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"