HAPPY NEW YEAR 2022!

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 Articulation Textile Group wishes you all the very best for 2022. May your New Year be off to a good start. We hope the coming months bring gentler times and good health into focus for us all.

Winter wonderland: Lake Winnipeg 2021


Articulation Textile Group, like the rest of Canada, is navigating the fourth wave of the Covid-19 Pandemic. After all this time we are finding our respective ways through challenges, public restrictions and health directives. Creativity is a balm and though we may have hurdled over a few bumps in the road we are looking forward to what will evolve out of our studios in 2022.  

Winnipeg Visitor, @clearquartzcreative, stopped in to see "Connected Heritage", while in Sidney, December 2021.

2021, despite restrictions to public spaces, did provide several opportunities for our group to exhibit work in textiles. Articulation's "Connected Heritage" exhibition hung in the Sidney Museum for 4 months and welcomed visitors until the end of 2021.
It was the first exhibition in the newly re-opened museum after a major renovation.
The staff and board worked hard to comply with the changing COVID restrictions and were successful in keeping the museum open throughout the exhibition.
In spite of having to work with controlled and limited entries, many people were able to enjoy Articulation's artworks and artifacts on loan from the Icelandic Canadian Club of BC.


Works by Lesley Turner and Donna Clement with Icelandic Artifacts.


"Connected Heritage" has been taken down and is now resting at Lesley Turner's lovely purpose built studio on Vancouver Island. Considering the circumstances we are grateful to all who managed to take in the show. The Icelandic Society, unfortunately, wasn't able to hold their opening event because with the COVID restrictions as only 15 people were allowed into the gallery at one time. We are hopefully some of this work might be on view at Donnington when Articulation exhibits a belated 2020 exhibition selected from the past 20 years of working together.



Wendy Klotz and Donna Clement, "Connected Heritage", Sidney 2021.


Further collaborations may have been temporarily suspended for now, but I think we can all agree we are getting used to the need to pivot and regroup. Flexibility may become our ongoing theme into the foreseeable future? 

The Canadian Icelandic Conference in Gimil has been postponed, yet again, however the organizers of the North American conference are still interested in Articulation being involved in what  will potentially go ahead in 2023. We will see how the future evolves. I guess we will wait and see how that turns out.

Ingrid Lincoln playing with hand dyed cottons.


In the meantime Ingrid Lincoln of Winnipeg has been keeping herself busy creatively.

Ingrid writes: In January the weather became very cold and we were at home. I took another deep dive into my studio and continued my studio rumble. This time I rediscovered some quilt samples which I had started years ago. I had made 2 pieced blocks and found instructions for several more. I decided to make them and use up the last of my hand dyed cotton. As I had limited colour choices it became a bit of a colour challenge. I used what I had and put it together the best I could. I found some interesting combinations and discovered again that I am not a precision sewer or cutter but I wound up with a useable bed quilt for the cottage which is a bit of a colour primer.

Ingrid's studio rumble has been inspiring some colourful quilts. 

Never one to  leave a fabric UFO unattended, at least once they are rediscovered, Ingrid shared; "I also found 2 more intricate blocks. I was not going to make more of these. Instead I made potholders. Had some trouble with the binding. Back to basics for me."  

Back to basics for the rumble finale.


2021 began with a show for me (Amanda) at La maison de Artistes, in St Boniface, Winnipeg. There I exhibited a personal body of work under the heading of "Composition".

2022 similarly will find the majority of that body of work in Russell, Manitoba, at the invitation of the Prairie Arts Cartel. It's kind of like going home and I am grateful to have been offered a space to share my work. In the off chance you find yourself in town I hope you will stop in to check it out.

The Healing Blanket project facilitated by Amanda Onchulenko will join,  "Composition", a body of work in textiles in Russell Manitoba until the end of February, 2022

My Mother in Law, Doris, shared many winter afternoons quilting with a community of quilters who gathered to co work, hand quilting, each others projects and supporting each other as a creative community. She employed a simple system of clamps and rails that I used to initially stretch The Healing Blanket Project. Grandma is cognitively unavailable to see how this project has progressed but I am honoured to share this community project, she helped to inspire, in her hometown.

 Covid has had an impact on this project too and effectively put an end to further community stitching events. I am proud though, to have witnessed how a few pieces of fabric and a colourful dye sublimated print could unite families in both grief and joy, and become the recipient of a multitude of stories, stitches and moments of presence. I have been humbled to experience the power of a needle and thread in the hands of the expert and the complete novice, women children, men, neighbours and strangers, who have all added a stitch in ( actual) time, with, or in honour of someone they love or have loved. 

Community, creativity, connection and cloth...


A new year leads to new beginnings and a new commission is underway.


Everything is related, nothing exists in isolation. After a year where I spent much of it settling into my new, very small, studio space after 20 years of working with space to spare, I ironically found myself being commissioned to paint very large paintings. I had a great year at the end of my paintbrush. 
As the New Year comes into focus I am pleased to be back at the sewing machine playing with dye sublimated details from my painting practice and working on a new commission. 
Commission ...in the beginning. 


This one is banner style at 3' x 9' and this week I got to dive in and play. Cutting up the prints took a little faith. Weilding a pair of scissors was a reminder to have fun and allow the process to unfold. Shown above is part of the foreground pinned and ready to start stitching on and a preliminary view of the original layout. I am looking forward to seeing how this project evolves.
I will definitely keep you posted in future blogposts.
Until then, on behalf of Articulation Textile Group, 
Stay well, Stay creative. 
all best, 

Amanda Onchulenko



                                                                    Amanda's Website

Lesley's Website and Blog

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