Re:Play - A Show Opening on October 6th

Re:Play

Is a Connections Fibre Artists group show

Opening on Sunday October 6, 2024, 1-3 pm

At Wellington County Museum, Fergus Ontario 

 

Each of us had to choose a toy from the museum’s collection

I chose this lovely rag doll

It seemed to suit my plant dyed fabrics

And

I imagined that the mother who made this doll for her child had used 

fabrics she had on hand…with no trips to the shops!

And finally I thought that any self respecting rag doll deserved a few blankets for her hope chest.

Thread Story - One

I chose to use scraps from my stash

Scraps inherited from my mother’s stash

Lace from my own wedding dress

Bits and pieces of explorations in stitch that had been rejected for past projects.

Thread Story - Two

Bits and pieces that had been gifted to me

Like the piece of whitish bark cloth laid on top of the brown fabric

This was a gift From Al during the 2023

Connections retreat at Crieff.

A place where lots of sharing goes on.

Thread Story - Three

But as is usual with me….

the thread and stitching became the most important part of the story.

I just can’t resist…..so there is no point in holding back!

It is not just the rhythmic act of stitching

It is also the texture of tiny ripples as layers of cloth become one through many, many stitches.

There is hardly an inch without stitch!

They became known as Thread Stories in my mind.

A favourite corner with a tiny shot of colour from my mother’s stash.

A precious piece of my wedding dress lace.

It was a bolt of lace given to my grandfather during WWII

He was a doctor before the National Health existed

And so this lace had been in payment for some kind of treatment.

My grandfather passed away before I was three….but I remember him.

My grandmother, Robin, kept the bolt of lace all those years until my wedding in 1969.

Then she and my mother made it into a hooded coat to go over my wedding dress.

So special to have that link between the generations.

There were several scraps with holes

And I felt the need to add bright patches as reverse appliqué to peak through.

My foundation fabric for this piece was an old linen serviette

As I stitched the rolled edge of the serviette began to tear away.

I didn’t have the heart to remove it and so just let it drape down and kept in place with more stitches.

The memories we are leaving behind with our stitches

Will soon be hidden from those who do not know!

Enjoy your memories!

And all are welcome for the opening on Sunday of course.

Installing ‘In the Middle of the World’ at ArtsPlace in Annapolis Royal

 Before we even began this beautiful vase of flowers arrived from Margi and Kathryn

Our fabulous friends

Thank you both so very much

A lovely beginning for two days of installing.

Boy that task is exhausting!

To get started we wanted to get an easy wall done

We chose

Underfoot the Earth Divine and Resting at Low Tide

Perfect pairing n’est ce pas!

Off to a great start!

Then our precious work lounged about on the floor as we considered what next.

Judy began preparing Eternity for hanging from the ceiling.

And, Handy Hubby, Richard fiddled with straightening.

Judy’s Ned and I discussing something or other

Boy there were a lot of decisions to make!

Miranda Bouchard our brilliant curator and companion from the start of our In the Middle of the World project was in charge of installation of course.

She and Handy Hubby must have been fixing something.

I forget!

She was up and down those ladders like a mountain goat.

Nearly ready to hang Eternity.

Then it was up

And Handy Hubby could get to work on placing my works 

According to Miranda’s plan.

We were ready for coffee and a snack!

Miranda and Ned 

Where to hang Judy’s bundles.

Surely we are done!

Sorry to bore you

But had to have a record for myself

And thank these wonderful people for such a long two days

With a magnificent end result…..

Next time I will show you the show!

Tending Winter's Garden

Summer's Dance

I thought that using brighter colours
would help me through the winter months that I find so difficult
and, boy oh boy, last summer was glorious.
I wanted to record and celebrate that too
and forget the winter winds outside.

But then I read Rainer Maria Rilke's thoughts on winter

A time to care for one's inner garden

A time to mend

A time of growth for mind and spirit. 

A time of looking deeply inwards 

Learning

Healing

Reflecting

For so many Winters

I have said I should do a winter piece.

When the word 'should' comes out of my mouth

I now recognize it's never gonna happen!

Acceptance

 

So in this deep mid-winter stitching of the joyful dance of summer's dahlias

I hope I am learning to accept winter's edge

as a quietness

a retreat into deepening knowledge.

Now that this piece is finished

it fills me with joy and rich memories.

Winter's edge was harsh this year

So much so that the Rusty Pups could sniff the upturned top

of quite a few sixty foot spruce

At the other end I found inspiration in it's, oh so shallow, root ball.

There were many days when it was best to stay inside!

Even the RP's thought so.

In May the dahlia corms will go back into the ground

In August their blooms will be dancing and bobbing in summer breezes.

When Beavers Live Close By

 

It amuses me that the beaver sticks have gathered in their own little corner of the show.

"Chasing the Moon"

Memories of daily walks down to the marshlands

Watching as the landscape changed when beavers moved in.

When they moved in and built oh so many dams

what was a meandering stream became a lake

covering all the grass you see here.

They would greet me and the Rusty Pups

with noses just above water

and sharp black eyes watching....

....then with a noisy slap of the tail on the water's surface

they would casually get on with their business.

I imagined that slap to be a greeting 

but of course it must have been a claim to territory where we were not welcome

My work is a bringing together of snippets of memory

Trees stripped of bark and marked by strong beaver teeth

Cold dark waters of winter

Marshland grasses that flourished so well in that watery environment

But turned golden yellow in the long wintery months.

On winter mornings after a good snowfall

the beaver tracks were easy to find 

 revealing nighttime activity and favourite pathways

 leading from water's edge towards the woods and back again

The black velvet water so uninviting on a cold winter's day

yet a refuge, a place of safety where beavers can thrive.

And of course a moon on a windy, winter's night

whilst I am warm and safe in my bed

the beaver were busy as beavers tend to be

fixing leaky dams

and storing edible trees underwater.

Such fascinating creatures who can change a landscape with two strong front teeth!

 I hope you too find joy in observing nature at work.

So many thanks to Susan Purney Mark and Miranda Bouchard for their photos of the show.

When friends come together "In the Middle of the World"

 

Judy Martin's exciting larger than life pieces

Reflections on a lifetime living in beautiful rural Northern Ontario

My heavily stitched smaller pieces

Reflections on years of living close to nature in beautiful Nova Scotia

The walls of the Mississippi Valley Textile Museum

An aged record of time past

In a way all three connected to the passage of time

Every year as the seasons move towards Winter

the undergrowth in our woods dies down to soft greys

All that remains are the deep ever greens and waves of red berries

Life giving berries for the creatures and birds of these parts.

Our winters are harsh here.

In the depth of winter swarms of robins with their white eye markings

descend on the wild holly bushes and eat to their hearts content.

The berries are all gone before winter's end.

 

The older trees whose bark is weaker and less resistant to insect invasions

soon become scarred by pecking woodpeckers searching for supper.

Did you know their tongues wrap around the back of their brains

protecting them from concussion as they hammer away at those holes?

This is the sort of information that comes out of my Handy Hubby.

The practical thinker in the family

Thank goodness one of us is!

I would wrap both arms around Judy's bundles and hold them close.

In the background is "Winter's Edge" my response to Autumn fading into winter.

The season when warm hugs are needed.

We both used warm autumnal colours

I can imagine Judy's repetitive motion while wrapping her wool strips around and around each bundle. 

I remember well my repetitive tearing of strips and couching them down over and over each other.

They are connected as we are in friendship.

My thoughts were to fade the colours into the sky

ending with a barely visible weakening sun

that is really only visible when you stand close to the actual piece.

Right from the days of childhood embroidery

Repetition and rhythm have been my favourite creative principle

Repetition of simple stitches

Rhythm in the physical movements that create the stitches

And I try to create flow and rhythm in my pieces.

Always exploring and still learning.

And this is the mess of all beginnings!

And finally one more friend who is such an important part of this project

A young curator who's dedication to this project is unbounded

A wise, thoughtful person working very hard in the background on our behalf.

Miranda Bouchard

I am full of gratitude for these two amazing women

We are sharing quite a journey.

And thank you to Judy who sent me her photos of the show for me to use since I could not travel.

More to come!

Getting Back into the Rhythm of Stitch

What a glorious Summer we had here in Nova Scotia

A Summer to remember

Everything grew and grew and grew

Wild apple trees drooped under the weight of apples the size of grapefruits.

Rusty Pups discovered they were delicious!

Bright, bold Dahlias grew as big as dinner plates 

Dancing through my flowerbed

They took my breath away

And were still going strong until Jack Frost put them to rest. this week.

Wanting to remember and celebrate this Summer

For me that is through stitch.

It will be a piece of joyful memories

Giant balls of colour and stitch.....

.... will dance across my piece with companions of every size.

And of course they will come to rest on the soil

which they will enrich in preparation for next years Summer.

The cycle of life.

I am content

I am joyful

I am dancing along with the dahlias in memory of this Summer past

and settling down to new stitchings with anticipation.

It is what I do.

When the Rusty Pups come and plonk themselves in front of me as I stitch....

,,,,and even shove their noses into my cloth as I stitch....

....informing me they feel neglected

So we stop for a cuddle

Or a walk

Or a meal.

They are very patient but there comes a time when they feel the need to interject!

I hope your companions of every kind allow you the time to create today!