What’s on your wall? - Helene Blanchet, Calgary, Alberta and Cape Breton, Nova Scotia

Hélène Blanchet, Calgary, Alberta

I’ve been in Calgary for over two years now. I work at my textiles mostly during the winter months as I have a seasonal job as a gardener the rest of the year and find I’m too tired to quilt then. We fully intend to return home to Cape Breton, so while we are here I am trying to document our stay. I have decided to create my first series of work. It is called “Calgary Days” and each piece is 16” x 36”. I hope to have about 6 pieces in the end. 

This is “The CFA” and shows me arriving in Calgary in Nov 2011. This piece has been traveling around as part of the Fiber Arts Network’s “From Away” exhibit. 

Detail of “The CFA”

“The Gardener’s House” is a picture of my boss’ place and shows the type of work we’re able to achieve despite the many challenges of trying to garden in Calgary. I’m waiting to hear if it will be accepted into this year’s NJS in Ontario.

Detail of “The Gardener’s House”

“The Apartment Building”. I am just putting the final touches on this piece. This is where we live in downtown Calgary and it’s a way for us to remember our many neighbours

Detail of “The Apartment Building”

“Frank Lake” is my next attempt. This is where we took our son birding during the fall migration, so I’ll have to create a ton of tiny birds. This will be my first Prairie scape and is proving to be a bit of a challenge - so much yellow!

Cheers,

Helene

Project Hope and Survival - Laurie Swim, Lunenburg, Nova Scotia

Laurie has passed along this message:

Happy New Year to all of the SAQA Atlantic members! I am feeling positive about good things to come in 2014.

My mission this year is to restart the project Hope and Survival to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Halifax Explosion coming up in 2017. A few years ago, I wrote a story from a child's perspective of this tragic event that changed the lives of so many people and still resonates with many families here in Nova Scotia. This will be my seventh Community Built Quilt project and I hope to involve many folks across the province in its creation as well as the gathering of individual stories that have been passed down. 

So whoever reads this, I would love to hear from you if you wish to be involved, or have a special connection to the event you wish to share with me. I will be creating the work over the next three years and hope to show the finished piece here in Nova Scotia and perhaps even in the Boston area in 2017.