Articulation Textile Group

Our summer days in Manitoba are treasured. We look forward to that hint of lime in frozen slews in the spring that herald warmer weather and our getting out into the great outdoors. Eventually, the snowbanks recede and the hardiest of perennials make their way to the light. The robins follow and then every natural process miraculously accelerates. It truly seems like we wait forever and before we know it summer is here, then almost gone. Manitoba's Inland Ocean in the Interlake, Lake Winnipeg at Ponemah. Already at the lake, the days are getting shorter and the shadows a little longer. Soon we might even be able to get up for the sunrise without an alarm. Temperatures are increasing their span and mornings are notably cooler. Nothing any Canadian can't handle but definitely, that hint of a changing season is in the air. These lovelies have already turned their faces from the sun, could they be articulating a new definition for sunscreen?   My travels in the Interl...

Articulation is joining the Sidney Museum in commemorating the 100 year anniversary when the Armistice was signed ending World War I in Europe.  Six Articulation members will each install a body of work exploring their personal war experiences. The Sidney Museum will have many artefacts on display illustrating Canada's involvement in past wars up to today's UN Peace Keepers. The exhibition is in the Sidney Museum, 2423 Beacon Avenue, Sidney BC V8L 1X5.  It opens October 16th and closes November 29, 2018. Artist-led tours are available. Please call Alyssa, Assitant Director, at 250 655 6355 to book a group tour. Articulation visits the war memorial in Weyburn Saskatchewan. Unlike other projects, the individual WAR bodies of work did not come out of a specific annual Study Session. Over the past few years, Articulation members have visited war-related museums and memorial sites whenever they have been together to do researc...

In 1930 Weyburn Mental Hospital, Saskatchewan was the largest building in Canada. Post WWII battle disorders caused a peak of the in-patient population in the hospital. The Soo Line Historical Museum in Weyburn has a large room of artifacts from the hospital, many of which are rather horrifying. They also have a collection of art painted by patients as a result of the art therapy program. A project Articulation members are working on is a personal response to war. Some of the members are looking at how war affects the whole family not just those who go to war.  The Soo Line Museum proved to be a rich primary resource for some members. Ingrid Lincoln, Donna Clement, Mandy Onchulenko. Equipped to carry out research: sketchbook/notebook, camera, a bag to hold pens, glue stick and gathered materials, sturdy walking shoes, dressed in layers and prepared for all weathers. But we do stop for meals. Leann, our host, had scouted out a number of different pla...

One never knows when a flash of inspiration for a work will strike. Often an article stimulates a childhood memory and links to later life experiences. Are you old enough to remember when general stores wrapped their customers' purchases in brown paper torn off a large roll..... ...and tied it with string. In the home, both brown paper and string were kept, along with the purchase because both had many further uses. Recycling is not a new concept, but maybe it could be expressed as an idea in a work using brown paper to reference another time of recycling? Hand-cranked sock making machine Textile related artifacts in museums often attract the eye of a fibre artist. Textile history is as long as human history so the fibre artist has a treasure trove of knowledge and techniques to pull from. Spinning Niddy Noddy for making yarn into skeins ready to dye. Every culture fashioned tools and equipment to work with fibre and cloth. Often these tools are '...

Sweater Blocker Research is a big part of Articulation members' work. Annual study sessions allow time for some intensive research of primary resources which often involves visiting museums and archives. Sock Blockers, Garment Blockers, Washboard Weyburn has a number of very interesting museums with unique collections, including the Soo Line Historical Museum click here for location and hours , housed in a large brick building that used to be a power facility.  Tie Blocker We usually start a study session with a broad theme in mind then over the week the theme evolves and develops in another direction, into many directions and has to be reigned in or becomes focused. It all depends on what we find as we explore. 'Laundry Stove. Used in Lee Sing's Laundry until his death in 1961.' Our name 'Articulation' describes the way we work very well. Together we do the initial research in a specific location, guided by a broad theme that serves ...