Studio Series: Shake-n-make Collaboration

Hexagons panels © Karen Thiessen, 2016

The Shake-n-Make Collective, composed of Liss Platt and Claudia Manley, is mounting an exhibition called The Hand of Craft in May 2017 at the Cotton Factory and they are enlisting help. (I last wrote about them here). On exhibit will be a massive quilt top (approximately 16 feet by 6 feet), which will spell out "Labour" in shades of taupe against a purple background. The textile will be entirely pieced by hand using the English paper piecing technique. Liss and Claudia are piecing the letters, and volunteers are invited to piece the purple panels that are 3 hexagons wide by ten hexagons long (7.5" X 29").

To facilitate this collaboration, Liss and Claudia have been hosting English Paper piecing events where they teach the technique. They provide the hexagon templates printed on freezer paper, fabric strips, and thread. Volunteers are welcome to incorporate their own purple fabrics.

When Claudia asked if I would contribute to the quilt top, naturally I said yes. This summer high heat and humidity zapped my energy. English paper piecing was one studio activity that worked best in my "Zombie" state. It worked so well that I've pieced nine panels so far. It's addictive. In the process of fleshing out my own stash of purple fabrics, I learned that compared to other colours, few fabrics are available in purple colourways. The next time you are in a quilt shop, take a look –– you'll be surprised. I know I was, especially since purple is one of my favourite colours.

Studio Series: Naturally Dyed Hexagons WIP

Naturally dyed, hand-quilted hexagons WIP © Karen Thiessen, 2016

Hand-quilting my solids hexagons pillow cover gave me a "next step" for this naturally dyed hexagons textile. I pieced it about a year-and-a-half ago but didn't know what the textile needed next. The above textile is still a work-in-progress and I'm curious to know when another "next step" will announce itself and how the textile will evolve. This is one of my slow-to-resolve textiles, but once finished they are often worth the long incubation period (Here's an example of a problem child that was well worth the wait).

Studio Series: Solids hexagons pillow

Solids hexagon pillow © Karen Thiessen, 2016 

I finally finished this sucker and it looks fantastic (if I do say so myself)!

Solids hexagon pillow detail © Karen Thiessen, 2016

Each hexagon took about an hour to hand quilt.

Solids hexagon pillow verso © Karen Thiessen, 2016

I appliquéd a patch of my screen printed fabric onto the back. Soon I'll write a post about a work-in-progress inspired by this hand-quilted hexagons pillow.

Studio Series: Work in Progress

Hexagons pillow WIP © Karen Thiessen, 2016

In January, I machine quilted three hexagons projects (two table runners and a pillow top) and they are now complete. For this pillow top that I hand-pieced last year, I decided to slowly hand quilt it with DMC floss. In a few weeks I should have another completed pillow. The slow hand quilting is giving me ideas for other work. One of my favourite teachers once told me that I have too many ideas. She was right.

Studio Series: Finished Objects!

Flowering Snowball pillow © Karen Thiessen, 2016

The last few months have been busy with professional writing, bookkeeping, income tax, three classes over six weeks at my indie fabric shop, and my printmaking classes. Class number two was a Flowering Snowball class with Johanna Masko. I'm pleased with the results. I used fabrics that I had dyed and screen printed, along with commercial quilting cottons. Learning how to install a zipper with ease was a highlight.

Red Yellow Blue Hexagons pillow front © Karen Thiessen, 2016

This year I am motivated to finish old projects. I had pieced this red, yellow, and blue pillow top a few years ago. In January I machine quilted it but I was unsure how to add the back. On the day that I completed the Flowering Snowball project, I finished this hexagons pillow.

Red Yellow Blue Hexagons pillow back © Karen Thiessen, 2016

I am especially excited about the back of the hexagons pillow! Note the very sexy zipper. It feels good to finish old projects –– it makes room for new energy in the studio.

Of Note: Truitt, Manley, and Masko

Here's what tickles my fancy this week:

1. Anne Truitt, Working documentary by Jem Cohen. It was extra on the DVD for his film Museum Hours and it is only 13 minutes long, so I watched it twice. Truitt's descriptions of colour and her work are what make the documentary. The documentary was made in two parts: an interview in black-and-white film with Truitt at Yaddo on November 10, 1999 and a colour film of her Washington, D.C. studio in January 2005, just after her death in 2004. I found the filming to be very frustrating. In the Yaddo interview, Truitt is mixing colour and is describing various colours and their functions of either sick, dead, or lifting colours, BUT Cohen filmed this riveting interview in black-and-white. Also, I really wanted to see footage (in colour) of Truitt's sculptures in gallery and museum settings. The more I read her Daybook: The Journal of an Artist, the more of her work I want to see and learn about. 

2. A Little Sole-Searching? The Story of a Pair of Boots by Claudia Manley, of the blog Proper Tension. It's a well-crafted essay about boots and relationships and it has stayed with me the almost six weeks since I read it. I hope she writes more of these.

3. A Flowering Snowball class, taught by Johanna Masko. Masko is a friendly, patient teacher who explains each step clearly and has developed several hacks and techniques that make piecing curves and installing zippers easy. This week I  made my first stress-free zipper installation. I was apprehensive about the class because I had heard about her rigorous safety stance on rotary cutters. Once you get past that, she's really worth learning from.

completion and new messes

UFO hexagons textiles © Karen Thiessen, 2016

January and February are my favourite months of the year. It is a time of cold weather and new beginnings. It is a time to dream, write, make lists, assess, think about the big picture, review, and build momentum for the year ahead. There's lots to do. My lists are taking shape and one list is dedicated to unfinished projects. It's a long list of personal and studio projects and I am determined to complete most of them in 2016. Completing UFO's frees up my energy and builds momentum. It's a form of tidying up so that I have mental space to make new messes. Since I learned English paper piecing in 2013, I've made piles of pieced textiles and, until recently, I'd only finished one. 2016 is the year of completion and new messes.

Studio Series: work in progress

Mennonite material culture series in progress © Karen Thiessen, 2015

While I've been moving my Poetic Memory series forward (well over 200 tags are complete!), another series has been almost making itself. Yup, Mennonite elves toil away in the studio when I'm not looking. Well, it seems that way. 

Each body of work that I make has its own rhythm and personality. Some are neat and tidy and emerge on schedule, like a small miracle. One was stubborn and had its own sense of time (the Shadow series). I started playing with making a Mennonite series about fifteen years ago. It wasn't ready. While I was working long hours for my 2013 solo show Unit(y), naturally the Menno series started elbowing its way into my awareness. It's a sneaky beast. 

Above is a random selection of 41 of the Mennonite material culture tags that I've made so far. They aren't optimally arranged or installed. The series needs a better title and I need to triple the amount of work before I have a sense of what it wants to be and where it wants to go. With this series it seems that as long as I'm working on something else, it gets made. 

Judy Martin: Mended World @ Homer Watson House & Gallery 3

Judy Martin Layers of Time, 2013; Photo © Karen Thiessen, 2015

Judy Martin's Mended World: an exhibition of the Manitoulin Community Circle Project at Homer Watson House and Gallery in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada has come and gone but its memory still burns bright. I've followed Martin's documentation of the Circle project on her blog for several years. One textile that I especially wanted to see in person was Layers of Time. 

Judy Martin Layers of Time, 2013 detail; Photo © Karen Thiessen, 2015

When I saw this central panel of dense eyelet stitches (a.k.a. buttonhole wheels, according to The Embroidery Stitch Bible) I gasped audibly. Just this section alone is a considerable investment of time and care. In our world of instantaneity and diminished attention spans, the lavish stitching in Layers of Time defies modern logic.

Judy Martin Layers of Time, 2013 detail; Photo © Karen Thiessen, 2015

Do you see what I mean? I wonder how long each eyelet took to make. There appear to be several hundred. Layers of Time is the last of the four liturgical panels that were made by Martin with assistance from the volunteers with the Manitoulin Circle Project.

Judy Martin Layers of Time, 2013 detail; Photo © Karen Thiessen, 2015

I was intrigued to see layers of lace doilies repurposed. Their colouration is as they were donated: yellowed with time and not over-dyed. Here is an element of "anonymous time": the women who crocheted the donated doilies, many likely long dead, unknowingly contributed to this quilt too. The quilt is mostly monochromatic, with the exception of a hint of blue outlining the inner circle. 

Judy Martin Layers of Time, 2013 detail; Photo © Karen Thiessen, 2015

Background squares of wool blanket contrast with the central circle motifs.

The five liturgical panels in the Mended World exhibition are prominently displayed in the sanctuary of the Little Current United Church when they are not travelling. At this point, the final exhibition of the liturgical panels is set for June 2016 in North Bay, Ontario. This month they head to a Newfoundland fibre conference for a meditation panel workshop that Martin is teaching. 

Judy Martin Layers of Time: vintage wool blankets & lace doilies, recycled linen damask, silk, beads, cotton threads, hand pieced, layered, embroidered, and quilted, made with community assistance. 92" X 92" (228.6 X 228.6 cm) Collection of Little Current United Church, Manitoulin Island, Ontario, Canada.

Judy Martin Mended World: an exhibition of the Manitoulin Community Circle Project 
at Homer Watson House and Gallery, Kitchener, Ontario, Canada 
May 9 to June 14, 2015

All photographs were taken with permission from the artist.

Judy Martin: Mended World @ Homer Watson House & Gallery 2

Judy Martin, Mended World, 2012; Photo © Karen Thiessen, 2015

My photo of the Mended World liturgical panel does not do the textile justice. Along with Trinity, Mended World is of the quieter of the five large liturgical panels: all circles within squares. Mended World is one of the four textiles that Judy Martin designed and then made with assistance from over 100 volunteers, all part of the Manitoulin Circle Project (hereafter MCP). The MCP ran from 2009 to 2013. Every Thursday, Martin and a random assortment of community members, usually a dozen or so, would gather at the Little Current United Church from 10 am to 6 pm. The volunteers came with a range of sewing experience. They gathered even when Martin was away due to travel commitments or otherwise.

Judy Martin, Mended World, 2012 detail; Photo © Karen Thiessen, 2015

What happens when community members work together toward a common goal for four years? The MCP participants were a circle of people meeting in what was most likely a square or rectangular building and they made liturgical textiles of circles within squares: the gatherings mirrored the textile designs. While working together on textiles, heads are down and hands are busy, allowing conversation interspersed with moments of silence; this is a great way for introverts and extroverts to work together.

Judy Martin, Mended World, 2012 detail; Photo © Karen Thiessen, 2015

Had a sociologist been present during the four years of the MCP, he/she may have witnessed the gradual building of deeper social cohesion, especially among community members who would not normally connect. Did the Manitoulin Circle Project bind the community together and create an open and fluid circle of belonging and welcome?

Mended World is strip-pieced. Note the flecks of blue within the central circle and the shimmer of the repurposed table linens. It is a quiet, elegant liturgical panel.

Mended World completed in 2012 was hand and machine stitched, and made of recycled linen and cotton damask, and silk. The size is 243.8 X 243.8 cm.

Judy Martin, Precious Water, 2013; Photo © Karen Thiessen, 2015

Precious Water is a double circle with a horizon line bisecting the textile. The design and colours echo Earth Ark. It is hand-stitched and made with recycled linen and cotton damask, silk, and linen. The dimensions are 218.4 X 218.4 cm. I'm gobsmacked that the entire liturgical textile was pieced without the assistance of a sewing machine. The double-circle reads as a protective zone surrounding an island and its sky.

Judy Martin, Precious Water, 2013 detail; Photo © Karen Thiessen, 2015

The lower section of the textile is composed of circles within squares, reinforcing the theme. The ruched blue section was made with a special backing fabric that shrinks when exposed to heat. Once the grid of blues and off-whites were stitched to the backing, a heat gun shrunk the backing fabric. The colours are harmonious, but I am not convinced by the ruched texture. It feels gimmicky in relation to the rest of the liturgical panel.

Judy Martin, Precious Water 2013 detail; Photo © Karen Thiessen, 2015

The dots were expertly formed using the satin stitch.

Judy Martin, Precious Water 2013 detail; Photo © Karen Thiessen, 2015

The circles within squares of the lower section were created with reverse appliqué, a time-consuming process that requires skill and practice. Martin and the Manitoulin Circle Project volunteers poured a high level of care, detail, and time into Precious Water. 

Judy Martin Mended World: an exhibition of the Manitoulin Community Circle Project 
at Homer Watson House and Gallery, Kitchener, Ontario, Canada 
May 9 to June 14, 2015

All photographs were taken with permission from the artist.

Judy Martin: Mended World @ Homer Watson House & Gallery 1

Judy Martin, Trinity, 2011; Photo © Karen Thiessen, 2015

Mended World is comprised of five large panels, all circles within squares. Four of these panels were part of The Manitoulin Circle Project (2009-2013). One of Martin's daily "journal" textiles, Cloud of Time (2013) was exhibited as well, but the installation was less than ideal and detracted from the strength of it. It's not an easy piece to install in a small space. 

Trinity is the precursor to the Manitoulin Circle Project. Martin made Trinity between 2009 and 2011 for a Liturgical Embroidery course that she took during her embroidery degree studies with Middlesex University in the United Kingdom (2012). It's a subtle textile embedded with a lot of symbolism. In Christianity, the trinity represents God, God's son Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. The circle symbolizes "eternity and perfection", and to extrapolate, heaven. "The square is the emblem of the earth or earthly existence. ... Its four sides signify the four elements, the four corners of the heavens, the four directions (Reimer, 8)." In Christianity, blue represents the sky, and thus heaven. According to religion facts.com, blue may symbolize truth. Trinity, when not travelling, is installed as a pulpit antependium in the sanctuary of the Little Current United Church on Manitoulin Island where Martin attends.

Judy Martin, Trinity detail; Photo © Karen Thiessen, 2015

Martin consulted with Reverend Faye Stevens, the minister of Little Current United Church, about her making of Trinity and, as I noted, this was the genesis of the larger Manitoulin Circle Project. A year prior to this, Stevens had approached Martin to be a volunteer artist-in-residence in the church, but the timing wasn't right. Martin designed the four panels that were made with The Manitoulin Circle Project as part of her degree studies. The making of the panels was completely independent of Martin's degree program: they were commissioned by Little Current United Church, facilitated by Martin as part of her volunteer residency, and made by Martin and more than 100 volunteers over a four-year period. 

Trinity, 2011 recycled linen damask, new silk, Procion dye, hand-stitched; 60.9 X 86.4 cm

Judy Martin, Earth Ark, 2011; Photo © Karen Thiessen, 2015

Earth Ark is the first liturgical panel completed by The Manitoulin Circle Project. It is made from recycled linen damask (old table linens), silk, and women's handkerchiefs and was hand and machine-stitched. Its dimensions are 228.6 X 228.6 cm. The leaf stitched to the panel is replaced each time the panel travels and I imagine that once the panel is installed in its final destination (Little Current United Church), the leaf will be refreshed as necessary. 

Whereas Trinity is light and ethereal and resembles a rolling triple Russian wedding band ring (three separate interlocking rolling rings that symbolize faith, hope, and love), Earth Ark has a visual weight. The title and visual elements hint at the Bible story of Noah and the ark, the rainbow as a sign of hope, and the dove going out and bringing back an olive branch. To me, the brown half-circle registers as an island. Earth Ark has a pleasing asymmetry with the ark/island off to the right.

Judy Martin, Earth Ark detail; Photo © Karen Thiessen, 2015

If you take a close look at the above image, you see the sheen of damask table linens. The image below reveals old lace handkerchiefs. In the old days, a lady would tuck a clean lace handkerchief in her purse on Sunday morning, ready to hold a morsel of communion bread. Once all eligible congregants were served their bread, they would all eat together: "the body of Christ broken for you."

Judy Martin, Earth Ark detail; Photo © Karen Thiessen, 2015

This is the first of three posts. Spending time with the liturgical textiles has been a treat. They are a fine example of non-representational Christian art made in collaboration.

Judy Martin Mended World: an exhibition of the Manitoulin Community Circle Project 
at Homer Watson House and Gallery, Kitchener, Ontario, Canada 
May 9 to June 14, 2015

All photographs were taken with permission from the artist.

End Notes: 
Margaret Loewen Reimer, "Signs and Symbols." Canadian Mennonite, January 24, 2000 Volume 4, Number 2, page 8.

Of Note

We have finally reached zucchini nirvana and for the first time ever have far more zucchini than we can possibly eat. This is a good problem that I have been aiming for. Today I learned that a zucchini can double in size in just one day. 

Here's what's rocking my world this week:
1. Japanese Outsider artist Satoshi Morita's stitching is out-of-this-world. Satoshi's work was exhibited in Souzou: Outsider Art from Japan at Wellcome Collection in the U.K. in 2013. Oh my!

2. This week I finished reading Stuffocation by James Wallman. The one tidbit that set my mental lightbulb ablaze was an endnote that cites the research of historian Eve Fisher about what a shirt made during the middle ages would cost in today's dollars. It's brilliant. The $3500 Shirt is a good read.

3. My printmaking class may be over for the summer, but I'm still looking at contemporary screen prints to feed my mental image bank. Linda Linko's prints are delicious. Found via Anthology

4. I am in clean up mode around here. In the process of unearthing two tables in my studio, I found an old Surface Design Journal article (SDJ Spring 2001) about Jeanne Williamson's weekly quilts, and monthly 12" X 12" artworks. She's still at it.

Sneak Peek: Judy Martin Mended World

Judy Martin Layers of Time detail; Photo © Karen Thiessen, 2015

Here's a sneak peek of an upcoming blogpost about Judy Martin's Mended World: an exhibition of the Manitoulin Community Circle Project at Homer Watson House and Gallery that was from May 9 to June 14, 2015. She exhibited five large quilts, a textile installation, and an artist book. The above detail of a mass of stitched eyelets took my breath away (yes, it really did).

Gathie Falk @ BIG in Nova Scotia, MSVU

Gathie Falk, Beautiful British Columbia Thermal Blanket–– Huyen, 1980; Photo © Karen Thiessen, 2014

Last September I saw the Big in Nova Scotia exhibition at the Mount Saint Vincent University Art Gallery near Halifax. The show, curated by Ingrid Jenkner, ran from August 23 to September 28, 2014 and featured the work of nine artists. Painting, sculpture, and textile-based work made within a 33 year time-span (1980 to 2013) were included and, as the title suggests, all the artworks in this exhibition were BIG.

Gathie Falk, Canadian painter, sculptor, and performance artist, was born in 1928 in Alexander, Manitoba to a Russian Mennonite family and currently lives in Vancouver, British Columbia. Beautiful British Columbia Thermal Blanket–– Huyen is oil on canvas quilted and stuffed with fibreglass insulation and was purchased by the Mount Saint Vincent University Art Gallery in 1981. I had the privilege of seeing her retrospective exhibition at the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia in 2001. 

In addition to Aganetha Dyck, Gathie Falk is another artist of Russian Mennonite descent who has shown me what is possible. In recognition for her contributions to Canadian culture, Falk has been awarded the Order of Canada (1997), the Order of British Columbia (2002), and the Governor General's Award in Visual and Media Arts (2003).

Gathie Falk, Beautiful British Columbia Thermal Blanket–– Huyen, 1980; Photo © Karen Thiessen, 2014

I had to spend time with Falk's painted quilt to truly appreciate it. Some works of art grab me immediately, others are a slow seduction.

Gathie Falk, Beautiful British Columbia Thermal Blanket–– Huyen, 1980; Photo © Karen Thiessen, 2014

Small details, like the paint texture in the above image, drew me in.

All the photos were taken with permission.

Last chance: Unrolled @ Dundas Museum & Archives

If you need some inspiration and haven't seen this exhibition of historic textiles in scenic Dundas, here's your last chance! Unrolled closes on June 2. Be there or be square. Please note, the Dundas Museum & Archives is tucked away in a residential neighbourhood and not necessarily easy to find, but it's well worth the effort.

Frances Dorsey @ BIG in Nova Scotia, MSVU

Frances Dorsey Dragon's Teeth, 1994; Photo © Karen Thiessen, 2014

Last September I saw the Big in Nova Scotia exhibition at the Mount Saint Vincent University Art Gallery near Halifax. The show, curated by Ingrid Jenkner, ran from August 23 to September 28, 2014 and featured the work of nine artists. Painting, sculpture, and textile-based work made within a 33 year time-span (1980 to 2013) were included and, as the title suggests, all the artworks in this exhibition were BIG.

Frances Dorsey's Dragon's Teeth, one of several textile-based works in the show, was made in 1994 and was pieced with fabrics that were coloured with dyes, pigments, discharge, photo-silkscreen, and mechanical and paste resists. Its dimensions are 2.7m x 3.96 m x 8 cm and was purchased by MSVU Art Gallery in 1999. If memory serves, Dragon's Teeth is from a textile series about her father's experience as an American soldier during the Vietnam War.

Frances Dorsey (b. 1948 Tuscaloosa, Alabama) lives in Halifax, Nova Scotia and is an Associate Professor of textiles at the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design University. 

Frances Dorsey Dragon's Teeth detail, 1994; Photo © Karen Thiessen, 2014

All the photos were taken with permission.

Postcards: Unrolled @ Dundas Museum & Archives

Unrolled postcard

Postcards have gone the way of the dodo bird, so when I see one, especially one that is well-designed, I get excited. Last weekend my beloved and I trekked out to the Dundas Museum & Archives to see their Unrolled exhibition. I hadn't been to the museum in several years and boy had it changed! Since my last visit, it has undergone a renovation and expansion. It's no longer a tired stuffy museum. The promotional materials are as gorgeous as the exhibition.

Unrolled postcard

If you happen to be in the neighbourhood, do check out the exhibition and the museum. Unrolled is on display until June 2, 2015.

Studio Series: Pieced Triangles

Perfectly pieced triangles © Karen Thiessen, 2015

Reading John Cage has been good for my approach to piecing triangles. I'm embracing imperfection and when perfect piecing happens it's a bonus. A benefit is that I'm relaxed while sewing and as a result I'm having more fun and am apt to continue. 

Wabi sabi pieced triangles © Karen Thiessen, 2015

The imperfect or Wabi sabi piecing is more interesting. The colour combination is an experiment. Some of the colours are a bit too hot and as the piecing progresses, I'll add more greys. It's all good.

Studio Series: Big House quilt

Big House quilt © Karen Thiessen, 2012

Big House is a quilt that I don't particularly like flat in image format, but here it is. It's huge, large enough to cover a Queen-sized bed, maybe even a King bed. It looks better on a bed. Why am I sharing this? It's 2015, the image has been sitting in my Draft file for three years and I'm in clean up mode. After Christmas, my husband and I sorted, purged, and filed piles of paper. It feels great to be organized and see my office work surfaces again. The studio is another matter. Rome wasn't built in a day. 

I am also very excited to be back in Ordinary time for a few weeks until Lent begins on February 18 (although I'm looking forward to another season of Lent). The studio is a wonderful place to be right now and I am in project completion mode.

Studio Series: Screen prints 3

Screen print over collage © Karen Thiessen, 2014

Last week I printed a Post Office Grille and Rooster Comb pattern over a variety of papers. Over the years I have amassed piles of colour copies of collages and patterns that I was unable to use in a satisfying way. Many of the collages were from my learning years, and although colourful, weren't good. Above is one of those bad collages vastly improved with the Post Office Grille and Rooster Comb pattern duo. I can't wait to cut it up and collage with it.

 

Screen print over Tangents quilt collage © Karen Thiessen, 2014

If you look closely, you may recognize the base print as being the Tangents quilt header image for my blog.

Screen print over old magazine photo © Karen Thiessen, 2014

Screen printing over old magazine photos continues to be interesting.

Screen prints over collage © Karen Thiessen, 2014

As I wrote in my first screen print post, I'm printing over collages and other screen prints. I really like the interaction of the Waves and Post Office Grille patterns. The base paper for the above print is a truly bad collage.

Screen print over Bars collage © Karen Thiessen, 2014

Post Office Grille pattern over a colour copy of a Bars collage. This week I've been collaging tags with my screen printed papers and using the prints is helping me to assess how a print will work or not work. I now have a pile of prints that I will screen print over with new patterns. I can't wait.