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 - 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.

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.

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. 

Chickadees for a wintery day

Feeding the  Chickadees by
Holly MacLean w12"xh14"

Holly MacLean of Bathurst, New Brunswick, recently completed two wintery pieces entitled Feeding the Chickadees. 

Feeding the  Chickadees by
Holly MacLean w12"xh14"

HM: These are my two chickadees. They were done as a commission. The client chose to buy the second one.



You can see more of Holly's textile work on her blog, Through my Window.