Going through my inventory 2...

For the Contextural sale on November 19th I am looking through my inventory from past exhibitions to see what I still have around.

More pieces that I think I will be bringing are...

From the UNESCO Heritage Site show "ExtraOrdinary Places"  in 2008 of UNESCO sites I have visited were the amazing Stave Churches in Norway. Christianity came to Norway between 995 and 1030 AD. As a result, churches were built which were ornamental, with carvings such as dragon heads, that showed a marriage of Christian and Viking symbols. These churches take their names from the distinctive building techniques using vertical staves. From over 1000 that were built, less than 30 remain today.
Norway's Stave Churches - Urnes

Norway's Stave Churches - Eidsborg

From the Bay of Fundy, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia study session in 2010 came the exhibit entitled "Bridging Waters" that toured England and across Canada from 2012 - 2014:

Erosion at Hopewell Rock 
The Hopewell Rocks of New Brunswick are the iconic Bay of Fundy postcard image. Erosion from the highest tides in the world going through twice a day has carved these red sandstone cliffs into strange and interesting shapes.
Full and Detail:

 

Always Something To Do
Based upon a photograph I took at the pier in St. Andrews-by-the-Sea NB this scene is recreated endlessly with men and their boats. The title refers to how it is a never ending job of maintenance against the ravages of salt water and marine life.

UNESCO World Heritage Site

Yes, another World Heritage Site!
In past years I have created pieces based upon these Canadian UNESCO sites: the Rocky Mountain Parks in Alberta + L'Anse Aux Meadows in Newfoundland + Haida Gwaii (SGand Gwaay) in British Columbia + Dinosaur Provincial Park in Alberta + Quebec City in Quebec...

My latest interest is JOGGINS FOSSIL CLIFFS in Nova Scotia on the Bay of Fundy.

Employing a technique I have used in other series, I am drawing with free machine embroidery stitch on archival tissue paper.

Piece #1 is fish fossils...

Close up - tea dyed, waxed, black thread...

Piece #2 is the Ammonite shell...
Starting phase - draw and colour

Close up of the stitching...

And the final pieces framed...

I can't wait to present them to the public and hear their comments on them!

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.

Banff Centre for the Arts residency

February has zipped by and now I am days away from heading to Banff for the entire month of March - just imagine - packing for a month! The clothes are nothing - it's the supplies! How to take enough of everything so that you don't run out of projects to work on?

Of the entire Articulation group, there will be eight of us heading to the mountains for a month long retreat with people coming and going over the 4 and 1/2 weeks. Good news is that we have got use of the visual art facilities for two of those weeks and can dye fabrics and thread, and then print, silk screen and stamp for another layer.

I will be attending for the entire 31 days and look forward to the mountain air and group bonding. I plan to dye silk banners + overdye cottons and wools + stamp motifs for WOMEN ROCK (Banff study) and URBAN TEXTURES (Winnipeg study). I am sure I won't run out of things to do!

Here is a photo from last year's residency at the same Leighton Artists' Colony, at the Banff Centre for the Arts, Banff, Canada. Exciting times ahead!

Provencal 3 - Nimes and Orange

We came to Nimes to visit the best preserved Roman amplitheatre in the world but discovered this one was hosting a bullfight that day and the festivities had taken over the entire town.


From marching bands winding their way through narrow cobblestoned streets; to tents selling anything related to the bull; to food stands (paella, of course); to beautifully embroidered matador jackets and paraphernalia - the town was a wonder to wander through - until the bullfight started and then the streets were empty!






We did get to visit the Maison Carrèe in relative quiet though - this neat, jewel-like temple is nothing like its name, Square House, being in fact long and rectangular. Built in 5AD it is possibly dedicated to the Gods Jupiter, Juno, or Minerva. It survived the centuries as a meeting hall, a private residence, a stable, a church and, after the Revolution an archive.


On the way to Orange, we made a point to take in the masterpiece of engineering - the Roman aqueduct Pont du Gard, built about 8 BC at 160 ft high, it carried water over 30 miles into the city of Arles.


Then into Orange and one of the best preserved Theatre Antique left standing. The Roman Theater of Orange is extraordinary in that it has retained its magnificent stage wall - surprisingly well preserved and unique in the Western world. Because of the wall it still has wonderful acoustics; this theatre can hold 10,000 spectators and has concerts within its walls to this day.


All of the preceding places are, of course, UNESCO world heritage sites.

Provencal 2 - Avignon

Another UNESCO site is the historic centre of the city of Avignon. This fortified city is marked by papal history. Going through any of the seven doors of the superbly preserved walls one discovers the city of the Popes. The city is well known for its Palais des Papes (Palace of the Popes), where several popes and antipopes lived from the early 14th to early 15th centuries.



the fortified wall:


looking up at the palace:


looking from the rooftop to the square below:


one of the few things actually in the palace - 800 year old vellum and calligraphy!



Nearby are the museums the Petit Palais and Palais du Roure, not too far away stands the famous Pont d'Avignon (of school-age French classes and the song Sur Le Pont, d'Avignon... if you know it, the tune immediately comes into your head!)

Then onto Provencal...

Based out of the city of Arles, this area of France is great to explore for the Roman ruins, the hilltop towns, the white horses of Camargue, the rice paddies, and the FOOD!

Arles is noted for the wealth of its Roman and Romanesque heritage. Arles became Roman after Julius Caesar distributed the land among his veteran legionnaires in 46 B.C. This was the first Golden Age of the city dubbed « Little Rome in Gaul », which became a major religious center during the Early Christian period. The monuments of the city listed as UNESCO world heritage monuments in 1981 include the Roman amphitheatre (the arena) - still used for bullfights:






the Roman theatre, the Cryptoportico (foundations of the Roman Forum), the Roman baths of Constantine:




the remains of the Roman circus, the cloister and portal of St. Trophime’s, and the Alyscamp cemetery. The Musée d’Arles et de la Provence Antique, the Arles archeological museum, is a must-see for three-dimensional re-creations of many of these sites - and being able to see what these places looked like over 2000 years ago bring them to life when looking at dusty ruins! In this museum I especially loved the mosaics that had been taken out of buildings and were on display in a very large scale.






The skilled craftsmen who could create such delicate shading on the human figure with squares of rock were to be admired for lasting through the milleniums.