Life/Line

Rope 1; Photo © Karen Thiessen, 2014

Up until Wednesday, this rope looks like how I've felt for the last 39 days since the accidents. Thankfully I'm moving out of the Twilight Zone and back to my usual optimistic, energetic self. 

Rope 3; Photo © Karen Thiessen, 2014

It's been an interesting time, as the accidents served as a rupture event and I'm just beginning to process the change in thinking that they introduced.

Rope 4; Photo © Karen Thiessen, 2014

The new thinking is good, but I still don't like being in a car, which is unfortunate because I really want to see the Dorothy Caldwell show while it is still up.

Mother & daughter lines

Mennonitemare 3 quilt back © Karen Thiessen, 2014

These lines are brought to you by happenstance. Lately I've been thinking about stitched lines. A few weeks ago I pulled out a bundle of quilts for an exhibition and Mennonitemare 3 was among them. I didn't need it for the show, so I set it aside upside down. The machine-stitched lines caught my eye. This is useful information for my new work.

Boy fishing; Photo credit © Karen Thiessen, 2014

This textile of a boy fishing is a kit that my mom stitched up a lifetime ago. It's probably the only example of my mom following instructions. As a fellow redhead I get this quality from her. The embroidery is next to the guest bed at mom & dad's place. On Easter morning I noticed it in a new way. The minimal lines suggesting water spoke to me. Minimal lines would be good for me to try. I'm a maximal kind of stitcher. We'll see what happens.

Quotes: Picasso

"I am always doing that which I can not do, in order that I may learn how to do it." – Pablo Picasso

Lenten Mark-making practice update

Lent Drawing 20 © Karen Thiessen, 2014

Lent is long over but my mark-making practice continues. As of yesterday I've practiced 65 days in a row and I'm only now just beginning to make interesting patterns. To get to this place, I had to make a lot of messes and play with materials and techniques in new ways. I had to put in a lot of time, at least 40 hours worth. I've now filled three old sketchbooks with my Lenten marks and two more are waiting for attention (I had five sketchbooks that I had abandoned and needed filling). Lent drawing 20 is the combination of two Letraset drawings that I scanned into Photoshop, played with and then printed separately onto the same piece of paper which I then scanned to create one file. With each scanning and printing, the image degrades slightly, and this is interesting. I can't wait to integrate these drawings into my collage and textile practice. The possibilities are endless.

Meghan Macdonald @ Hard Twist 2014

Meghan Macdonald What Remains in the Drawer, 2012-2014;
Photo credit: Karen Thiessen, 2014

Meghan Macdonald's free-motion embroidered ephemera was a major discovery at Hard Twist 2014. Since her eponymous website is now defunct, I had to do some online sleuthing. I learned that Macdonald is now involved with Calica art and design studio and writes the Milk and Bread Vintage blog. Through her blog I discovered that she is a graduate of both the Sheridan College (2010) and NSCAD (2012) Textiles programs and had residencies at Nova Scotia Centre for Craft and Design in 2011 and at Elsewhere in Greensboro, North Carolina in 2012

Based on her blog I surmise that What Remains in the Drawer is an ongoing development of her NSCAD graduation exhibition What Remains in 2012. According to her blog, What Remains is "based on the life of a mysterious recluse. Rumoured to be a multi-millionaire freemason with a mean streak and boasting three ex-wives and three estranged daughters, these objects piece together his intimate world left behind after his passing."

Meghan Macdonald What Remains in the Drawer detail, 2012-2014;
Photo credit: Karen Thiessen, 2014

I'm a sucker for the stitched tags.

Meghan Macdonald What Remains in the Drawer detail, 2012-2014;
Photo credit: Karen Thiessen, 2014

Her ability to stitch the fine details is impressive. Free-motion embroidery requires a great deal of practice, skill, and thread. It is accomplished using a sewing machine with the feed dogs dropped and a special foot, lots of thread, and dissolvable stabilizer. Amanda McCavour is another practitioner of the electric needle arts.

Meghan Macdonald What Remains in the Drawer detail, 2012-2014;
Photo credit: Karen Thiessen, 2014

What Remains in the Drawer: Free-motion embroidery on dissolvable stabilizer, gouache, watercolour, ink and pencil on paper. Various dimensions. Meghan Macdonald.

Quotes: Pema Chödrön

"Things don't really get solved. They come together and they fall apart. Then they come together and fall apart again. It's just like that. The healing comes from letting there be room for all of this to happen: room for grief, for relief, for misery, for joy." 

– Pema Chödrön, American Tibetan Buddhist nun and author

Philip Hare @ Hard Twist 2014

Philip Hare TERROR!ST, 2012; Photo credit: Karen Thiessen, 2014

Also seen at Hard Twist 2014: Philip Hare Terror!st, 2012, hand stitched felt. 10.5' X 5', $8000.00 
No the black faces do not form a bomb as I originally thought. To learn more about this textile, read Philip Hare's Terror!st essay. 

Philip Hare TERROR!ST detail 2012; Photo credit: Karen Thiessen, 2014

For those who don't mind paying a fee to exhibit ($113 if your work is accepted), here is the call for Hard Twist 9. The deadline is June 6, 2014.