Mumford and Sons

A recently formed group from London, England - like their sound and their looks!

Mumford and Sons (click here to watch the video)

Taken from their web site:
"Since they formed in December 2007, the members of Mumford & Sons have shared a common purpose: to make music that matters, without taking themselves too seriously. Four young men from West London in their early twenties, they have fire in their bellies, romance in their hearts, and rapture in their masterful, melancholy voices. They are staunch friends - Marcus Mumford, Country Winston, Ben Lovett, and Ted Dwane - who bring their music to us with the passion and pride of an old-fashioned, much-cherished, family business. They create a gutsy, old-time sound that marries the magic of Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young with the might of Kings Of Leon, and their incredible energy draws us in quickly to their circle of songs, to the warmth of their stories, and to their magical community of misty-eyed men."

See what you think...

Calyx Fine Art Sale

Here are the other 2D wall pieces that I had at the Calyx show. They are done in the theme of UNESCO World Heritage Sites located in Canada.

From the rolling hills of L'Anse aux Meadows in Newfoundland, these two pieces explore the Celtic connection in Canada and the voyages of the Vikings 1000 years ago:


The parks of the Rocky Mountains (Banff in particular) were the first UNESCO sites in Canada over 100 years ago. The railways were encouraging visitors to view this natural occurring magnificence and build hotels (promoted as 'Castles of the Rockies') along their lines. This series included the Banff Springs, Chateau Lake Louise and Chateau Frontenac in the east. This one is the Prince Of Wales hotel in Waterton National Park in southern Alberta.

Called 'The Tide Remains The Same' the artist statement for this pieces reads:
The power of nature to sustain or destroy humanity is immense. Without action to preserve the earth and the ecosystems that nourish us, we will all fade away, leaving only the evidence of our presence; skeleton, bone and shell. UNESCO World Heritage Sites have been established to ensure the epic human story of civilizations rising and falling teaches us this truth.

CALYX Fine Art Sale

The bigger 2D wall pieces that I had at Calyx were in the fruit theme that showed at Nectar Desserts in the summer of 2008.

Citrus medley


Mixed berries


Strawberries


Lemons

CALYX after party

Had a wonderful day at the Calyx Fine Art Show and Sale on Sunday - lots of fibre enthusiasts came along and wanted to talk. It is lovely to see such an interest in textiles.

Here are photos of some of work - anyone interested in purchases can contact me through this site.

My table of 3D items at the show:
I make a bag using the oldest stitch known to mankind - which has been found in every culture around the world since the beginning of time. Using an Irish waxed linen and a needle and thread, over 2000 stitches go into this Keepsake Pouch necklace. It is then decorated with beads and metal findings, and filled with semi-precious stones and crystals with accompanying listing of spiritual properties.

These pictures show the colours and combinations I have made in the past - the purple one is the only one I currently have on hand. I am always making new ones of these, and never repeat a design. The Viking Rune on the front of the bag stands for 'love'.

I create a new line of brooches every year, and along with the jewellery, some of them are framed, mounted on hand or machine sewn backgrounds. This year's are made with a rare square sequin sewn onto silk.

Again, a sample of the items - the black one in the center is the only one I have left:



And, new this year, Devore Silk and Rayon Scarves in many different colours and patterns.

These have a raised velvet motif:

And on these, the motif is flush with the background:

Calyx Art Exhibition

CALYX Art Exhibition and Sale was started 10 years ago by four Alberta College of Art and Design graduates. It has grown so much in the past 10 years that they now run it twice a year (April and October) and have ~25 different artists each day.

This year it runs:
Saturday October 17 and Sunday October 18, 2009
10:00 am – 4:00 pm
Crescent Heights Community Centre
1101 2nd Street NW, Calgary, AB

and I will be participating on Sunday the 18th.

I will have a wide variety of art offerings this year - from wall pieces based upon UNESCO sites in Canada to summer fruits. I also have my Keepsake Pouch necklaces (over 3000 individual stitches in making the pouch, decorated with beads and metal findings, then filled with semi-precious stones listing their spiritual properties.) I have a few brooches and small frames pieces and, new this year, Devore Silk Scarves in many different colours and patterns.

I attended the artist meeting the other night and I got a preview of all the wonderful artists and their work that will be offered in this year's sale.

On Sunday with me will be:
Michelle Wilman and her handmade beads made into jewellery
Heather Brewster with her newest venture into assemblages
Lisa Brawn whose work was on flags on the bridges over the Bow River this summer
raku from Linda Mosher
basketry in metal from Crys Harse
fine woodwork from Kathy Somerville
and the painters;
Eleanor Lowden Pidgeon
Connie Geerts
Angie Rees - funky versions of dreams
Kathy Lycka
plus 15 others!!!

New York 2009 part 1

My 23 year old daughter complained that she had not had a vacation for a couple of years what with summer jobs and completing her university degree. She decided she wanted to visit New York City and was looking for someone to accompany her - I quickly jumped up and down and said "pick me!"

We squeezed the trip in at the end of August in-between her finishing her summer job and taking off for six months to travel southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand (how that doesn't count as not going anywhere, I am not quite sure!)

I was going to collect photos of graffiti but it is getting hard to find it in NYC (they have cleaned the city up so much!) I had found out two special areas in Chelsea and Brooklyn but although we got just blocks away from one of them, we had to rush off to the theatre to catch our 7pm show.

This is one example I did find - right on Houston Street by the delicious Russ and Daughters bagel / deli.

Close up of the right hand side image shows a collage of sorts:

and the Batwoman-like image is made of LEGO blocks:


At the Union Square farmer's market we came across some unusual flowers:
(Okay, here they look like straw flowers but they are not that when you see them in person!)


We then wandered over to the Natural History Museum on the west side of Central Park and in the special exhibit on Margaret Mead and her Samoa adventures I found these sketches of Pacific Indian art.


Then it was over to Brooklyn to walk around the DUMBO area (one of NY's premiere art districts), get the views across the East River of the Manhattan skyline, and then stroll across the Brooklyn Bridge. On the bridge I was looking for artsy shots of the wonderful wire that make up its suspension.
and then taking photos of the Manhattan skyline through the wires:

In DUMBO, the only textile art I found was this quilt flapping in the wind (I think Liz has closeup shots of it on her camera... these photos were all mine, tomorrow I will continue with some of hers.)

Articulation Textile Group blog

Articulation has exciting news with our new blog created to tell the world about our exhibitions, study sessions, group news and anything else that pertains to the group.

Articulation members live across Canada and we are:
ReBecca Paterson - New Brunswick
Ingrid Lincoln and Miriam Birkenthal - Manitoba
Leann Clifford - Saskatchewan
Donna Clement and Vickie Newington - Alberta
Lesley Turner and Gloria S. Daly - British Columbia
and Wendy Klotz - currently in Qatar, Middle East but soon coming back to Alberta.

Our latest exhibit opened in Winnipeg, Manitoba at the Mennonite Centre on September 18th.
Check out the blog for news on that.

http://articulationtextilegroup.blogspot.com/