Cineplex In the Gallery series

This annual series of art films returns to the Cineplex chain this month.

Caravaggio: The Art and the Blood is scheduled for May 2 and May 13 at participating theatres.

Van Gogh: Of Wheat Fields and Clouded Skies is playing June 13 and June 17.

For more information, go to their web page here.

Another baby quilt

the fabric scrap that inspired the colour choices

The new mother has asked for another baby quilt. This one is "for fun",  to be used in the stroller, in the carseat, and while out and about. She chose a scrap of fabric to inspire the colour palette, a lively mix of hot colours: magenta, red, orange, pink and yellow.

Because I have so many fabric scraps on hand, it made sense to turn to a book I bought some years ago, Successful Scrap Quilts, by Judy Turner and Margaret Rolfe. The authors were inspired by Japanese tatami mats, creating designs that use uniform rectangles measuring half as wide as they are long. The design on the cover seemed like the most interesting choice.

The book's opening pages discuss the use of value, colour blending, and finding that magical balance of repetition and variation. This particular design alternates between a darker square within a lighter square, and a lighter square within a darker square. The same fabric may serve as a light in one square, and a dark in another, relative to what it's paired with.

Some of the fabric scraps cut into rectangles, 2" x 3.5".
It will take almost 400 of these to make a 42"-square quilt.

Here's the tentative layout up on the design wall.

The quilting had to wait until the background fabric, ordered on-line, arrived by mail. Meanwhile, I sketched out a few designs for the quilting.

Curving lines in the quilting design complement the
straight geometry of the pieced rectangles.

The quilting lines required marking, which is a disadvantage, but otherwise it was reasonably easy.

the finished quilt, 42" x 42"

While waiting for the arrival of the backing fabric, I made this "dolly quilt", using scraps from the scraps. It was also a chance to try out the quilting design and the variegated thread.

18" x 18", machine-quilted

Those of us who love scrap quilts may relate to this poem, included in the introduction to the Turner & Rolfe book:

Glory be to God for dappled things –

For skies of couple-colour as a brinded cow;
For rose-moles all in stipple upon trout that swim;
Fresh-firecoal chestnut-falls; finches' wings;
Landscape plotted and pieced – fold, fallow, and plough;
And all trades, their gear and tackle and trim.

from "Pied Beauty" by Gerald Manley Hopkins (1844-89)

Art Quilt Elements 2018

Want to have a look at some of the best art quilts being made today? Check out this slide show of the 48 works accepted into Art Quilt Elements 2018. The slide show begins with the prizewinners and then shifts to alphabetical order by artist. Really impressive work and a wonderful variety. I can't even choose a favourite.

Catherine W. Smith, Transfusion #3

AQE 2018 is the 13th biennial internationally juried exhibition of contemporary fine quilts at the Wayne Art Centre, Wayne PA. It continues until April 28.

Jannick Deslauriers @ Art Mûr, Montreal

Recently I visited Galerie Art Mûr with my Text'art group, where we saw the incredible work of Jannick Deslauriers, in a show titled Sentence, souffle et linceul. Deslauriers is a Montrealer who teaches at Collège Marie-Victorin. Her medium is screening, netting and organza, which she stitches together. I last saw her work in a group show at Pointe Claire's Stewart Hall.

Fractured, 2017

"Jannick Deslauriers’ works, her subjects broken and decaying through entropy or more violent and intentional acts of demolition, tackle salient issues of the Anthropocene: trans global commerce in weapons, energy and human beings, what the artist describes as 'a collective history played out daily in news media.'  

"Fractured, the “translucent and dislocated” form caught in a moment of demolition which is the eponymous work in Deslauriers’ Sentence, souffle et linceul, is a full scale automobile: its form distilled from meticulously researched images of both intact and damaged vehicles; its bespoke distressed surfaces conveying a visceral engagement with the reality of “certain geopolitical issues,” the artist seeks to address, the premeditated destruction which is “a symbol of our times.” The work, and the shroud in its title—‘linceul’—reference the human body, the inevitable bodies that are connected to such images in real life." 

                                                                                            -Martha Robinson

Un Fragment du Marché Bonsecours, 2017

Some of Deslauriers' subjects are architectural. In this case, a photo of a sculpture's detail was reproduced as a digital print.

Détail du Marché Bonsecours
digital print

A detail photo of
Détail du Marché Bonsecours, above

Ligne brisée, 2017

Convoy, 2017

Convoy, detail, 2017

Van Horne Warehouse, 2017

Below is another instance of a digital print included in the show, using a detail photo of a sculptural piece.

Detail, Van Horne Warehouse
digital print

While at the gallery, we saw work by many other artists. This screen, made of stitched paper, also caught my eye. I had seen it at a Belgo Building gallery a few years ago.

La fenêtre à carreaux, 2014
Sarah Bertrand-Hamel
kozo paper, cotton thread, pine frame

La fenêtre à carreaux, 2014
Sarah Bertrand-Hamel, alternate view

La fenêtre à carreaux, 2014
Sarah Bertrand-Hamel,detail

Jannick Deslaurier's show, Sentence, souffle et linceul, continues until April 28, 2018.

Papier 2018 next weekend

Dedicated exclusively to the medium of paper and to the possibilities it offers, Papier is one of the largest fairs of its kind in North America. The event is a key driver for Canadian contemporary art, as well as a unique meeting ground for the greater public, enthusiasts and visual arts professionals alike.

Forty galleries from Montreal and beyond are represented.

Friday, noon - 9; Saturday and Sunday, 11 - 6
Arsenal Contemporary Art Montreal
2020 William Street

Parking available, metro recommended (Georges-Vanier or Lionel-Groulx station)

The $10 general admission gives access to panel discussions and guided tours in English and French. The $150 VIP ticket also gives access to a select group of artist studios and private and corporate collections, as well as an exclusive cocktail party on the Thursday evening.

More information about Papier 18 is available here.

Hudson Artists Spring Show 2018

I do hope you will be able to join me at the upcoming Spring Show of the Hudson Artists, opening Friday, April 20, at the Hudson Community Centre, 394 Main Road in Hudson QC. More than 30 local artists will be showing their most recent work in a variety of media. Refreshments are offered, and proceeds from the raffled painting will go to the local Le Nichoir bird sanctuary.

Hours are Friday, 7:30 - 9:30 pm and Saturday-Sunday 10 am - 5 pm.

I will have three pieces from my newest series in hand-dyed linen on display. These are the 24" x 24" works that were included in the Galerie Carlos solo show earlier this year. And I have committed to working on the sales desk the Friday evening of the vernissage. Hope to see you there!

Out of the Blue, hand-dyed linen, 24 x 24

Guns: A Loaded Conversation

I am a juried artist member of Studio Art Quilt Associates (SAQA), a group of more than 3000 that promotes the art quilt worldwide.

SAQA has recently put together a curated show of 33 art quilts on the subject of guns. This timely and powerful exhibition opens in San José, California on April 22, 2018.

A slideshow of the 33 works is available here. Click on any one of the works to see it more closely. A written artist statement and an audio clip narrated by the artist are also available.

137 Bullets,  Diane K. Bird, 41 x 43 inches

"Timothy Russell and Malissa Williams lost their lives on November 29, 2012. Russell sped away from a Cleveland police officer who had attempted to pull him over for a traffic violation. The ensuing chase ended in a school parking lot, where police officers shot 137 bullets at the pair trapped in the car. They claimed gunfire emanated from the car, but no gun was ever found. Malissa was shot 24 times and Timothy was shot 23 times. Their humanity was erased with the shooting. My quilt tabulates the bullet count that took their lives."

Finished baby quilt

As promised, here is a photo of the completed traditional baby quilt. This is what it looked like before it was washed, in all its flat perfection.

The colours were chosen to coordinate with the nursery wallpaper,
a large, elegant floral in neutrals. I threw in a little pink to "lift" it a bit.

Made entirely from my collection of fabric scraps (except for the newly-purchased backing), even the binding is a mix of this and that.

More than 500 triangles went into this 40" x 40" quilt.

I chose to quilt it on my domestic sewing machine, using a design called "continuous curves", which doesn't require any marking. It was surprising to me how all the traditional quilt-making techniques still seemed familiar, though it's been some time since I last used them.

The quilt took on a slightly "puckered" appearance after washing. And it still needs a label, hand-stitched into place on the back. Ta-da!

10 Textile Artists Who Are Pushing the Medium Forward

Judith Scott, Untitled

The editors of Artsy compiled this list about 18 months ago. It includes a few artists I have profiled on my blog in the past: Sheila Hicks, Judith Scott, and El Anatsui. And others that I'd like to learn more about.

El Anatsui, Timespace

Each entry includes a brief artist's bio and a mini-portfolio of images.

Sheila Hicks, Safe Passage

Well worth a look!

And in a similar vein:

Here's the link to an article in Huffington Post, titled "14 Women Artists Who've Changed the Way We Think About Design".