More to sell... 2

I will also have some small pieces of wall art that incorporate embossed copper metal or aluminum metal, hand and machine stitched onto decorative backgrounds.

Two are based upon Celtic Runes. They are small treasures mounted on 6" x 6" canvas frames that are 1 1/2" deep - so meant to stand on a bookshelf.

This first one has just sold.

 

Then I have three that are floral. They are all mounted upon 12" x 12" canvas frames, but wired on the back for hanging.

Bamboo

 

Glimpse of Poppy - on linen background.

Plus I will have the pieces that were exhibited in Banff over Christmas at the Whyte Museum. There are four based upon Burgess Shale site found on Mount Stephen by Field BC. My artist statement for those reads:

"The fossils contained in the Burgess Shale, which detail 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.  These pieces attempt to convey the richness of the layers of life found there."

Preserved Impression - "Burgessochaeta"

Preserved Impression - "Gogia"

And the Mountain Pine Beetle invasion that man countered with by burning large swatches of forest in the Rocky Mountains. My artist statement for these five pieces reads:

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 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.

Guide Me Through The Dark Unknown 1

Guide Me Through The Dark Unknown 3

The Calgary Calyx sale is tomorrow - Saturday April 21st - and the Edmonton sale is Saturday May 5th. I am finishing up labelling and tagging. Still busy....

Contact me if you are interested in any of the goodies on the previous posts...

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!

Banff - Day 12

Being in the dye studios for the first week was very productive in that you could see results every time you washed another batch of fabrics. Now that we are all back in the Leighton Colony studio stitching, progress is measured in different terms. Slowly!

One of the themes I am working on for Women Rock are the fossils of the Burgess Shale. I spent last week silk screening some images onto different fabrics, and have backgrounds I made at home and brought to Banff. Here are pictures of the three pieces as they exist at this moment.




Continuing with the themes that the others in the group are working on, Ingrid Lincoln is focusing on the fine clothing that women brought to the mountains from their high society lives in the northeastern USA (specifically Philadelphia / Boston areas.) She is studying the contrast between social and cultural mores of society versus the new west. Here the very beginning of a piece that originated with Catherine Whyte's engagement dress and its ribbon work.

Donna Clement and her Women Rock work

As I am collecting items together to pack for Banff, I am narrowing down which pieces I will work on while I am there. I have five themes that I am exploring:

(1) flowers of the Rockies Mountains - specifically childhhod memories of Brown-eyed Susans, Queen Anne's lace, and Indian Paintbrush

(2) devestation caused by the mountain pine beetle

(3) fossils of the Burgess Shale

(4) textures of the Rockies (leaf shapes, animal pawprints, branches, fur patterns)

(5) and, continuing the work I started for the Winnipeg exhibit on immigrants to Canada, exploring the rounding up of Ukranians in Alberta during WWI into an internment camp located in the Banff national park.