SUMMER SHOW! Articulation Textile Group at the New Iceland Heritage Museum, Gimli Manitoba
Gimli's New Iceland Heritage Museum hosts Articulation Textile Group's, "Connected Heritage", in the summer of 2019.
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| The physical work of making is complete and we now get to see the group's combined efforts assembled in a public space. |
Summer is well and truly upon us and as all Manitobans will tell you, their favoured season is a fleeting couple of pages on the calander that takes us outside as much as possible. Getting away from our routines in celebration of the season is a communal goal and with a summer stacked with all the fun of festivals and events across the province and in cottage country, there is no shortage of things to do and see. I promised my blog post would appear in July and if I hurry I can make that deadline. I do however apologize for being both distracted and healed by the joy of Manitoba's summer. July's sunshine has taken my soul hostage and given me the rest I most needed after a very hectic previous six months. I thank you for your patience :)
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| Summer scenery off highway 9 to Gimli |
Beyond Gimli's beautiful harbour and the saturated surrounding fields of yellow canola, sunflowers and purple flax we can all be forgiven for thinking we are indeed driving along an inland ocean. The region was once designated a reserve for Icelandic settlers and it has definitely evolved into a unique and diverse summertime destination with something for everyone.
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| Sunflower fields are ripening along highway 8 as I type. |
Stores like Steina's, Heaven Scent, Johnsons, and of course our Iconic Tergussons are my favourites. Foodies take note! Lemon Meringue pie, imperial cookies and Vinaterta are available at the Sugar me cookie Bakery on centre street and battered pickerel at Kris's, opposite the hotel, are my personal recommendations no matter the season. Gimli also boasts the Fabriculous Quilt store, nestled in the Lakeview Hotel where Harrison Ford became our neighbour one winter. Make sure to check these venues out after you visit the museum to take in our show.
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| The water off Gimli Beach hoists a giant movie screen for free screenings of popular family films during the Gimli Film Festival. The same spot looks quite a bit different in January. dotted with ice fishing shacks. No fish flies or sandy toes! |
The New Iceland Museum in Gimli, which is hosting Articulation's show, "Connected Heritage" for the summer of 2019 has been designated a Manitoba signature museum by the province of Manitoba. It hosts more than 15000 visitors annually and many of them arrive from local and international destinations during annual events such as the Gimli Film Festival, and the annual Icelandic Festival during the august long weekend.
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| A resident viking at the New Iceland Heritage Museum |
Articulation Textile Group has the privilege of exhibiting the body of work we created in response to a study session held in Manitoba's Interlake during the summer of 2016. We explored the unique Icelandic Heritage of the region where each one of us found inspiration for work we later produced independently in our home provinces.
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| This was the beginning of our hanging adventure: the Forest Gump prelude to our puzzling days of coordinating diversity into a coherent story of our combined journey through inspiration, process and technique. |
"Connected Heritage was hung during the last week of June by Ingrid and I with the help of summer students who did an amazing job taking direction and learning new skills maneuvering art work to showcase our textile creations. We were especially grateful for Jordan's willingness to take charge of the ladder and learn the art of lighting. These works in textiles celebrate not only the region and the people and events that inspired us but also the diverse talents and skills of this exceptional group of fibre artists.
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| It is always best to be generous in the estimation of how long it will take to develop and agree on a plan. The implementation of said plan accounts for its own set of variables but rest assured the show will go up. |
"Genetic research has confirmed what the sagas told us hundreds of years ago. The founding Icelandic population was made up of mainly blue eyed Norsemen and green eyed Celtic women. For any genetically distinct population their collective DNA and their material culture make up their visual identity which is taken with them, wherever in the world they choose to go."
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| "Origins" (detail) by Lesley Turner, Vancouver Island. |
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| "Reflection :Spegilmynd", (...serious thought or consideration) by Amanda Onchulenko, Winnipeg. |
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| "Fractured Stability" by Leann Clifford, Saskatchewan. |
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| "Lucky you, lucky me" (detail), by Dona Clement, Calgary. |
Scattered along the shores of Lake Winnipeg are unique stones with natural holes, known locally as lucky rocks or Odin Stones. These are believed to be imbued with special healing properties and to provide protection. If you find one, hold onto it. I, personally, am an expert lucky rock hunter and have some secret places that are unfailingly abundant producers, particularly after a storm. I might be coerced into sharing my local knowledge with exhibition visitors. Tell me of your experience and I might share a bit of mine.
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| "Oral History" by Wendy Klotz, Calgary. |
Wendy Klotz is our resident felting expert and her work can be counted on to have a sculptural element. Made of wool and silk organza, "Oral History" was wet felted then the stories were machine and hand stitched onto sheer silk organza. Wendy states..."When refugees of all sorts leave their home, often all they have to bring to their new land are the clothes on their back. They do however retain their oral traditions which they hold in their hearts to tell future generations so they will always be reminded of where they are from. These lips, with the stories spilling out of them remind us of the rich traditions of which Canada is fortunate to be a guardian".
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| "Arrival" , (Detail), by Ingrid Lincoln, Winnipeg. |
Each member of our group submitted a body of work reflective of the studio practices that inspire and motivate. Ingrid Lincoln used batik, a wax resist method of dying fabric. The detail above illustrates the use of hand stitching that can often be found in Ingrid's textile pieces. Ingrid writes of her piece... "The end of the journey brings new challenges", as an immigrant herself displaced during the second world war with her family of origin, her piece muses, "What is the future? How do we move forward?
These are fitting questions for this particular textile piece. The same questions are equally appropriate for our group at large after a year of multiple exhibits and inordinate amounts of time spent in production. There will come, after this show, a time of reflection and evaluation that will allow a new set of goals to develop, to encourage and inspire our imaginations. and creative processes.
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| Th Village of Dunottar on the shores of Lake Winnipeg and an example of our iconic, seasonal, stick dock piers. at sunrise. |
In the meantime, should you find yourself in Manitoba's Interlake looking for some inspiration and some fine textile pieces to take in, we hope you will find your way to The New Iceland Museum" in Gimli Manitoba to see our show, "Connected Heritage". Feedback so far has been encouraging from those who have sought me out to tell me of their experience and their pleasure at experiencing such diverse body of work in both concept and technique.
I am yet to post my articulation pieces on my freshly launched website www.mandart.ca but hope to get back up on that steep learning curve I have set myself upon, very soon. Feel free to check out the rest of my studio practice in your spare time between now and our next chat where I will feature more works from the show.
Until then, take good care and enjoy your travels throughout this beautiful country in my favourite (though fleeting ), season.
all best,
Amanda Onchulenko
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