Congratulations to Emerging Artist Andrea Tsang Jackson

The Here & Elsewhere Bee* by Andrea Tsang Jackson 

* Andrea Tsang Jackson's award winning quilt, the Here & Elsewhere Bee, is currently on display until February 27, 2021 at the StFX Art Gallery, in Antigonish, as part of SAQA's Colour with a "U" exhibition.

SAQA Atlantic member Andrea Tsang Jackson was recently recognized at the Creative Nova Scotia Awards Gala as one of two Nova Scotia Emerging Artists for 2020.

Andrea is a textile artist, quilt designer, author and educator based in Halifax, NS. After working in various design fields and settings ranging from architecture to museums, quilting called to her as a way to explore place, belonging, and agency.

According to textile artist Marilyn Smulders' nomination statement: 

"(Andrea) is an innovator: incorporating animation in one project, music in another. But in other ways, she remains true to the quilt’s traditional functions of providing comfort and warmth. Following the terrible days of April 18 and 19, Andrea helped organize a quilt drive for traumatized families. An artist of exceptional heart, it is exciting to think she is only getting started."

Nova Scotia's Emerging Artist Recognition Award recognizes artists of any age who are in the early stages of their professional career, have completed specialized training, and have presented their work publicly. 

Follow Andrea Tsang Jackson on the following platforms:

3rd Story Workshop
Instagram: @3rdstoryworkshop

Facebook: @3rdstoryworkshop

Twitter: @3rdstory_

Mark your calendars for Everyday Folk!

SAQA Atlantic member Hélène Blanchet invites you to Everyday Folk, a folk art exhibition that opens November 15 and runs until December 19 at the Inverness County Centre for the Arts, in Inverness, Cape Breton.

Everyday Folk showcases the work of five Cape Breton folk artists: Hélène Blanchet, Murray Gallant, Agnes O’Flaherty, Frank O’Flaherty, and William D. Roach. The work in the exhibition celebrates an everyday practice of making and features a mixture of wood carvings, painting, and textiles. 

Jack's Sunflowers by Helene Blanchet w20" x h26"

HB: This is a picture of the sunflower field that a local farmer plants every year in his very picturesque field. It's on the beautiful Cabot Trail in North East Margaree and has become a tourist hot spot where tourists park their cars haphazardly to get into the field, among the waist-high sunflowers, and pose for yet one more must-have photo.

Gallery hours are Tuesday to Sunday from 11:00am – 5:00pm. For more information you can go to Inverness County Centre for the Arts the Art’s website. 

 

Craft 2020: Fibre Reflections exhibition in Fredericton and online!

A Walk in the Woods by Kathy Tidswell, w27" x h19".

SAQA Atlantic Canada member Kathy Tidswell and the Fredericton Fibre Arts Network invite you to their upcoming exhibition, Craft 2020: Fibre Reflections, at the UNB Art Centre, Memorial Hall from November 1- December 13, 2020.

Note that the show will be open to visitors on Sundays only, from 12-5pm, and that visitors must sign up in advance.  

Sign up: go.unb.ca/art-centre

The show is also available for viewing online: go.unb.ca/art-centre-online.

Read more about Kathy Tidswell on her website www.kathytidswell.com.

NS Craft Year 2020 Exhibit - Helene Blanchet

 

My Hundertwasser Garden  
Helene Blanchet 2020
16" x 26"

As part of Craft Year 2020, initiated by the Canadian Craft Federation, the Mary E. Black Gallery in Halifax has mounted a special juried show.  The pieces on display are a representative survey of current works of 20 members of Craft NS.  One of those chosen is by SAQA Atlantic's Helene Blanchet.  

The show runs until November 7 and the Gallery is open from 11 to 4 pm, Wednesday to Saturday.  If you are unable to get to Halifax for the show, the work of these talented artists is available on line at NS Craft and Design on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays until November 7.

In addition, an excellent catalogue of the show can be downloaded here  .

 Helene describes My Hundertwasser Garden, as follows:  This  is a picture of my garden. It sits on a south-facing slope, bordered by the forest, a rushing stream, and fields of wild blueberries. It is inspired by Hundertwasser who believed that there there should be no "straight lines" in any design as  nature does not have straight lines.

Below is a detail of this intricate work.

Colour with a "U" at St FX University Art Gallery, October 9-February 27, 2021

Colour with a "U" is a juried exhibition of 33 art quilts on the theme of diversity and inclusion, made by SAQA members from across Canada. Five artists from Atlantic Canada are included in the show: Helene Blanchet, Kristi Farrier, Linda Finley, Regina Marzlin and Andrea Tsang Jackson.

Jurors: Faith Hieblinger, Homer Watson House & Gallery; Alan Syliboy, Mi’kmaq Artist; Jayne Willoughby, Textile Artist.

This premiere exhibition of Canadian textile art is currently on display at the St FX Art Gallery, in Antigonish NS. 

Bloomfield Centre Building, Rm 103 (ground floor)

5555 Union Place, Antigonish

Oct. 9 - Feb. 27, 2021 (gallery closed Dec 12-mid January)

Gallery hours:

    Wed. 1 - 6 pm

    Thurs. 1 - 6 pm

    Fri. 1 - 5 pm

    Sat. 12 - 4 pm

A maximum of 4 visitors is permitted in each 30-minute time slot. Book your 30-minute visit time slot on the Gallery's site here.

You can watch a virtual tour of the exhibition below. But there's nothing like experiencing this fabulous collection of textures, colours, shapes, and messages in person! 

Laurie Swim, finalist for Lieutenant Governor of NS Masterworks Arts Award

Congratulations to artist Laurie Swim, whose monumental work, Hope and Survival: The Halifax Explosion Memorial Quilt, is one of three finalists for this year's Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia Masterworks Arts Award. 

Being selected as a finalist for this prestigious award is a tremendous honour. The Award is given every year to a work of art that exemplifies mastery across four distinct criteria – originality, artistic maturity, impact, and contribution to Nova Scotia. It is the largest cultural award based in Nova Scotia with a prize of $25,000 going to the winner and $3000 to the other finalists.

Laurie's project, Hope and Survival, is a memorial to the nearly 2000 people killed and many more injured in the 1917 Halifax Explosion. As a community art project created to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the tragedy, Hope and Survival involved over 150 volunteers, some of whom were descendants of the victims of the explosion. 

“Hope and Survival is poignant in that it is almost like wrapping a blanket around the event as an act of healing – exactly what a memorial should be.” (2020 Masterworks jury comment).

The winner of the award will be announced later this fall.

Read more about Hope and Survival and the other finalists in the 2020 Masterworks announcement.

Fibre Fall Exhibition featuring Susan Lilley

The Chester Art Centre's Fall Exhibition will feature four local artists working in four different fibre art forms.  Our member, Susan Lilley, will be showing her quilted and hand-dyed work.  

The socially-distanced opening reception is October 15 and the show runs from October 16 to 28.  Please see exact dates and hours on the poster above.  

The Forest Bath is one of the works on display.

The Forest Bath
by Susan Lilley 2019
36"x36"

See a Show: Lunenburg Art Gallery

 

SAQA Atlantic's Cathy Drummond and Susan Lilley are currently exhibiting work in The Lunenburg Art Gallery's Fall Showcase. This exhibition will be running until October 24 and is open Thursdays to Mondays from 12pm to 5pm.  

The Lunenburg Art Gallery is run as a non-profit by the Lunenburg Art Society.  The Society's members include both amateur and professional artists, working in many media.  Fall Showcase features over 140 pieces of artwork by society members in every style and price range.  It is the Gallery's last official show of 2020.

Where Land Meets Sea
Cathy Drummond 2018
18"x 24"

Bound and Unbound 
Susan Lilley 2019
36"x 38" 

If you are unable to make it to the gallery,  there are 2-3 pieces being added to instagram daily.

See an Exhibition: Kathy Tidswell

Kathy Tidswell's submission "New Brunswick through the Seasons in Paint, Fabric and Thread" has been accepted into the Craft Year 2020 exhibition and sale at Sunbury Shores Arts and Nature Centre, St. Andrews, New Brunswick.  

Great Blue Heron by K.Tidswell 2016
17" x 14.5"

The exhibition will run from October 2 to November 1. Her ten pieces will include both thread paintings and wall quilts. For the piece above, Kathy painted the background and then added the heron, created separately using free motion embroidery, to give a 3D affect.

Serenity by K. Tidswell 2010
17.5" x 20"

The thread painting, Serenity, was created for The Ontario Network of Needleworkers' exhibition Threadworks 2010: Trees.  It opened at Wellington County Museum and Archives and then toured in Ontario for 3 years.  

Thread painting was also used to create the expressive play of light and shade in Curry Mountain, below.
 

Curry Mountain by K. Tidswell 2019
17" x 15"

My Peaceful Oasis by K. Tidswell 2018
21" x 27.5"

Kathy says that My Peaceful Oasis depicts many of the things she sees daily when she walks on the Trans Canada Trail near her home. This work combines painting, thread painting and free motion embroidery.  

I hope many of you will get a chance to see these and her other works on display.  You can also see more of Kathy's work online here.

See an Exhibition: Regina Marzlin!

After long months of wondering if artists would ever get to show their work again, many galleries have re-opened in Atlantic Canada. Several of our members have their work on show this fall. First up is Regina Marzlin who is featured at the Red Sky Gallery in Antigonish until October 7. The show, A Sense of Place, has many prints that Regina created during a recent artist residency where she experimented with differernt methods of printing with local foliage and other found objects. The following are a few glimpses of her work on display, starting with a very happy Regina on opening night.

Do try to get there if you can and, for readers outside of the Atlantic Canada bubble who are interested in these works, contact the Gallery here or Regina here. Information on other shows will follow shortly. Stay tuned!

Pandemic-Inspired Artwork

The coronavirus pandemic has been a challenge for people world wide, but for some artists, it has also been a source of inspiration. Three SAQA Atlantic members, Audrey Feltham, Susan Lilley and Anne Morrell Robinson, share their pandemic-inspired work below.

Audrey Feltham

Deer Lake, Newfoundland and Labrador 

COVID-19 : Crossroads by Audrey Feltham, 2020. w 24" x h 24"
Hand printed on 100% organic cotton, hand quilted.

Hunkerdown by Audrey Feltham, 2020. w 32" x h 26"
Hand dyed silk, hand printed, hand quilted.

COVID-19 : The Inner Landscape #2 

by Audrey Feltham, 2020. w 11" x h 15"

Textile on paper, hand quilted.

Artist Statement: 

These three pieces are part of a body of work I started early in the COVID-19 lockdown, exploring the psychological results of isolation. Issues such as high anxiety, refusal to accept isolation, fear of the unknown, anger at issues of work safety, etc. are being explored in the smaller textile pieces that I am currently working on.

More of Audrey's work can be seen on her web site, Atelier West. 

Susan Lilley

Bridgewater, Nova Scotia

Closed, Cancelled, Postponed by Susan Lilley, 2020. w 13" x h 12"
Repurposed cotton, hand dyed and discharged, with hand stitched.

Artist Statement:

This piece was inspired by an early May drive along Nova Scotia's South Shore. After many weeks in lockdown, I had high hopes for this scenic drive. Instead, I was disheartened to see nothing along the road but one sign after another proclaiming the words closed, cancelled, postponed. Even our beloved beaches were off limits!

 Anne Morrell Robinson

Margaree Valley, Cape Breton Island, NS

Words of 2020 by Anne Morrell-Robinson, 2020. w54" x h46"

Artist Statement:

This piece began as a project to use up strips of fabric. As it took shape, I realized it was about our mutual experience of the Coronavirus and the Black Lives Matter protests. The quilting lines include the year, 2020, as well as the phrases: I can't breath, my bubble, physical distancing, PPEs, gaslighting, health versus politics, self isolate, and the new normal. I realize now what I wanted to say: Despite a very grey period in our history we all need splashes of colour. 

See more of Anne's work on her web site, Kingross Quilts and Fibre Arts.

SAQA Benefit Auction - Kristi Farrier

I was pleased to receive one more submission for the Benefit Auction, just in time for the extended deadline.

Senseless by Kristi Farrier 12"x 12" 2020

Artist Statement:  

When acts are incomprehensible, we must mourn. We must hold each other up. We must stand together for better days.

SAQA Benefit Auction submission - Darcy Hunter

Serenity by Darcy Hunter 2020

Artist's Statement:

I feel an immeasurable sense of peace when I am near the water. It makes me happy to be alive in a deep, calming way.  I often choose to have water as the subject in my fibre art landscapes. 

My art quilt is the ocean at sunset.  Can you hear the tumbling waves crashing onto the shore?  There's still time to find some treasures on the beach.  The sky sparkles as the sun disappears.

This textile art is made with batik fabrics, a combination of new and upcycled textiles such as art yarns, vintage lace, organza, and cheesecloth.  There are also shells, sea glass, and a bead on the beach. 


More of Darcy's work can be seen in her Etsy shop.

SAQA Benefit Auction - Holly McLean

Please note that SAQA has extended the deadline for submissions for their fall 2020 auction until July 1.  There is still time to enter.

In the meantime, below is the lovely work that Holly McLean is sending to the auction.

Nostalgia in the Time of Quarantine 12"x 12" by Holly McLean, 2020

Holly's Artist Statement: 

Since isolation started, I've been experimenting with paper and mixed media collage and certain shapes and themes were repeating themselves. I discovered an attraction for curvy bowls and vases and old book and letter pages and thought I'd like to translate those themes to my fiber art. I used a painted, printed and stamped background and collaged the vase and flowers onto it. The postcard is a paper photocopy of one that my son sent me years ago from Paris.

SAQA Benefit Auction submission - Hélène Blanchette

Macrocosm-microcosm by Hélène Blanchette 2020 12"x 12"

Here is another interesting submission from an Atlantic member for the SAQA fall benefit auction.  

Artist's Statement: 

Wikipedia tells us that this concept refers to "a vision of the cosmos where the part (microcosm) reflects the whole (macrocosm) and vice versa. It is also a feature in ancient philosophy."  Perhaps, in these troubled times, it is worth considering our place in the universe and how our behaviour reflects that of the whole.

Remember, if you plan to send in an auction piece, this week is the time.  Your quilt must be received at SAQA's headquarters by June 1.  For information about the auction, see here.

SAQA Benefit Auction submission - Regina Marzlin

Energy by Regina Marzlin 12"x12" 2020

Regina's Artist statement:
This piece is a result of my ongoing exploration of the technique of mono printing. The spontaneous mark-making translates into raw energy contained in the piece.  The joy of playing with paint and fabric is visible.

We hope to see more 12x12 works by Atlantic Canada fibre artists on the blog before long.  The benefit auction deadline is June 1st and the only restriction is size.  Get the details here.

Welcome to my Studio: Laurie Swim, Lunenburg, Nova Scotia

My husband Larry and I bought a new house a few years ago and since then I’ve been working on a “new build” studio above the pre-existing garage and carport. The beauty of a new build is that so much is possible! I spent weeks working with graph paper, laying out work stations and considering the flow between them. I must have relocated the stairs five times before I came up with the present configuration! I learned to “tradespeak’ with those who made my dream a reality. They showed great diplomacy and patience, reeling in the crazy artist, pointing out impracticalities and adding their own creative ideas. 

After months of design work and a few delays, the studio is finally built and I’m loving it! Would you like a look around?

The new studio has cozy in-floor heating and a convenient ‘water closet’. The open ceiling and windows all around give the space a bright, lofty feel. Track, pendant and pot lights are generously distributed for evening work. A 10’x 10’ deck will provide additional workspace, great for drying my dyed and painted fabrics.

My excellent carpenter, Jeff, contributed a steel counter for my sink, something he had removed from a restaurant and just couldn’t let it “go to the dump”. I found a stainless steel sink at the recycling depot and a brand new faucet at the consignment shop. Luxury on a dime!

My sewing machines are on a custom-built shelf desk just beneath the corner windows, with a nice view of Lunenburg Harbour. Above my Sweet Sixteen sit-down long-arm machine is a home-built device with a clamp that I use to reduce the drag on my larger pieces, making them easier to quilt. The device is clamped to the table and swivels as I move the piece around. I found the instructions to make this Quilt Suspension Thingy on Caryl Bryer Fallert’s website a few years back. 
 

Just next to my sewing corner is my wheeled layout table. The table legs are off-cuts of the Bluenose II masts, nearly fifty years old. I feel so fortunate to have such an important piece of our heritage in my studio! 

The crowning jewel of the studio is a design wall that I can raise or lower as needed to spare my aching back. This was a feature I insisted upon but it took a few heads (sometimes banging) to figure out. Eventually my husband Larry found an electric, tubular, push and pull device called a linear actuator and carpenter Jeff was able to adapt it for my purpose.  

  

The 5’x 7’ design wall, essentially my easel, is made of fibreboard over plywood. This panel is set on rails, sliding up or down at the push of a switch, allowing me to work comfortably along either the top or bottom edge of a large piece.

I’ve just recently moved in to the studio and I’m still in the process of organizing and putting things away so that I can find them again. Having an easily accessible place for everything is a good incentive to keep my workspace in order. I store assorted bits and pieces in used plastic ice cream containers set into a shelving unit. 

My fabrics are folded around foam core boards and stored in baskets and colour-coded drawers. Large rolls of paper, used for tracing patterns and enlarging drawings, are stored horizontally on drapery rods just above the drawers.



All and all this is a lovely workspace. My original aim was to create an industrial feel, but all the bits and pieces from my life give it a more funky, folky look. My studio walls are graced with memorabilia and gifts from various artist friends, including a birthday gift from Linda Finley, a small piece from Pamela Allen, and a thank-you katazome stencil piece from Karen Miller. My own signature piece, Eve’s Apple, has found a home above the stairway. Eve and I reminisce together wistfully every day. Good memories mean so much!

What projects am I working on now? You might have noticed, in the photo of my design wall, a drawing for my next landscape piece. This is a scene from a friend's place on Heckman's Island just outside of Lunenburg. The fog sets the mood and the craggy trees reinforce it. The big challenge will be to capture the translucence of fog and the play of light on the water. It has all the elements I like, lots of texture, depth of field and a sense of mystery.

I’m also collaborating on a larger project with a colleague living on the northeast coast of Norway. Our project, The Gulf Stream, aims to bring attention to the significance of this warm, swift, current that connects our homes and the importance of ocean stewardship. Stay tuned, I’m not done yet!

Thanks for dropping by my new studio.
Laurie

Read more about Laurie Swim and her work on her website www.laurieswim.com.

SAQA Benefit Auction submission - Fiona Oxford

Fiona Oxford has submitted the first entry from Atlantic Canada for this year's SAQA Benefit Auction.

Random by Fiona Oxford 2020 12"x12"

Artist's Statement: I started making this as a larger piece and then decided that the circles needed to be closer. Then I started slicing and dicing and came up with “Random”.

The deadline for submissions to the 2020 Benefit Auction is June 1 and each piece must be exactly 12"x12".  You can find more information on the auction here.  The auction will start on the SAQA website in September.

Welcome to my Studio: Aprille Janes, Margaretsville, Nova Scotia

Winter by Aprille Janes (2020) 

I’ve just become an art quilter! Fabric and thread have once again become my primary means of creative expression after many years as a watercolour painter. I taught myself to sew as a child by carefully following the patterns my (non-sewing) mother bought for me. Later, as a young mother myself, I took classes and made a few quilts for family. But sewing faded from my life over time. My career required considerable travel so I took up watercolour painting, a more portable medium. Then last summer my love for all things fibre was rekindled when a friend invited me along to an art quilting workshop.

My husband and I moved back to the East Coast about three years ago. Our “new” home was originally a general store, built in 1893. In the 1960s it was a restaurant with a detached dining hall. When we bought it, it had been converted to a private home. The dining hall was in such bad shape that we were advised to tear it down, but we saw possibility. One year later, the hall had been transformed into a teaching space and a spacious painting studio, with soft northern light and long views of the Bay of Fundy. Because the building is situated on a slope it feels a little like being on a boat. I spent my days painting and teaching there, glancing up from my work to watch the waves and tide, so incredibly inspiring.

Lunenburg Dories by Aprille Janes w22"xh16"

But then, after that art quilting workshop last summer, my fibre art took over the classroom space! I set up “zones” for painting, machine and hand sewing and computer work. It’s wonderful to be able to move between activities without having to take down and set up. I usually have two or three projects on the go, allowing me to take my time with a piece. If I find myself rushing just to finish or feel that I might be overworking an area, I step away and do something else. This is important to my process and I’m thankful the studio supports this approach.

On sunny days, my studio is so bright that I don’t need artificial lighting. For the not so sunny days, we installed four full spectrum LED lights on the ceiling plus spotlights over my work table. Just for fun, I have twinkle lights running along the top of my shelving units. 

I’m most happy when my tools and materials are organized and visible (though the actual work can be chaotic!). Because I like to see what my choices are, I display my materials on a mix of shelving units from Ikea and pieces my husband refinished. 

My fabrics are wound on acid-free comic book backing boards and held in place with clips. The bolts sit on shelves like a mini-fabric store, taking up less room than they did when folded and stacked. 

While my good cotton threads are organized on a rack, my other threads and button collection are stored in antique mason jars. Baskets hold ribbons, antique laces and scraps. Right now, I’m looking for a better, more visible way to organize my scraps because they’ve become important to the work I’m doing. 


I found my Bernina 930 sewing machine on Kijiji, totally refurbished and complete with all the accessories and clamshell case. It enables my creative expression just as my paintbrushes do. It sews like a dream, never jams, and has all the features I need.

The one thing I would add to my studio if I could is a sink with running water. Bringing water to the studio in a bucket is fine for watercolours, but I’ve moved on to painting and mono-printing on fabric and I plan to work with dyes and cyanoprints come summer, so a wet studio would be ideal. 

I feel like I’m still an art quilt newbie, experimenting with different methods of expression. Yet the design principles I learned as a painter serve me well in textile work and my old sketchbooks are a rich source of ideas for my new medium. I’m drawn to the colour, embellishment and tactile quality of the fibre, which are deeply satisfying to me. 

I’m currently making a series of four original wall hangings inspired by Robert Frost’s poem Birches:

So was I once myself a swinger of birches. 

And so I dream of going back to be.

Fall by Aprille Janes (2020) 

Once this series is complete, I would like to re-create some of my original paintings in fibre, and design some new work with the goal of eventually submitting a piece to a SAQA call for entry.  

Thanks for dropping by my studio…

Aprille

_____

Read more about Apprille Janes and her artwork on her website Aprille Janes: Life, Art and Inspiration. You can also follow Aprille Janes on Instagram.