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Stitches with Love
 
 
by Gillian Hill
 
January 30 – May 11, 2008
 

Gillian was born in Edinburgh Scotland and moved to Calgary when she was two. She lived there until she was seven and then moved to Ottawa. She lived in Ottawa and the Ottawa Valley throughout much of her childhood and adolescence. She attended Almonte and District High School for her final two years of secondary school before moving to Toronto to further her education and career.Gillian’s cross-stitching fills the need to leave behind something she has created with great patience, time and love for future generations is central to all of her work. Part of Gillian's healing and her legacy work also involved working for over 20 years in the bereavement field, helping others with losses.

This became an important part of who Gillian is and contributed to her stitched pieces in very profound, deep and both conscious and unconscious ways.Never one to jump in the shallow end of the pool, Jill seeks out the complex designs that require a level of skill and workmanship that many stitchers avoid.Always eager to experiment with new stitches, threads and techniques many of her pieces have taken in excess of a year to complete.

In recent years she has begun to experiment with adding tiny beads to her work, bringing a whole new look to this ancient craft. While her love of angels is a central theme to many of her pieces, the stitching of intricate samplers are her true passion.

 
     
       
  We on our Planet  
  by Juan Geuer  
  April 26 - Aug 15,2008  
 

'We on our planet' live in a state of conflicting realities and all Juan's works although open to a variety of interpretations deal with that conflict.
“Et Amor Fati” [For the love of Canada] can be seen as a sensing devise over a world greedy for her resources? Or is it just sailing away?
“The Loom Drum” and the “Rock Heist” tends to bridge that art - science dichotomy by demonstrating their common source.
“Blatant” is a reflection on oppressive technocracy and rebellious burning desires, probably on a world wide scale.
“The Hellot Glasses” To complete the ‘art’ two people are required opposing each other.

 
 
 
  Textiles with Meaning. Textiles with    
Personality
  by Catherine Gutsche  
  April 26 - Aug 15,2008  
 

Ties throughout history have taken on different meanings and different characteristics. Like them or not, for such a small scrap of fabric, ties have a long and varied history often with powerful messages. Cravats, jabots, bandannas, bolos, ascots, bootlaces, bows, butterflies, kerchiefs, or simply ties. They have symbolized status, occupation, membership or protest.

Catherine takes the wildest men’s ties that can be found, applies them to stretched canvases and allow their playful fabric patterns to show their personalities as they spill over onto the painting field.
Catherine is not timid when it comes to bright colour or loud patterns. She embellishes and extends their bordered themes with hard edge compositions and a painterly approach – so that the sharp border
of each tie is softened and minimized. Each tie takes on its own camouflage, melting in to the canvas. Catherine indulges in the natural spirit of colour, playfully celebrating the bold, vibrant patterns, and sharing the visual joy of her work with the viewers.

Although Catherine has considered other apparel in her work, it is the Tie that fascinates her. A small scrap of fabric that for some appears to be completely useless, uncomfortable and “pain in the neck”, holds a tremendous meaning to others. Each tie that she uses in her work must come from a second hand shop or it must be given to her by a
former owner. Every tie has had a life before it has become part of her painting. Catherine brings the former owner’s personality and history into each work when she makes colour and pattern decisions.
Catherine wants you the viewer, to “know” the man – or woman – who once wore this tie. Was this person a member of a specific social class where the colours of the tie depicted a role in society or was the pattern one that was meant to assert individuality and divide the wearer from the masses. Membership to protest?

 
 
 
 
  ‘/-AGE  
 
by
Wan Ki An
Tagget Cornish
Vanessa Lee
Martina Edmondson
Hoi Yee Wong
Robin Rice
Ko-Eun Park
May 6 - July 27, 2008
 
 

The five founding members of ‘W’ (Wan Ki, Martina, Vanessa, Robin, Hoi Yee) began meeting during thesis year in the material art department of Ontario College of Art and Design. Since then, they have shown together and individually in different combinations. For this show, the artists began with ‘/-AGE as a starting point. Each artist approaches the idea in her own way. The results are as different as the artists themselves.

The subject of their exhibition is “’/-AGE” and every artist had to use these three letters, working with words such as adage, age, breakage, foliage, pages, passage and sage as a start off point, or inspiration, for their individual pieces.

 
   
   
   
   
     
       
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