Understanding (Re)conciliation through Art Making

I have created a piece of art (pictured above) that represents my present understanding of the complexities of the (re)conciliation process with Indigenous peoples in Canada. Each circle represents an element of (re)conciliation. More specifically, my art piece represents the words in the word cloud (pictured below). Significantly, most of the circles overlap one another representing the ways that the individual elements of (re)conciliation are interconnected. I chose to use the circle as my inspiration because of its significance with regards to notions of life cycles, knowledge and power, unbreakable strength, equity and relationships.

Winter Wonderland

Inspired by our lovely snow fall yesterday - and particularly inspired by a break from marking! - I made this small winter scene for a custom order. It truly is the holiday season!

Figurative Felting

So, I am at the final stage of my surface design course - the individual project phase.  For this piece, I attempted to do a "life felting" (instead of "life drawing") for the very first time.  I used the following techniques from Fiona Duthie's course to complete the piece: exotic fibres, tape, nuno inclusions, flat prefelt and surface stitches.

This was an exciting project as I really had no idea how the final product would turn out.  It was also intellectually challenging because I had to employ the various felting techniques at different stages of the felting process which required that I act deliberately and plan ahead.  In the past, my work has typically used one or two surface design elements that were applied during the layout phase so this definitely was a departure from the usual.  I am excited about this new approach as it adds a layer of complexity to my work that has been missing.

This is another piece that I did which required a similar level of planning and deliberation.  In fact, I prepared a planning drawing for this one:

Overall, I am very happy that I enrolled in this felting surface design course with Fiona Duthie.  Working away at the lessons taught me many new techniques while the individual project forced me out of my comfort zone and into creating something more complex than most of my earlier work.  I definitely recommend this course (http://www.fionaduthie.com/workshops/surface-design-in-feltmaking-online-workshop/) to anyone wanting to up their felting "game."

 

Surface Design Online with Fiona Duthie

This summer, as a treat for myself, I am taking an online course in surface design for felt makers  (http://www.fionaduthie.com/workshops/surface-design-in-feltmaking-online-workshop/) from Fiona Duthie (http://www.fionaduthie.com), a professional Canadian artist in her field who teaches all around the world.  The work that she produces inspires me to deepen my own felting practice and to 'raise my game'!

Below are a few highlights from the course so far.

Fibres and Bases

Resists Under Wool

Nuno Inclusions

Beechwood Market - one down, four more to go!

Today, I participated in my first of five market days in the Beechwood Village area of Ottawa.  Although the weather was wet and cold, we loaded up the car and set out.  Notwithstanding a leaky tent, the day was successful and pleasant - thanks to the much needed help of @medprodigy and to everyone who ventured out today.

All packed and ready to go!

The full set up, under the protective canopy of my tent.

I will exhibit my work in four more market days over the summer, on June 25th, July 2nd, August 13th and August 20th.

Gearing up for the Beechwood Market

Over this summer, I will be participating in five individual Beechwood Market events.   The Beechwood Market is the East End's new spot to shop, taste and mingle on Saturdays and this year I will be part of it!

On June 11th, June 25th, July 2nd, August 13th and August 20th I will be exhibiting my handmade, one-of-a-kind felt fine art and craft pieces.

The event as a whole will bring you everything from local produce to prepared foods and VQA wines, baking, prepared foods, and arts and craft products.  For further details, visit beechwoodmarket.ca.

Here are some samples of what you will find at my booth during the market:

Playing in Abstraction

"Untitled" 2015

"Chasm" 2016

"Untitled" 2016

The Felting Process

After some time away from felting, this weekend I made a large summer tree piece destined to be framed in an old storm window.  I documented the process of constructing the piece which is detailed in the photos below:

I laid out a base layer of undyed wool...

followed by coloured roving to make my 'painting'...

worked it with hot soapy water...

and framed the finished piece in an up cycled storm window.

My first foray into the gallery scene!

I am excited to announce that my piece, "The Clash," is now included in the Ottawa Art Gallery's ART Rental and Sales division.  This means that my piece is now available for outright purchase or monthly rental in a gallery setting.  I am so excited to have made a move into this environment and am inspired to continue striving for gallery exposure.

The Ottawa Art Gallery's ART Rental and Sales division can be found at:

Arts Court

2 Daly Avenue, Ottawa Ontario

(613) 233-8699

Hours:

Monday: Closed

Tuesday, Wednesday: 10 am - 7 pm

Thursday, Friday: 10 am - 9 pm

Saturday, Sunday: 11 am - 6 pm

Art vs. Craft?

Recently, I have encountered the challenge of how to classify my work; is it fine art or craft...or something in between?  I find that often times, my work is classified as 'craft,' particularly because of my sculptural vessels.

But I do make wall art pieces that I argue fall closer to the category of 'art,' like the pieces below.  

The classification of these works as 'art' is, perhaps, complicated by the non-traditional framing methods I employ, particularly when I use items like quilting hoops as frames.  Does the addition of a 'craft apparatus' make my work 'craft'?

The primary elements of my work - the untraditional medium and original framing methods - make finding a place for my pieces in a gallery setting challenging, to say the least.  Etsy, for the most part, has been my main platform for exposure up until this point.

Laura Morelli explores how we assign value to art in this TED-ed Lessons segment: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/is-there-a-difference-between-art-and-craft-laura-morelli.  She gives me much food for thought in this short five minute presentation, and a possible answer to my classification question.  Could the divide between 'art' and 'craft' in my work be subsumed in her proposed "visual arts" category?  Would such a classification help art buyers and collectors understand my body of work, thereby making it more approachable for a gallery context?  It is my hope that this is the case as I am eager to find audiences outside of Etsy where my work can gain access to the audience that a gallery attracts.