Kathy Tidswell's show, Colours of Nature, opens in Florenceville-Bristol, NB, May 15, 2021

New Brunswick fibre artist and teacher Kathy Tidswell's latest solo exhibition features both thread paintings and wall quilts, all with the theme Colours of Nature.

The show will hang at the Andrew and Laura McCain Gallery in Florenceville-Bristol NB from May 15 to June 19, 2021.

KT:

The piece shown in the poster is my newest thread painting inspired by an old and gnarled willow tree that I see on my morning walks on the NB Trail. It is 15.5 by 20.5 inches and matted and framed. The background started as white cotton fabric which I painted and the texture was added using free motion embroidery and rayon threads.

Exhibition hours:

Tuesday: by appointment at 506-392-669

Wednesday, Friday & Saturday: 10:30-5:00pm

Thursday:noon-8pm

Sunday and Monday: Closed

See more of Kathy Tidswell's work at www.kathytidswell.com

Audrey Feltham's show, The Inner Landscape, opens April 16th at The Rooms, St. John's NL

Covid 19: The Inner Landscape #6
by Audrey Feltham (2021) w19" x h21"

Printmaker and textile artist Audrey Feltham, from Deer Lake Newfoundland, is pleased to announce her upcoming exhibition at The Rooms Provincial Art Gallery in St. John's NL.

The artwork in Feltham's show, The Inner Landscape, was created during the pandemic. Her pieces combine print and drawing on cotton with stitch and textile collage. 

Covid 19: The Inner Landscape #8
by Audrey Feltham (2021) w19" x h21"

The Inner Landscape is part of the Gallery's Present Tense exhibition series highlighting the work of artists creating in isolation during the pandemic. Audrey Feltham's exhibition continues until July 16th.

AF:
I am in search of a new place, a new time, and a new attempt to make a bewildering world less painful, less stressful and less threatening. I have dug down deep, talked (a lot to myself) and have tried to listen carefully to what I am saying.

These pieces are a culmination of several years of trying to see my way forward to marry traditional print practise with textile work. For me, each of the processes is immersed in a very meditative and slow response to the hand and the way of mark making. I delight in both creating marks on a print matrix and also carefully creating a lasting textile mark with a needle and thread. My textile marks are almost entirely done by hand. I find it calming and soothing.

Covid 19: The Inner Landscape #4
by Audrey Feltham (2021) w19" x h21

Covid 19: The Inner Landscape #12 (detail) 
by Audrey Feltham (2021).

The entire Inner Landscape series will eventually be on display on Audrey Feltham's website Atelier West Studios.

Learn more about Audrey Feltham at Atelier West Studios, and in our 2018 feature interview Audrey Feltham: Printmaker on paper and textile + stitch.

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!

A Virtual Exhibition

We last posted about the wonderful works that will be on tour for 3 years as part of the two “Colour with a U” exhibitions.  As is always the case, there were many more entries than the exhibition space could accommodate. We decided that the other entries from Atlantic Canada deserve to be shown.  So here they are, with statements from the artists.  Enjoy!

Tree of Diversity by Kathy Tidswell w 22"x h36"

Tree of Diversity detail 

Kathy Tidswell, Artist Statement:  My mythical tree reflects the diversity in my community by using different colours and species to reflect races.  Look for an Olympic medalist, a Juno award winner, first player to break NHL colour barrier, founding president of Immigrant and Visible Minority Women in Canada and first First Nations Lieutenant Governor. 

MacKay Barns Imagined by Deb Plestid w42"x h25"

MacKay Barns detail

Deb Plestid Artist Statement: In the winter months, the MacKay barns are imposing, weathered, grey structures set against a steel grey sky on a snow covered field.  I imagine them in their early days boldly boasting their colour against a Spiddle Hill sunset. 

The largest barn was built near Spiddle Hill, Nova Scotia, circa 1834.  Owned by the MacKay family for seven generations, these silent sentinels are emblematic libraries - symbolic bearers of knowledge, memory, optimism and cooperation.  They bear witness to  innovative skills, industriousness and self-sufficiency; where form followed function and buildings were constructed from readily available timber and stone.

Unique Identities 2 by Regina Marzlin w24.5"by h41"

Unique Identities detail

Regina Marzlin, Artist Statement: We have the same basic fabric, our shared humanity.  But we all have different backgrounds, our origins, our experiences, memories, different conditions growing up, etc.. We all have our own colour, that which makes us unique. Some of us stand more out than others, some are more subtle, some blend in. Some are a bit frayed around the edges. But we are all unique individuals, with different outlooks and our own story. To me, this piece celebrates the diverse identities that make up our society and enrich our lives. The more colours the better.

Unravelling, Unliveable, eXtinction. It's Up to Us
by Susan Lilley  w38" x h41"

Unravelling, Unliveable, eXtinction. 
It's Up to Us detail

Susan Lilley, Artist Statement: Canada's diverse ecosystems and rich biodiversity are under attack. This piece illustrates the global climate crisis, from melting polar ice caps to raging equatorial fires. As one scientific report after another reveals ever stronger evidence, people around the world are taking to the streets demanding action. This growing popular movement is conveyed by both the bold, coloured letters and the more subtle, quilted words of Swedish activist Greta Thunberg.

As a Raging Granny I’ve been in many climate marches, singing protest songs about the issue. The song that inspired this quilt ends with the words: It’s really Up to all of Us: You and You and You. Our response to climate change must include everyone. There’s no planet B!

Reflections on Mortality by Audrey Feltham w37"x h25"

Reflections on Mortality detail

Audrey Feltham Artist Statement: This art quilt is one in a series of small pieces that I am currently working on.  Thematically they explore the theme of quotidian, the everyday objects and practices that make up the fabric of our cultural existence.  The imagery in this piece comes from artifacts from my late Mother’s home which she left at the age of 95.  She then moved to a retirement home.  The artwork covers a span of her life from 1930  when she was a teenager to her last days.  On the one hand it is a celebration of her life, reflected in the choice of color and tone in the centre square, but also a documentation of what it meant for her to grow old and dependent.  The xis rectangles that occupy the upper and lower sashing are from an autograph diary dated 1930.

Necessity of Survival by Audrey Feltham w 35" x h 29"

Necessity of Survival detail

AudreyFeltham Artist Statement:  This small art quilt is part of a series of smaller works that I am currently completing.  Thematically they deal with quotidian, the everyday objects and traditions that are the underlying fabric of a particular culture determined by place and time.  The 12 center images of the quilt are screen prints of a condiment jar that belonged to my deceased Mother.   It was used in our house for horse radish, a condiment that was inexpensive since it literally grew wild on our farm.  Mom harvested it, ground it and made her own horseradish.  Our meals were simple and “extras” like condiments relatively unheard of unless they could be produced for literally nothing.  The detail is of a hand embroidered decal of Amorica Rusticana (horseradish).  Text and printed image of the horseradish adorn the side panels.  Text reads:  “AMORICA RUSTICANA.  The sharp edge /Of bored days/Made inconsequential/By repetition/

U R Colour by Anne Morrell Robinson w50"x h55"

U R Colour detail

Anne Morrell Robinson Artist Statement: I never understood why some people are called "coloured" when we all are made up of many colours on the inside and outside. We should celebrate all the colours that make this world a beautiful place.

Canadiana Suite: A Tribute to Oscar Peterson 
by Cathy Drummond w28"x h24"

Canadiana Suite: A Tribute to 
Oscar Peterson detail

Cathy Drummond Artist Statement: Canada’s huge, diverse landscape molds our national character. This relationship of landscape to culture is expressed beautifully by Oscar Peterson’s Canadiana Suite, written for Canada’s centennial. The music expresses happy national pride, the variations of landscape and people in each region, yet also expresses our commonality. 

The ovals in the piece represent the 8 parts of the Suite:  Ballad to the East, Laurentide Waltz, Place St. Henri, Hogtown Blues, Blues of the Prairies, Wheatland, March Past, and Land of Misty Giants. 

 

The Pond by Helen Blanchette w36"xh36"

Helene Blanchette Artist Statement: My world is deeply coloured by the land and the natural world where I live in the Highlands of Cape Breton. It is this land, steeped in beauty and dramatic, changing moods, that informs my every day and imbues my art. With this piece I have tried to capture the many changing moods of the Highlands.  

Picnic on the Mound by Helene Blanchette w20"xh20"

Helene Blanchette Artist Statement: I am a Folk Artist from Nova Scotia and my world is deeply coloured by the land where I live in the Highlands of Cape Breton. It informs my everyday, seeps into my soul, and frames my art.  It is from this land that I find my stories. It is a vast land that tolerates our humanity if only to return to itself once we have passed through. This is a picture of me and my husband having a little picnic in our yard. 

Join Penny Berens and Diane Clapp for the opening of their show in Bear River Nova Scotia, Saturday Jan 18th

Artist Penny Berens, from Granville Ferry NS, has been getting together with her friend Diane Clapp every Wednesday for over 12 years, to 'play' with textiles. Their upcoming show, simply called Wednesdays, is a testament to their friendship and creativity.

Two locations

Bear River NS:

Artist's Opening -- Saturday, Jan 18, 1 - 4 p.m.

Where: Sissiboo Coffee Roaster, 1890 Clementsvale Rd.

When:  Show runs: January 15 - February 28, 2020

Hours: Monday - Friday 7:30 a.m. - 4 p.m.

             Saturday & Sunday - 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Annapolis Royal NS:

Where: Sissiboo Coffee Roaster, 262 St. George St

When:  February 29 to April 15, 2020

Hours: Monday - Friday 7:30 a.m. - 4 p.m.

             Saturday & Sunday - 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

             

To learn more about Penny Berens and her artwork, please visit her website, Tanglewood Threads.

Read our 2016 artist interview, with Penny: Marking Time and Tides in Stitch.

Bound and Unbound: Textile Explorations in Binding and Dyeing opens in Port Medway NS

Bound and Unbound

Art quilts by Susan Lilley

November 18, 2019 - January 12, 2020

Reception: November 23, 3-5 p.m.

The Port Grocer

1615 Port Medway Rd

Port Medway, Nova Scotia

Fall hours at The Port Grocer 

Open daily: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. (and some days later)  

Lunch: Mon-Sat, 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

Sunday Brunch: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Thursday Dinners: 3rd Thursday of the month, 5 to 9 p.m.

Friday Pub Nights: 6 to 10 p.m.

If you're in the area, please drop in!

Abstract Joy: Opening Wednesday, Gallery at the Guild

Melting Sky by Julea Boswell w40" x h30".
Paint and ink on raw canvas. Layered and stitched by hand and machine. 

ABSTRACT JOY: 

THE AMAZING NATURAL BEAUTY THAT SURROUNDS US

SAQA artist Julea Boswell's exhibition opens Wednesday, May 15  at Charlottetown's Gallery at the Guild. 

Opening reception: from 7 to 9 pm

Exhibition dates are: May 15-26, 2019

Abstract Joy features lively abstract art "providing a nice hit of colour to warm us up for summer.” Julea's imaginative pieces are shaped with a blend of recalled imagery, thoughts and emotion. 

See more of Julea's artwork at:

www.juleaboswell.com

instagram @julea.b 

Facebook @juleaboswellart

Abstract Joy: The Natural Beauty that Surrounds Us opens in Charlottetown, May 15, 2019

Abstract Joy series by Julea Boswell. Acrylic, mixed media and collage.

Mark your calendar to join SAQA Artist 

JULEA BOSWELL

as her exhibition

ABSTRACT JOY: THE AMAZING NATURAL BEAUTY 

THAT SURROUNDS US

opens at the 

GALLERY AT THE GUILD

Charlottetown PEI

Exhibition dates are: May 15-26, 2019

Opening reception: May 15 from 7 to 9 pm.

Abstract Joy features lively abstract art which Julea describes as “providing a nice hit of colour to warm us up for summer”. Her imaginative pieces take shape with a blend of recalled imagery, thoughts and emotion. 

Although the work is abstract it is pretty straightforward. I simply try to capture moments of spontaneous joy and express this in my art. What stays with me from these moments becomes my inner springboard for creation. Like many artists, the amazing natural beauty that surrounds me, especially on PEI, is a primary source of inspiration.

Julea Boswell is a multifaceted artist. Growing up in Charlottetown she was immersed in the arts from a young age - activities that set the stage for her varied creative interests and future path. She attributes the sense of movement and lightness in her visual art to her background as a dance artist. A series of small pieces in the exhibit is a nod to “improv” technique as used in dance and theatre. Her skills as a modern quilt designer-maker are also evident in the show, which includes a work that will be going to Quilt Canada’s National Juried Show in June. This summer, Julea’s work will be featured at The Dunes Gallery in Brackley.

Moving freely within a mix of different materials and forms allows Julea to present a contrast in textures and variations in colour intensity. Whether a crisp and bright acrylic collage on paper, or a painted and stitched textile piece, the common thread in Julea’s work is a feeling of joy. The overall result is a style that is fresh and contemporary.

The show opens with a reception on May 15 from 7 to 9 pm. All are invited to come and meet the artist.

Journey by Julea Boswell  w65" x h45", Each journey is navigated through many new pathways. Poured paint and oil stick markings on raw canvas. Layered and stitched by hand and machine

"Wow! Such colour and freedom. I love your expression of movement."       (show visitor, Ottawa)

See more about Julea and her work at www.juleaboswell.com, instagram @julea.b and Facebook @juleaboswellart

Saint John Arts Centre: Last chance to see SAQA Atlantic touring exhibition,Transitions, opening January 11th

SAQA Atlantic's travelling juried show, Transitions, will soon be on display in the Frazee Gallery of the Saint John Arts Centre. Transitions is one of four Centre exhibitions opening on Friday January 11th. Please join the artists for the opening reception.

What:        Transitions, the SAQA Atlantic travelling exhibition

When:       January 11 - March 8, 2019            

Opening:   Friday, January 11, 2019 from 5:30-7:30PM

Where:      The Saint John Arts Centre

                  20 Peel Plaza, Saint John, NB

                  (506) 633-4870

Hours:       Tuesday to Saturday 9:00-5:00

                   Monday & Sunday      Closed

Transitions Artists

Helene Blanchet - Julea Boswell - Grace Butland - Brigitte Dimock

Cathy Drummond - Kristi Farrier - Audrey Feltham 

Linda Finley - Heather Kellerman - Susan Lilley 

Heather Loney - Kate Madeloso - Regina Marzlin 

Holly McLean - Fiona Oxford - Deb Plestid 

Anne Morrell Robinson - Ann Schroeder - Kathy Tidswell

Read more about the SAQA Atlantic regional textile art show, Transitions, on our blog.

Cathy Drummond introduces Displaced

We were delighted to learn that Mahone Bay, NS artist Cathy Drummond's work has been accepted into SAQA's global exhibition, Forced to Flee. SAQA members throughout the world were encouraged "to illustrate the issues surrounding the global refugee crises, impacts on families and communities, the stress placed on host countries, and the need for new initiatives, funding, and international cooperation to find solutions to the crisis." 

Cathy's art quilt, Displaced, is one of the 36 pieces from ten countries that were accepted from among the 136 entries. It was the only piece from Canada. Well done Cathy!

Displaced, by Cathy Drummond (2018) w30"xh25"

We asked Cathy Drummond to tell us about her Inspiration for Displaced:

Cathy: A quite beautiful news photo of a small group of people walking along a road first attracted my attention. Only after a few moments did I realize I was looking at two Syrian families fleeing for their lives. 

Displaced (detail)

I couldn't stop thinking about the families in that photo. Their options are so limited and their futures so bleak. I began Displaced by sketching individual people, but soon began thinking about the difficulty of imagining each individual when there are over 65 million of them! How do the refugees keep their sense of self, given their de-humanizing  experience? 

These thoughts led me to instead cut random pieces of cloth, some vaguely human shaped, others not. (Refugee routes must be strewn with abandoned belongings.) I wanted to express dehumanization, exhaustion and grief, as well as the closed doors between displaced people and a new life.

The Forced to Flee exhibition will debut at the Ruth Funk Center for Textile Arts at the Florida Institute of Technology, Melbourne, Florida: May 25 – August 24, 2019, and then travel internationally. Follow the exhibition's travel's here.

Join Hélène Blanchet for the opening of her solo show at the Craig Gallery, Dartmouth NS, Tuesday Oct 30

Cape Breton textile artist Hélène Blanchet's series “Calgary Days” celebrates scenes, activities and events she experienced when living in Calgary. Her signature folk art style captures the people, the sights and the colours of the city brilliantly.  

A natural story-teller, Hélène brings her stories to life in the minutia of detail featured in every piece. Tiny bits of cloth are painstakingly appliquéd with minuscule stitches onto a background of fine quilting, and adorned with wee glass beads and colourful embroidery threads. 

Hélène Blanchet has been quilting for over 25 years. For several years her husband’s work took her to live in many parts of the world, including a brief stint in Calgary, Alberta. These travels have nourished her love of traditional textiles of all kinds and have had a large influence on her work. She draws inspiration from these traditions, the natural world, family and her beloved Nova Scotia.

What:   Calgary Days, Textile art exhibition

Where: Craig Gallery, Alderney Ferry Terminal, Dartmouth NS

When:  Opening & Artist Talk -- Tuesday, Oct. 30, 5pm - 7pm

              Show runs: October 31 - December 2, 2018

Gallery Hours: (subject to change)

              Monday - CLOSED

              Tuesday to Friday - noon to 5:30pm

              Saturday - 9am to 5pm

              Sunday - 11am - 3pm

Read more about Hélène Blanchet on our 2016 artist interview, Folk Art in Big Nature.

Four SAQA artists juried into Cape Breton fine art show

Congratulations to Helene Blanchet, Kate Madeloso, Regina Marzlin and Anne Morrell Robinson, all of whom will be showing their work in the Juried Small Works Show in Inverness, Cape Breton (NS) June 30 – July 29, 2018.

Kate Madeloso, Forest Discovery (2018)

Small Treasures are works of art in all media, that are no larger than 12″ in any dimension. This is a juried show, which means artists submitted images of their work, and the juror, Ray Cronin, made selections without knowing the names of the artists. He has selected work from Canada, 27 US states and four other countries.

Where: Inverness County Centre for the Arts
          16080 Highway 19, Inverness, NS
When: June 30 – July 29, 2018
Opening: Saturday, June 30, from six to eight pm.

News from Kathy Tidswell about two upcoming textile art events in Fredericton

Curry Mountain by Kathy Tidswell

Residency in the Casemates

The Fredericton Arts Alliance has selected Kathy Tidswell for a one-week residency in the Casemates at the Garrison District, 426 Queen Street, Fredericton NB. The theme for this year’s residencies is the Wolastoq (Saint John river), a National Historic site. 

Beginning with her own photograph, Kathy will draw the scene, transfer it to fabric, paint the fabric and then stitch using free motion embroidery to add texture and dimension. The public is invited to visit the Casemates and watch her at work. She will be in residence July 2-8, 2018. The Casemates are open daily 10 am-5 pm. 

Natures Thread 2018

Kathy Tidswell’s thread paintings and wall quilts will be on display at the Charlotte Glencross Gallery, Charlotte Street Arts Centre, 732 Charlotte Street, Fredericton. 

August 3-October 9, 2018.   9:30 am-9:30 pm. 

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Check out Kathy's website: Kathy Tidswell, Fibre Artist.