The Wonder of Trees

It's a wonderful thing when one is able to show one's work in a public place, and I am so thankful to Heidi at Sweet Surprise for giving me this opportunity to show a few of my recent works, all inspired by my wonder of trees, in her shop. I think the first time I heard of textile art being hung in a public, working space, was in the Esprit offices in San Francisco. They believed that their employers were happiest and worked best when in an atmosphere that included art. Heidi echoes this belief, and I am one of several people who has benefitted from her generosity. In this case, her customers as well as her staff have the opportunity to enjoy these textile creations while consuming a cup of coffee or tea and one of her yummy gluten-free desserts. 

So thank you to Heidi, and to all those wonderful people that offer people like me the chance to have their creations seen, and hopefully enjoyed, in our community. The exhibit of 10 works will be on display until the end of October. All works are for sale.

A Winter Garden

A Winter Garden - 18" X 60"

Sometime ago, I wrote about a piece I was working on as entry for the Surface Design Association exhibit entitled "Garden Tapestry". I am now pleased to be able to tell you that "A Winter Garden" was juried into this show, which will be at the Portals Gallery in Duncan from October 22nd to November 10th. I am so looking forward to seeing the other pieces made specifically for this. As for my own piece, it began with a collection of hand-dyed and commercial indigo fabrics that I've collected over the years, and the thought of the gorgeous bouquets of tulips that appear for sale in late January or early February, a reminder that the rains will not continue forever. The exquisite colours of these flowers - outrageous, really - lift my heart and give me hope. I often bring some home with me on the dark, short days of late winter, and wanted to celebrate them in this work. You will likely notice the quilting, done with hand-dyed pearl cottons from Colour Complements. This way of working is becoming more and more prevalent of late. There's just something about sitting down and connecting with the cloth through hand stitching that can't be accomplished with machine work.

A Winter Garden - detail