the winter days and social distancing we are still enduring. Check out these details below for some interesting art calls and our next regional Zoom meet up.
Touch Call For Entry Reminder
Susan is accepting entries for the first SAQA Western Canada trunk show! Get your entries to her asap.
TOUCH - What touches you? What do you touch? Touch can be physical, emotional or spiritual. Touch is part of our well-being, an elemental form of communication, and a lack of touch can affect our physical and emotional health. We say ‘Keep in touch’ to those we wish to have contact with, ‘I’m touched’ as an emotional response or ‘don’t touch’ to keep people away.
Create an 8” x 10” piece (either orientation) in response to the theme of TOUCH; these will be assembled into a Trunk Show for Western Canadian members to share with groups in their area. The works will be mounted to an 8 ½” x 11” board but will NOT be covered in plastic when shown; the mounting will help protect the pieces from excessive handling and soiling but viewers will be able to see and visually touch the art without a screen of plastic film.
A plastic envelope will be used to protect the art during shipping and storage. This should be kept in mind when designing and constructing your art quilt; everything must be securely attached and nothing should extend beyond the 8” x 10” measurement or protrude more than ¼” above the surface. Edges may be finished in any way, be uneven or remain unfinished.
All information about the piece should be attached to the back of the board: title, artist info, artistic statement, materials and techniques.
Email your entry information and direct any questions to susanlselby@gmaildotcom
City of Lacombe, Alberta Artist Call
The City of Lacombe is seeking four Art Quilters / Fabric Artists to work collaboratively on an art quilt for the Servus Credit Union Room located in the Lacombe Memorial Centre. The Art Quilt will be comprised of four - 3’6”w x 6’ h panels. For example, each panel could be the same image shown in different seasons, or the four panels create one larger scene.
Details for eligibility and how to apply can be found here.
SAQA Western Canada Regional Zoom
Check your email for the Zoom details for the call happening Monday March 8 at 12:00pm Central, 11:00 am Mountain and 10:00 am Pacific time.
Celebrate wild animals in their natural environments. From amphibians to apex predators, depict or represent wild birds, fish, mammals, and reptiles doing what comes naturally. Go WILD!
We are visual communicators, and sometimes what we want to say cannot be said in words. Words may be insufficient to describe positive, satisfying, or deliriously happy emotions. Or words may fail us when we try to express strong emotions, retell the story of a moment in time, or describe events that leave us scared, concerned or angry. Our world is filled with an enormous variety of both amazingly beautiful occasions, as well as those that test us in more difficult ways. Symbols, color, composition, or other design elements may provide the narrative to communicate the depth of your story. When our words fail us, imagery can present what we are unable to articulate through words.
Artists are invited to create work that engages viewers in a dialogue based on imagery and composition, exploring the idea that in some cases words are not the most effective means of communication.
The Lower Mainland of Vancouver SAQA Pod has put together a colourful exhibit from February 1st to 27th, 2021 at the White Rock Library, 15342 Buena Vista Avenue in White Rock BC.
The theme was A Touch of Orange and artists were required to use a splash of orange somewhere on their piece. As you can see from a selection of some of the pieces here some artists used more of this vibrant colour than others.
Autumn Leaves, Judy Leslie
Artist statement: I chose to design an art piece of varying sized rectangles. A variety of my hand-dyed silks and cottons combined with a variety of brass leaf embellishments added balance and interest. Thus 'Autumn Leaves' became much more than just a 'Touch of Orange'!
Midnight in the Garden Terry Rammell 16 x 16”(framed)
Artist Statement: Midnight in the Garden is 2 layers of silk both of which have been bundled and steamed with leaves and flowers.
Bottom is silk noile eco printed and then hot wax applied to the leaf prints and over dyed with yellow, orange and fuscia Procion dye. Top layer is silk organza dyed in cochineal and then printed with fresh foliage.
When laid one over the other the prints merge into one textural piece. Learn more about Terry.
Artists Statement: German mathematician, Werner Boy developed Boy’s surface a 3-fold symmetry with a rotating axis, which turned any 120° will look exactly the same.
Boy’s surface sits on Sierpinski’s carpet. Polish mathematician, Waclaw Sierpinski founded Sierpinski’s carpet, a square cut into 9 equal sub-squares in a 3 by 3 grid with the center removed.
Colour with a U, the Canada wide SAQA Exhibit is now open for viewing at the St. Francis Xavier University in Antigonish Nova Scotia. Details for how to book a visit can be found here.
Today we are featuring two Western Canada artists from the exhibit. Victoria Gray and Linda Van Gastel.
The Eccentric Pianist, Victoria Gray
The Eccentric Pianist detail, Victoria Gray
Artist statement: Canada
has produced some very colourful characters, one of them being renowned
pianist Glenn Gould who became famous for this interpretations of
classical music, particularly with the works of J.S. Bach. But as much
as this, he is remembered for his multifarious work including electronic
media and radio documentaries, and for his eccentricities such as
hypochondria and wearing an overcoat and gloves whenever he played. It
takes all types to make a country, a world.
Othello Tunnels, Linda Van Gastel
Artist Statement: Kettle Valley Railway – Othello Tunnels.The Kettle Valley Railway was built in
1910-1916 to connect the West Coast to the Kootenay region of BC.The five closely-spaced Othello Tunnels were
the most challenging part of the new railway line. This work is based on a
public domain photo taken by James Crookall circa 1925.
In Canada’s early years, railways formed critical
connections, enabling Canada to welcome and support immigrants willing to settle
in widespread communities.Inclusion has
always been a key element of Canadian culture, as has the commitment to
maintain cross-country connections.
As a reminder, you can watch a video of the exhibit and find dates for when it will be near you here.
Join your fellow Western Canada members online to learn from the accomplished and talented artist Jane Dunnewold
Writing an Effective Artist’s Statement
will be held on
Wednesday, January 20th, 2021
2:00 PM Central
1:00 PM Mountain
12 PM Pacific
Jane Dunnewold teaches and lectures internationally, and has mounted numerous solo exhibitions, including Inspired by the Masters (National Quilt Museum (2020) & Texas Quilt Museum (2018). A second mixed media series featuring re-purposed quilt blocks and gold leaf was exhibited at the McNay Art Museum in San Antonio, Texas (2017) and more recently at the Armory Art Center in West Palm Beach, Fl.
Her work won Best of Show in the exhibition Timeless Meditations (Tubac Art Center/2013). She is a recipient of the Quilt Japan Prize, and Gold Prize at the Taegue (Korea) International Textile Exhibition. In 2019 she was name Artist of the Year by the San Antonio Art League.
Dunnewold has authored numerous books, including the classic Complex Cloth (1996) and Art Cloth: A Guide to Surface Design on Fabric (2010.) In 2016 North Light Books published Creative Strength Training: Prompts, Exercises and Stories to Inspire Artistic Genius. Her recently self-published books, Best of Both Worlds: Enhanced Botanical Printing, and Improvisational Screen Printing are both available world-wide onamazon.com.
She is a former President of the Surface Design Association and currently facilitates a ten month Creative Strength Training community online.
Link up information will follow closer to the event.
Today Cathie Ugrin is sharing how her piece The Dancer came to be. Enjoy!
The
Dancer was made as
part of a dual Fibre Art/ Photography exhibit entitled ‘VIEWPOINTS: a unique
photo-fabric journey’ featuring photographer Dmitry Kirshner and myself. The idea was that the exhibit would feature artwork
created by the two of us as we played off of each other’s work. In context of The
Dancer, Dmitry took an incredible photograph of a beguiling tree in winter
which he called Dancer and I created my piece based on this.
DMITRY KIRSHNER’S DANCER
I blew up a
photocopied image of Dancer to its actual size of 36” x 24” and traced over all
the lines with a fine sharpie to ‘get the image’ in my hands. Through the hours
of this meditative work, the plan for the finished piece became clear to me.
DANCER INKED
I would use
Sulky Solvy Water-Soluble Stabilizer as tracing paper and recreate the
background on fibre exactly as it appears on Dmitry’s photograph. This would be
the element that most accurately connected the photograph and fibre art piece.
INKED BACKGROUND DETAILS
From there I
trapuntoed, topstitched and appliqued the fabric tree – this element still
resembles Dmitry’s tree in the photograph.
Then came
the delicate winter-bare branches which always reminded me of a tutu as I was
doing my tracing. So much so, I decided to completely break away from the
photograph and actually make them into a tutu lending a fantastical element to my
fibre art piece. Sewing directly onto the Water-Soluble Stabilizer, I created
this filmy, delicate, dark mesh of thread using four different colours and two
different types of thread. After immersing the whole thing in water, I was left
with just the graceful lace-like thread piece that I then appliqued on to the
tree.
Of all the
artwork I created for our exhibit VIEWPOINTS, The Dancer was always my
favourite. I learned so much as far as technique, inspiration and generally
moving outside of my comfort zone. Through the crazy time-consuming process of tracing
the photograph, I had an inspired idea, say an image in my head and recreated
it into a piece of art I am so proud of. Dmitry and I are very good friends and
it was such an honour and a delight to work together with him. Entering The
Dancer and being accepted into SAQA Colour with a U Too was the perfect
ending to this story.
The Dancer
Artist Statement:
In the dead of a Manitoban winter, the ground is
covered in a frosty blanket of snow. A tree stands alone … and comes
alive.The frost falls away as her limbs
arch gracefully. Dead twigs and branches stitch together to create the illusion
of a delicate skirt effortlessly floating. Hovering with the movement imagined,
we gaze onto Mother Nature’s Dancer. Resilience, unity, creativity and strength
are the unique qualities required to live in one of Canada’s Northern climate
cities. We understand and embrace our abounding and unabashed love of what some
may call the Canadian Spirit.
Colour with a U Too will be on display from December 3rd, 2020 to February 17th, 2021 at the J. Franklin Wright Gallery in Port Hawkesbury, Nova Scotia.
Member Jennie Johnston at the SAQA Western Canada Kelowna Retreat Show & Tell in 2017
This Monday November 30th at 4:00 pm Central, 3:00 pm Mountain, and 2:00 pm Pacific time join your fellow Western Canada SAQA members for a Show and Share. These presentations are an insider look at eight member's work through photos & words. Offer feedback and encouragement and enjoy the community bonding.
Tension by Natalie Skinner in Opposites Attract SAQA Exhibit
Do you have an artwork featured on the SAQA main website yet?
SAQA is currently accepting submissions for their website collection and members are eligible to submit one piece for consideration. Deadline to submit for this intake is November 30, 2020.
Margaret Blank - Spring Run-Off
