Supercrawl 2012: Toronto Hyperbolic Crochet Reef

One highlight of September's Supercrawl was the Toronto Hyperbolic Crochet Reef installation at White Elephant on James Street North. Watch the TED talk below to get some context for this project.

Quotes: Brian Eno

"If you want someone to feel emotion, you have to make them let go. Listening to something is an act of surrender." – Brian Eno

Week 36: Adobe Illustrator

W pattern © Karen Thiessen 2012

This pattern is brought to you by the letter "W." I'm making more of an effort to go through my Adobe Illustrator manual and I'm learning about text right now. It's a tad boring so I'm playing with making patterns using text. Text does not behave the same as other motifs. When I group, copy, and paste the modules, they shift slightly, so the pattern is not as precise as I am used to. To compensate I layered it with another colour and I like how the pattern looks, especially with my newly expanded colour palette. 

Happy Canadian Thanksgiving to you all!

Pamela Lakin @ DVSA Gallery

Pamela Lakin Simone with Pearl, 2011; Photo credit: Karen Thiessen, 2012

This is one of those awkward posts where words are inadequate. Normally portraiture doesn't speak to me, so I was surprised that the paintings of Pamela Lakin hit me like a Mack truck. I was trying to understand what quality draws me to the portraits. A painter friend told me that Pamela does not paint from photographs. She uses oil paints and a live model. Maybe the combination of an historic material (oils) and approach (live model) with contemporary models is the key to what draws me so strongly to the work. All I know is that Simone with Pearl grabbed me the first time that I saw it, and it has stayed with me. I met Pamela at the exhibition opening at the Dundas Valley School of Art Gallery and she told me that Simone with Pearl practically painted itself. Maybe I unconsciously sense the flow and spirit embedded in the painting.

Pamela Lakin Simone I, 2010; Photo credit: Karen Thiessen, 2012

The lighting in the gallery made it difficult to photograph the work. Oil paint has a slight sheen. My photos do not do justice to the work and the paintings are best seen in person which you can do until October 13, 2012. See the DVSA website for gallery hours and location. Pamela's work is part of a four-person exhibit titled Connecting with Life. 

Pamela Lakin; Photo credit: Karen Thiessen, 2012

Pamela Lakin Micaela, 2010; Photo credit: Karen Thiessen, 2012

Simone with Pearl and Micaela are my favourite paintings in the show. I like the simple backgrounds, the rich colour, and that the models look three-dimensional. Pamela has two beautiful adult daughters and I'd love to see their likenesses in oil one day. 

* Photographed with permission from Pamela Lakin.

Studio Series: Vat dye & Shibori workshop

The preparation process; Photo credit: Karen Thiessen, 2012

Lately I've been itching to get my gloved hands and some fabric into an indigo vat, so I took a class through Needlework. Roisin Fagan taught the class, and man oh man is she a great teacher. Roisin reminded me of my best yoga instructors who not only taught the poses, but also gave us information about anatomy and how the poses and our anatomy work together. Roisin shared the "anatomy" of dyes, laundry soap, and other stuff, a.k.a. chemistry. Even though I have years of textile education and experience under my belt, I learned a lot. If you have a chance to take a class with Roisin, do so. She is calm, organized and is an excellent communicator.

It's been a long time since I dyed with indigo, so I was pleased to refresh my skills. Roisin taught us various mechanical resists (clamping, sewing, tying). She also brought three vat dyes in jade, gold, and black. In the above picture you'll see the before images. I pieced a few hexagon clusters to over-dye and I brought some ugly fabrics to transform. In the above image, you can see the tied circles fabric before dyeing (dusty green fabric in the 6 o'clock position).

Vat dye results; Photo credit: Karen Thiessen, 2012

I really like how the dusty green (not my favourite colour) picked up the indigo. Roisin taught us how to tie the small circles. If I take another shibori class, I'll prepare several fabrics ahead of time with the tied circles. It's time consuming but worth the while. In the above image, the tied circles fabric is in the 8 o'clock position, just below the jade green striped fabric.

More vat dye results; Photo credit: Karen Thiessen, 2012

Four people, including myself, took the class. In the above photo are the results from the class. Black vat dye on linen is gorgeous. Maybe I'll try some vat dyeing in my garage next summer. It's temperature sensitive and stinky, so for the sake of my hubby and visitors, I won't try this in the house.

TOAE 2012: Jen Kneulman

Jen Kneulman textiles; Photo credit Karen Thiessen, 2012

Jen Kneulman runs Freshly Printed and is currently an artist-in-residence in the Harbourfront textile studio. She's a graduate the Ontario College of Art and Design's Fibre program. Jen's imagery has an Ontario-vintage-postcard feel and I really like how the top three tea towels work together. It would be difficult to buy just one.

Jen Kneulman textiles; Photo credit Karen Thiessen, 2012

The canning jars are one of my favourites. Note how she prints the outlines and adds small dashes of colour here and there. Nice.

Jen Kneulman textiles; Photo credit Karen Thiessen, 2012

 Jen's displays were fun. Hey, I had an oven in that colour at one time!

Jen Kneulman textiles; Photo credit Karen Thiessen, 2012

The Ontario tea towel is icing on the cake. Jen's work all fits nicely together with a cohesive look and colour palette. I look forward to seeing what she cooks up for the next TOAE.

Quotes: Matthew Fox

* I'm learning how to play with text in Adobe Illustrator. This is my first successful experiment.

–– Matthew Fox (b. 1940), American priest, theologian, and author