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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