Fibre Artist
Quilted Wall Hanging
I was excited and very pleased to recently learn that my piece Bank Machine Blues was chosen by Martha Sielman to include in her book on fibre artists who are inspired by birds. Martha is the Executive Director of Studio Art Quilts Associates ( SAQA).
My solo exhibition, Colours of Nature, will be held at the Andrew and Laura McCain Gallery in Florenceville NB May 15- June 19, 2021. It will include thread paintings, wall quilts and perhaps some wearable art. Below is my newest thread painting, Willow at Dawn.
#saqaart My SAQA Trunk Show piece, the Tudor Rose is available for sale – visit www.saqa.com/trunkshowsale for more details! This will be available just until the end of February. You can find the piece by name or my name.
AN-ExhibFredericton’s Fibre Arts Network ( FAN) is having an exhibition at the UNB Art Centre Nov.1- December 13, 2020. The Art Centre is open only on Sundays from 12-5 pm. To visit you must sign up at www. go.unb.ca/art-centre. You can also view online at www.go.unb.ca/art-centre-online. Two of my wall quilts are in the exhibition. They are shown below.
The Tree of Diversity
A Walk in the Forest
Sunbury shores Arts and Nature Centre Saint Andrews NB has accepted my submission of New Brunswick through the Seasons in Paint, Fabric and Thread to be included in their Craft Year 2020 exhibition and sale to be held Oct. 2- Nov. 7, 2020 in Saint Andrews. My submission includes both thread paintings and wall quilts.
Curry Mountain thread painting framed under glass 15 by 17 inches
I just returned from the Grand National Fibre Art and Quilt Exhibition with the theme Still in Portage la Prairie Manitoba Canada where my piece Treasured Memory was displayed along with 46 other pieces in a wonderful show at Prairie Fusion arts and Entertainment . This piece was created from a photograph of my grandmother. I loved how the light was catching her. I used inktense pencils and commercial fabrics
I have been part of Team Canada for the World Wide Whispers Project. In a nutshell it’s a bit like the child’s birthday party game where the leader starts by whispering a sentence in the ear of the next participant and then it continues around the room, evolving and changing from the original sentence. Kim Caskey, the Team Canada leader produced the first quilt inspired by a photograph by Lesley Zwaal of Edmonton Alberta. Artists from each province and territory of Canada (13) were sent a photograph showing only the most recent wall quilt and given a one month time frame to create a 18 by 24 inch wall quilt inspired by that photograph. I was the New Brunswick representative and created the third Quilt in the series. It has been a long 13 months when we were not allowed to reveal our involvement and saw only a photo of the quilt that inspired our piece. Finally on January 6, 2019 Kim sent us a wonderful power point presentation showing us all the quilts, artist statements and more.
Also involved in their own World Wide Whispers were teams from Scotland, Ireland, the Netherlands, USA.
The Canadian collection will be shipped to Scotland where it will hang, along with the other 4 teams, at the Scotland Guild’s AGM event in Glasgow in March. Following that, they will travel to The Netherlands for a show in April. The most exciting part is that all quilts from the 5 teams will be displayed at The Birmingham UK Quilt festival in August 2019.
Looking In Looking Out is my piece. In a separate post I will show my inspiration piece by Pat Findlay.
Members of SAQA-Atlantic have put together a trunk show which represents the diversity of techniques and styles which they use in their work as art quilters. Each piece is 8 x 8 inches and is presented in a 12 x 12 inch mat. Clear presentation envelopes protect the artwork and permit it to be handled safely.
The trunk show is available to travel to meetings of quilt guilds and other interested groups. A SAQA member can accompany the show to make a presentation regarding art quilts and SAQA.
I have finished my piece entitled He Sings and here is a photo of it before it is shipped off for matting and packaging.
He Sings – January, 2015
Materials and Techniques- Hand painted background, free motion embroidery 3-d thread white- throated sparrow, free motion embroidery over yarn tree and branches, 3-d leaves.
Artist Statement:
I strive to recreate nature’s beauty realistically in my work. While my artistic medium is primarily thread, my painted fabric backgrounds support the production of landscapes and life-like three-dimensional images of birds, wildlife and portraits. My wish is to transport the viewer to a unique place, whether it is a forest stand, a beach delivering the glories of a morning sunrise, or a backyard hosting our joyous songbirds.
