Titanica @ Mary Black Gallery

The Iceberg by Wilma Butts & Crying Fish by Laura Kenney; Photo credit: Karen Thiessen, 2012

Titanica at the Mary E. Black Gallery in Halifax is long gone. The show commemorating the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic off the coast of Newfoundland ran from August 3 to September 9, 2012. Susan Charles, the Director of the gallery and the Nova Scotia Centre for Craft and Design, reluctantly gave me permission to only photograph large views of the show. Since I (mostly) complied, the photos aren't great. Three textile pieces stood out: two by Wilma Butts and a hooked rug by Laura Kenney. In the above photo Wilma Butts' The Iceberg hangs to the left and Laura Kenney's Crying Fish hangs to the right. For a better image go to Kenney's blog and Butts' Artwork section of her website. The Iceberg is made with sericin scoured silk and Crying Fish is made with second hand wool clothing and recycled sari ribbon on burlap.

Fractured by Wilma Butts; Photo credit: Karen Thiessen, 2012

The piece that stole the show for me was Wilma Butts' Fractured. All that I know is that it is constructed of shibori-dyed paper, silk fibre, and wire. Normally I photograph the didactic panels so that I can provide you with more information, but I complied with Susan Charles' request of overall shots, *except* for the bottom image, a detail of Fractured. I couldn't resist. Shibori dyers will recognize my pun.

Fractured detail by Wilma Butts; Photo credit: Karen Thiessen, 2012