Articulation Textile Group

What's more cultural than taking an English High Tea in a French Chateau? Leann walking on the Dufferin Terrace towards Chateau Frontenac... The High Tea menu... Tea selection... and lunch... l to r: Lesley, Wendy, Ingrid, Donna, Leann... top layer of sweets... middle layer of baking... bottom layer of sandwiches (shrimp mousse, duck pate, smoked salmon, asparagus, cucumber)... Delicious day!

The week we were together flew by, mainly because we were taking so much in! There are 29 churches in the old town, so they were an important part of our trip exploring history. Especially the stitching that the Ursuline Nuns were famous for. The Holy Trinity church, one of the few Anglican... The Ursuline Chapel... The altar inside the Ursuline Chapel, the nuns are famous for their gilding of gold over wooden sculptures... Marie de l'Incarnation - moved to Canada from France in 1639 to set up a girl's school - the first in North America... A typical street in the lower Old Town... The lovely roof lines of the Chateau Frontenac, a Canadian Pacific Railway hotel built around the turn of the century. (Open the link to read about the many across Canada.) Articulation on the steps of the Frontenac(l to r: Leann, Lesley, Ingrid, Wendy).

Articulation and Material Girls' exhibition 'Articulated Materials: Bridging Waters' was installed in the Tulista Park Gallery, Sidney, BC. It hung for 14 days.... ...while over 900 people visited it. Now it has been packed up and shipped across the country to the Bay of Fundy where it will be installed in the Frazee Gallery in the Saint John Arts Centre in Saint John, New Brunswick. This is a well travelled exhibition.

This show is getting around! After being in southern England in 2012 for three exhibits, the travelling show is now on its second Canadian leg. Articulated Materials: Bridging Waters is opening in Sidney BC (conveniently located by the Victoria airport and mainland Ferry terminal) at The Arts Centre at Tulista Park. The show has Articulation's work based upon the Bay of Fundy, and Material Girls' work based upon the River Thames. Articulation travelled to New Brunswick and Nova Scotia in the fall of 2010 and spent a week studying locales including the seaside towns of St. Andrews, St. Martins, St. Stephens; walking tours of Saint John and Fredericton; self-directed walks down to The Hopewell Rocks; to the UNESCO site of Joggins Fossil Cliffs; the lighthouse at Cape d'Or; and the Fundy Geological Museum in Parrsboro. This is our resulting work... As you can see by the schedule along the right side, the next show will be in the Maritimes, in Saint John NB.

Donna has just produced this great poster, using an image of Ingrid's work, to promote the 1st showing of  Articulated Materials: Bridging Waters. Didn't she do a great job. Cre8ery www.cre8ery.com is a contemporary gallery in downtown Winnipeg where the owner, Jordon Millar, works hard to ensure work shows well in her space. The exhibition is planned to coincide with the national Embroiders' Association of Canada's annual seminar being held in Winnipeg in May this year www.eac.ca

Had a chance to speak with Dawn Rudman just before the opening of "Quiet Zone" at Queen Elizabeth Park Centre.  I asked what her criteria was for artists applying for the exhibition and she said there wasn't any specifically.  It was when she started receiving the work that she was made aware of the similarities between each work, and that was the soft, calm, quiet approach that was taken by each artist.  It was only then that Dawn named the exhibition, "Quiet Zone". There is no doubt that the exhibition gives you a sense of serenity and calmness.  No loud or brash colours pervade the exhibition.  It's a refreshing visual pause in the whole exhibition of The World of Threads. Here are three of my favourite works in the exhibition.  I chose them for their quiet simplicity and subtleness. Vestige 1 Kelly O'Neill, Ontario       Washi paper, thread, ink, charcoal, smocking Trinity Judy Martin, Manitoulin Island, ON     ...

I really enjoyed my visit to the Art Gallery of Ontario.  It was quite a rabbit warren of different rooms but the diversity of its collection was quite amazing.  Luckily the exhibition about Frida Kahlo and  Diego Rivera was going on. The exhibition had over 80 paintings and 60 photographs and it was interesting to compare their artwork, the first time I believe that they have been shown together. Theirs was a passionate relationship wrapped up in revolution and betrayal. They divorced at one time over Diego's affair with Frida's sister, but they remarried again.  It was so interesting to see the work they were doing during the same time period with their similarities and differences. I spent quite a long time in the area containing the Group of Seven work.  It was wonderful to be able to get up really close to the work without barriers in the way.  You could see the texture of the paint and the way it was applied.  The Group of Seve...