Fibreworks 2012

Just a heads up! The next call for submissions for Fibreworks 2012 is out!

FIBREWORKS 2012
A biennial juried exhibition of Canadian fibre art
September 29 – November 9, 2012

CALL FOR ENTRY

Fibreworks, now in its 14th edition, is a biennial juried exhibition of contemporary Canadian fibre art. It is a showcase of the most current and versatile approaches to fibre as a medium in form and production. This exhibition is one of the largest group shows in Canada dedicated specifically to fibre based works and serves as a survey of the artists currently working in the medium. As many as 35 artists participate in the exhibition with works selected by an independent jury. All works selected for the exhibition are eligible for the Juror's award and may be purchased by Cambridge Galleries as part of its permanent collection dedicated exclusively to Canadian fibre art.

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Here is a link to the calls for entry submission form.
Deadline for entry is: Thursday, May 31, 2012 (postmarked).

  

New on flickr

Just a quick post I wanted to share with you...
I can't believe it has taken me this long, but I've finally finished putting together all my work on flickr!
I will be posting more photos of my processes, work and exhibitions as they happen! Please feel free to pop by and have a look, or share a comment..


http://www.flickr.com/photos/lizzaston/

Swept Away: Dust, Ashes and Dirt in Contemporary Art and Design

Really wishing I could just hop on a bus right now and go see the exhibition Swept Away: Dust, Ashes and Dirt in Contemporary Art and Design, at the Museum of Art and Design in New York.

Following in the same vein as exhibitions such as Radical Lace and Subversive Knitting and Slash: Paper Under the Knife, Swept Away is the first exhibition of its scope to examine the artistic potential of ephemeral materials. 

This exhibition showcases the work of 25 international artists who transform dust, ash and dirt through the lens of both literal and abstracted interpretations into intricate and poignantly beautiful installations, sculptures, paintings, photographs and performances. The 34 featured works - 13 of which have been commissioned specifically for the exhibition, are created through the collection, removal and reconstitution of ephemeral matter, exposing, in many cases, the debris of human existence. On view from February 7th through August 12th 2012, the exhibition will include a series of 'live' installations that will allow museum goers to interact with artists and their works. Here is a brief look at some of the works in the exhibition:

Studio Glitherto - Burn Burn Burn

For Burn Burn Burn, we created a flammable paint, which in composition resembles the material of matchstick heads. The paint was invented in our kitchen and optimized with the help of the chemist.

In the work, a flame moves slowly over the wall, dances on the floor, up the chairs, down the table legs, where a trace of charred black remains. Inspired by Fred Astaire's Ceiling Dance, the flame traces a dancing path across the room, connecting and unifying objects.

Phoebe Cummings - Flora

Working predominantly in unfired clay, Phoebe constructs pieces directly on site as temporary installations or interventions within a space. In her work she explores material processes and the implications of intense labour on the temporal eventuality of the works existence. Often the pieces only come to exist as a photograph or a memory.

Elvira Wersche - Electron

Over the course of the past ten years, Elvira Wersche has been collecting coloured sands from over 600 places around the world. In her work she uses her sand samples to create a series of temporary, site-specific installations that trace-out of intricate geometric patterns and polygonal shapes across the floor.

Wersche working on an installation in progress:

Alaxandre Orion - 'Reverse Graffitti'

Soot from automobile exhaust, cleaned off of a tunnel wall in Sao Paulo.

Orion  is a Brazilian graffiti artist and photographer whose work has an intrinsic relationship with the city, either as a subject, or using it as a stage for his art. In his work he creates 'reverse graffiti' murals by selectively scraping off layers of dirt and black soot deposited on the walls of tunnels and public spaces.

Klondike Institute of Arts and Culture

Artist in Residence Program

Last week, I managed to finally finish my application for the Klondike Institute of Arts and Culture artist residency program.

Founded in 2001, the KIAC Artist-in-Residence Program has welcomed the work of over 170 artists, musicians and filmmakers to Dawson City, Yukon.

Through the Artist-in-Residence program, KIAC aims to present an inspirational environment and culturally relevant context for artists while working on the creation, research and development of new or ongoing bodies of work.
Residency facilities are located in the famous Macaulay Residence, which like many of the buildings in Dawson City, is rumored to be haunted. Originally constructed in 1901, this 2-story home is now owned by Parks Canada as a part of the Dawson Historical Complex, National Historic Site of Canada.

The building is meant to accommodate up to two individuals concurrently. While in residence, artists also have the opportunity to facilitate outreach programs such as talks, workshops and exhibitions, intended to promote interaction and professional development, and provide access to a diverse range of contemporary arts practices and theories within the community.
I am really excited at the prospect of taking part in this incredible program. Here is a look at some artists working in paper and fibre who have recently taken part in the KIAC artist residency...

ED PIEN uses drawing, papercuts, performance and video to create large scale installations. While in Dawson, Pien will be working with students in Veronica Verkley's 2D class at the YSOVA.

Ed Pien is a Canadian artist based in Toronto. He has been drawing for nearly 30 years. Born in Taipei, Taiwan, he immigrated to Canada with his family at the age of eleven. He holds a Master of Fine Arts degree from York University in Toronto and Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of Western Ontario, in London, Ontario. Ed Pien has exhibited nationally and internationally

CAITLIN ERSKINE SMITH

Focusing in textiles, her work incorporates traditional techniques to consider modern conflicts of identity, language and change. In her work, Caitlin hand weaves large-scale pieces that explore the challenges inherent in communication and understanding. Through labor and time intensive process, layers of text are woven together, and their legibility and meaning are obscured in the process.

During her time in Dawson, Erskine-Smith will work on a series of weavings based on letters written to family and friends, reflecting on her time spent in Dawson City.

 

AMANDA MCCAVOUR uses a sewing machine to create thread drawings and installations by sewing onto a fabric that dissolves in water. 

This fabric makes it possible for her to build up the thread as she sews repeatedly into drawn images so that when the fabric is dissolved, the image can hold together without a base.

For her KIAC residency, McCavour replicated a turn of the century steam pump that was left at the side of Princess Street betweenn 2nd and 3rd Avenue in Dawson City. 

Part monument, part waste, this object references a time prior to her arrival, as a relic of the machinery used during the gold mining era that made Dawson Cityfamous. Translating the heavy iron object into thread, McCavour looks at phantom views of the object, while contrasting the heavy machinery with delicate thread-work to render the machine as delicate and ghostly.