HOME/WORK: Creating Connections

First ever Contextural online member exhibition. Starting as a thematic art challenge, the intent was to keep members connected, engaged and creative during the summer months of an exceptional 2020.

The challenge was to create an 8″ x 8″ piece using any materials on hand, that would show how members were staying connected to their community, family, friends and creative practice during a time of restrictions and for some, isolation. Enjoy!

Click on the link to view. HOME/WORK

Woven In Place Nov 5 to Dec 6, 2020

This show was originally to be in April but Covid managed to shift everyone's schedules. Finally it is hanging in the gallery at cSPACE.

Various items I will have at the Contextural sale this year...

HANDMADE BOOKS

(with Resist-Clamped dyed Wool covers, 

6" square and  4.5" square and 5" by 7", 

all $50 each)

INDIGO DYED SILK DEVORE SCARVES

(various sizes averaging 14" by 70", 

with and without fringed ends, 

flat or raised velvet finishes, 

$70 each)

Indigo dyed Shibori silk scarf

KEEPSAKE POUCH necklaces 

( 2"x3" bags filled with semi-precious stones. 

Done in waxed Irish Linen, using a needle and thread and 2000 stitches, 

the technique is called "nalbinding", and ancient knotless looping stitch which predates knitting by centuries. Many different colours and decorations available. $70)

VASES

Pyrography and Watercolours on Watercolour papers

(Original artwork. 

6" square and 8" square, mounted on canvas frames, 

$60 and $70) 

NATURAL DYED SILK DEVORE SCARVES

with pomegranate, logwood, cutch, fustic and more

(average size 14" by 70", 

with and without fringed ends, 

flat or raised velvet finishes,

$70 each)

 NEWBORN AND INFANT SIZED COTTON TOQUES

(Hand dyed and illustrated, 

$25 each)

Time for the yearly Contextural Artisan Sale!

I've spent the fall dyeing silk scarves and am thrilled that my indigo ones were put on the invitation!

If you're in Calgary, come by and say hello - I will be there all weekend.

Connected Heritage ART

I did five pieces for the exhibition in Gimli that ran for all of July and August 2019.

MESSAGES TO BEYOND
Viking runes are viewed as more than just the letters of an alphabet; they are powerful symbols with potent metaphysical virtues that can be used as a means of communication between the natural and supernatural. Carved into stone or wood, they are used to commemorate events of great importance.

VESTUR ISLENDINGAR
In 1875, the world changed for Icelanders. After years of detrimental Danish rule and then an unusually long freeze that crippled the fishing industry and blocked arrival of vital supplies, the Askja volcano erupted, ruining farmland. Almost one-fifth of the population left the island, and New Iceland, Vestur Islendingar, was established on the shores of Lake Winnipeg, giving a new beginning to the immigrants.

 

VIKINGS AMONG US

With such a large settlement, the colonists recognized a need for order and conceived a constitution based on the Althing in Iceland. With that in place, the government of Canada granted an Icelandic Reserve for the settlers at New Iceland giving them full jurisdiction over immigration, taxation, and legal matters. They self-governed until 1887, when they were incorporated into Manitoba and all became Canadian citizens.

VINAR TERTA

Every culture has its food icons, and for the

Icelandic diaspora, it is a delicious cake made of alternating layers of spice-infused plum jam and almond or cardamom-flavoured shortbread. While little known in Iceland today, the immigrant community in North America holds tightly to this culinary time capsule, a cultural touchstone of their home country.  

LUCKY ME, LUCKY YOU

Scattered along the shores of Lake Winnipeg are unique stones with natural holes, known locally as Lucky Stones, but also know as Odin Stones or Hag Stones. These are widely considered lucky finds, as they are believed to be imbued with special healing properties and to provide protection. If you find one, hold on to it!