Hiking in the Rocky Mountains

Today was a gorgeous fall day and we headed out of Calgary, west to the Rocky Mountains.
First, across the Prairies... where harvesting is in full swing:

into the Foothills and then mountains...

Castle Mountain had the most glorious light on it!

close up of Castle...

through Banff, down the highway, through the village of Lake Louise and finally into the parking lot of Chateau Lake Louise. Here is a sign of the possible trails - we selected Lake Agnes Tea House.

here is the typical tourist shot everyone takes when they first come to the lake

and a map of where we are headed

on the trail heading up up up

along the way we passed Mirror Lake and the Big Beehive

keep climbing...

We hiked up 1300 feet to Lake Agnes, which is at an elevation of 7005 ft (2135 m). The clear shallow lake had lovely reflections and that trademark blue colour.

and the Tea House, where we stopped for a pot of Chai tea and some homemade soup...

Clark's Nutcracker, member of the crow family. This guy was hanging around the tea house looking for crumbs - they are quite cheeky with people.

looking across the valley to Lake Louise Ski Hill

while we are up here, let's hike around Lake Agnes!

lichen #1

lichen #2

this plant was busy hosting a variety of insects

looking back at the tea house

heading back down the mountain and what do we find... WHAT??? You can ride up?

on the hike down, the first view of Lake Louise and it's gorgeous indescribable colour

how iconic - the canoe and the flag, on Lake Louise

back to the bottom - oh my...

good bye Lake Louise!

What a glorious day! The weather was perfect with not a cloud in the sky...

On the way home my husband told me we climbed vertically the equivalent of a 100 story building, then climbed down - I said it was a good thing he didn't tell me that beforehand because I would never have agreed to go. But it was a wonderful day!

Women of Fibre, at the Whyte - part 3

These are the pieces I have in the gallery:

GUIDE ME THROUGH THE DARK UNKNOWN 5
16" x 24"
Cotton - silk screening, discharge dying, hand embroidery, free machine embroidery.

Artist Statement: The charred remains of pine trees that are visible throughout the Rocky Mountains are signs of man's attempt to control the spread of the destruction caused by the Mountain Pine Beetle. Cross-sections of the growth rings of these burnt remains echo the shapes of the original scribbling of maps that the early explorers used to navigate the Rockies. With no roads, natives travelled along animal trails, and when the white man arrived, their native guides jotted jagged lines onto paper to direct them.

Description of archives: Early map drawn by natives to guide Mary Schaffer to Morraine Lake.

[The four other pieces in this series can be found in the gallery shop.]

MARY'S MOCCASIN
11" x 9" x 2"
Mixed animal hides, paper, waxed linen - bookbinding, hand painted papers.

Artist statement: As a response piece to a photo of Mary Schaffer, my eye was drawn to the lettering in the top right corner of the tent. Writing on the tent leads me to writing of a diary, and further research showed that Mary kept diligent accounts of her days on the trail. As a calligrapher and book artist, I am always drawn to the written word and an obvious extension of this was to recreate Mary's diary - with weathered and worn pages, marked with coffee stains and leaf impressions. Bound in a leather cover (echoing her well-worn buckskin jacket) and contained in a leather moccasin (the shoe being one of society's constraints that she was glad to throw off), this package portrays an upper-class Philadelphian grand dame in the Canadian wilds at the turn of the 19th century.

Description of archives: Mary Schaffer's buckskin jacket.
[located on the floor, under the table]

PRESERVED IMPRESSIONS 4
16" x 20"
Cotton - rust dyeing and silk screening.

Artist statement: The fossils contained in the Burgess Shale, which show the incredible array of life in the early Cambrian period, have amazed the world with their detail and diversity since their discovery in 1909. Concealed in compacted mud, muscles, gills and other soft body parts are revealed along with bones, teeth and shell, exposing the mysteries of the beginning of the Cambrian era. This piece attempts to convey the richness of the layers of live found there.

Description of archives: CD Walcott diaries and field notebook (1909 - 1923)

[The three other pieces in this series can be found in the gallery shop.]

Actual fossils from the Burgess Shale site upon Mount Stephen above Field, BC.

This exhibition is up until January 29, 2012. I encourage you to get to the mountains and take in some art!

Women of Fibre, at the Whyte - part 2

Photos of the six Articulation artists, along with their artist statements...

And here we all are, dressed in our artist black with identifying scarves, for the reception that evening.

Left to right: Vickie Newington, Ingrid Lincoln, Wendy Klotz, Gloria S. Daly, Donna Clement, Lesley Turner.

Women of Fibre, at the Whyte

As you walk into the gallery, this is what you see...

The museum director, Michale Lang and the curator, Mary Beth Laviolette did a wonderful job pairing and arranging artifacts and archives from the Whyte Collection to go along with Articulation's art works.

Catherine Whyte's engagement dress, shoes and portrait inspired Ingrid Lincoln.

Right - Burgess Shale fossils inspired Donna Clement; central - Mary Vaux's photographs inspired Wendy Klotz into making felted hats; left - Mary Shaffer's jacket inspired a response piece from everyone.

And Lesley Turner has an installation based upon women's work being unaccounted for and largely unnoticed in society.

Show at the Whyte Museum of the Rockies

November 26 was the opening of our latest exhibition in Banff, Alberta at the Whyte Museum. Called WOMEN OF FIBRE, we shared the main gallery with 94 year old Mary Garnham Andrews, a local weaver who has just donated her life's work to the Whyte.

The signage outside:

and walking into the gallery:

 Gloria S. Daly's piece titled Glacier.

and Vickie Newington's felt and glass pieces.

Exhibition Opening 'ARTICULATION'

Exciting news is of our exhibition opening this Saturday night (November 26th) at 7pm at the Whyte Museum of the Rockies in Banff with my textile group "Articulation".

The exhibition at the Whyte Museum is the result of our two artist residencies at the Leighton Studios at the Banff Centre for the Arts back in 2008 and 2009. The show is based upon mountain culture and women who have lived through the years in the Rocky Mountains. Our working title was WOMEN ROCK.

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 "ARTICULATION"
Where? Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies, Banff AB
When? November 26, 2011 to January 29, 2012

Opening Reception - Saturday, November 26 at 7pm with all 6 participating Articulation artists attending. Demos will also be done throughout the evening by Articulation.

Attending artists:
Donna Clement
Gloria S. Daly
Ingrid Lincoln
Lesley Turner
Vickie Newington
Wendy Klotz

Small Treasures

Small Treasures Art Show and Sale

November 19, 2011 to January 17, 2012
Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies, Banff, Alberta
Swiss Guides Room

Good things come in small packages! A favourite tradition of locals and visitors, the Museum hosts its annual holiday season Art Show and Sale. Choose from individual works of art or handcrafted artisan-made gift items. Artists have challenged their artistic boundaries by literally thinking inside the 144 square inch box to create these winter themed treasures.

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This is the announcement from the Whyte Museum of the first of my shows there. The gallery is downstairs in the museum, a small room full of Christmas treasures! I have small tabletop framed art + brooches + my newest item...

Smooth pebbles off the beaches around southern Vancouver Island, British Columbia which have been carted over the mountains to the foothills of Alberta, then felted with raw wool fibres, turning them into paperweights that can be stacked or used individually. So many colours and sizes.

These are so tactile (my favourite kind of stuff!) You just have to pick them up and fondle them - the soft wool over the hard stone. I love them!

Hope you can get to the mountains over the Christmas season and get to see all the different types of art on display.

Fall Art Sales

I have been busy all summer, dyeing silk scarves, sewing small framed tabletop pieces, making more necklaces and brooches...

Here are photos of some of what I will be selling at the three sales I am participating in this fall:

Infinity Scarf, also known as an Unisex Circular Scarf. One of four colourways:

Silk-Rayon Devore Scarf - many different patterns, sizes, with and without fringe:

 

ECO dyed silks, also known as 'natural dyeing'. These pieces are done with dried roses, coffee, hollyhocks, cherries, fresh rose petals, raspberries. Solid silk scarves, silk-rayon devore scarves, velvet devore scarves, and silk chiffon scarves:

Small framed pieces for tabletops, most 4"x6" size:

"Keepsake Pouch" necklaces. Made with linen thread and 2000 stitches, these are decorated with beads and buttons, and filled with semi-precious stones. Here are 2 of the 9 different coloured bags:

Brooches - an artist-made fabric of silks, organzas, cottons, tulle fused together with a wood burning tool, then beaded and hand embroidered. Various shapes:

Now I would like to share these with you - hope I see many of you over the coming months...