Fibre Art Voices Exhibit on the Mid-Island Studio Tour

The small group I belong to - Fibre Art Voices - once again had an opportunity to exhibit our work as part of the Fall Mid-Island Studio Tour. Lorraine, who lives in Deep Bay, kindly allowed us to fill her large studio with our offerings. We hadn't had the opportunity to see all of our "Indigo" challenge pieces together before, and were delighted to see them hanging on display. More are in the works, so I'll be showing you more in the weeks and months to come.

I submitted a number of my Africa-inspired journal pages and proverbs, and was happy to learn yesterday evening that a number of them found new homes among those of you who visited the studio.

Both Hennie and Karrie have been making a number of pieces inspired by trees, using felting and free-motion stitching, as well as other surface design methods.

Margaret and Gail continue to dye some exquisite textiles, all of which were for sale. They are using ice-dyeing, discharge dyeing, shibori and other methods of mark-making too numerous to list. I must confess that one or two pieces made their way home with me (surprise, surprise!).

Karrie is also involved in spinning and dyeing her own yarns, while June has been making exquisite amulets (on the left in photo).

More of Hennie's felting work is shown here, and in the foreground are brooches made by Gail.

The second Gayle in our group in known for her marvelous hand work, and was selling journals which featured both embroidery and buttons.

Last but not least are shorebirds machine stitched by Karrie on the left, and a baby gull and zebras made by Hennie on the right. Thank you to all the folks who dropped by on what was a very busy weekend in the Comox Valley. All of us agree that meeting you and chatting with you is the highlight of what is a terrific weekend. And thanks especially to those of you who purchased some of our work. Now it's back to the studio to do some more "making of things". 

Collecting Textile Art

One of my pleasures over the last few years, has been collecting textile art made by other people. There is very little so affirming as having someone part with some of their hard-earned money than having them purchase something you have made. When you buy a piece that speaks to you, you're telling the artist that you value what they do so much that you want to take their work home to live with you. After all, these are our "babies" that we're letting out into the world, and it's huge to know that someone else loves them and sees the beauty in them too. So today I though I'd share a few that hang in my own home. First up is a polar bear quilt made by Carol Seeley. Polar bears are strong and courageous, but also gentle, with great mothering instincts. This hangs in my studio.

Gayle Lobban's landscape of Hornby Island is a beautiful reminder of summer days spent in my favourite place. I smile whenever I see it, and think of warm sand under my feet, and gentle waves lapping on the shoreline, and the call of eagles overhead.

I purchased Judy Cooper's piece while attending Quilt Canada in Newfoundland. It will come as no surprise that it was the colour that spoke to me in this work. It hangs in my bedroom on Hornby.

Gerry Congdon's Aspens arrived after I commented on her blog, and so entered a draw for it. I was delighted to be the lucky winner. She and I met at Lake Tahoe some years ago, and I have followed her work in the original Twelve by Twelve group, as well as her own individual work, for a long time.

Terry Aske's Still Life came to me from a FAN exchange at our retreat one year. When we get together we each bring a small journal piece created in response to that year's theme, and then leave with a piece made by another member of FAN. I love the graphic quality to Terry's work, and have hung it above my desk in my studio, along with Karen Johnson's Colour piece below, sold as part of a CQA fundraiser. It wasn't until I got home that I realized that at least three small pieces of African fabric had been incorporated into Karen's piece, along with the solids. No wonder it pleases me so much!

And lastly there is this piece by Jaynie Himsl. She's developed a method of covering cord and then using it to create landscapes. The gradations of colour are just spectacular, I feel, capturing something of the awe of watching a sunset. Not so much the reality of it as the feeling of it. All of these works speak loudly of the artists who made them. In each, they are speaking with their own unique voice - a voice like no-one else's. Which encourages me not to be afraid to speak with my own voice in my work. They also signal to me what wonderful company I'm in, all of us textile artists trying to express ourselves in cloth and stitch. I'm honoured to have them in my home.

A Letter from Perez

Perez Bemereire

When I left Uganda a year ago, having brought the Kitambaa Sewing Project to a close, I wanted to find a way to stay in touch with the women we had been working with for almost 10 years. I approached Perez Bemereire, who had been involved in the project from the very beginning - selecting the women who would learn to sew, helping to translate during our workshops, and sorting out problems any of the women were having as they arose. Perez had known most of the women before the workshop began, through his involvement with the widows' support groups and as an HIV/AIDS counsellor. He understood their situations, and graciously pointed out when I was missing something, and gently encouraged them as they learned to sew. One memorable moment was when he was counselling them before they returned to their villages, after the first workshop. "Don't be proud when you go back to the village," he said. "Go out and work with the other women in the mornings, and leave your sewing until after lunch. That way you will prevent envy in the women who did not have a chance to learn to sew." His wisdom did much to help avoid possible conflict.

So Perez was the person I went to, asking if he would make regular visits to the Bitengye women in Rubingo, and sending reports on how they were faring. He has done this faithfully for the last year, and when the most recent email and report arrived, I thought I'd like to share it with you. 

Perez meeting with us and the Bitengye Designers in Rubingo

Dear Pippa Moore,

I greet you in the name of the Living God and hope that Mr. David Moore reached well. Allow me and I bring warm greetings from my family members and Bitengye ladies at large.

I apologize for visiting Rubingo ladies without asking you the question to ask. The visit was intended to know the progress after their graduation. The meeting took place on the October-29^th-2016. The meeting was well represented only Lydia did not show up due to poor network.

1-     In the meeting Annah told me that after her training she went to the near lest school and was told to check next year. She also told me that she does some few things which she sales locally.

2-     Justine her plan is to get good sponge good Napkins because she found it useful to put a sponge that can discharge the blood, the few that she makes are sold locally.

3-     Kamidah deals with bags and she sales them locally and for School uniforms she is planning to visit the schools this month.

4-     Night and Kamidah since there from the same area Night is suggested to visit the schools together in order to help the head teachers to choose from the two, and as they visit the schools they will also advertize for the pads too. Night also makes bags that she sale locally.

5-     Alice’s plan is to keep co-coordinating the group as usual and as well marketing for their products. She told the meeting that she was busy in these months looking after 2 groups and she is now somehow a bit relieved she will visit some places in different towns where they sale their products and market for them and as well to schools for uniforms and napkins.

In meeting them this gives the hope and encouragement in which ever they are doing and I hope that there helped in doing so.

Greet all the Bitengye supports and those that know my name.

Yours,

Perez

Lastly, I have an extremely sad bit of news to pass on to you. Our friend Tumushabe, who came from Lake Bunyoni, has been murdered. At this time, no one has been charged. Someone saw her as a source of money, and this cost Tumushabe her life. We don't have any other details of what exactly happened. Tumushabe was always a bright spark and a good worker at our workshops, someone with a sense of fun. We will miss her.

 

News from our Friends in Uganda

It was terrific to receive an update from David (my Sweetie) on Recheal's Clinic last week. Doesn't she look happy in this photo? Although I get reports on the progress at the Clinic from Elly Nankunda every couple of months, there's nothing quite like a first hand report. To bring you up to date, Recheal is now seeing between 300 and 400 patients a month, and earning enough money for a modest income for herself. The water catchment system was installed in time to catch the September/October rains, the solar system is working well, and Recheal has recently hired a lab technologist/"nurse" to help her part-time. The nearest hospital in Kabuyenda is giving immunizations at the Clinic once a month, and HIV/AIDS testing and counselling continues, as well as diagnosis and treatment of common ailments, the most frequent being malaria. Recheal has achieved her dream, and there's no question it's of huge benefit to many, many people.

You may remember seeing a photo of the Clinic last year, and it still looks much as it did then. The changes I can see include curtains now hang in the entrance - to keep flies and mosquitos out - and evidence of a hedge and a vegetable garden. The sign in front of the Clinic and the hand-washing stations were the only other requirements needed before it could be registered with the Ministry of Health. And that too has now been done. David was able to visit the site because his reason for being in the country was to implement his 4-year Widows Garden Project. When he learned that ACTS would be limiting its work to water projects, and no longer involved with the women who are widows and grandmothers due to HIV/AIDS, he developed his own project, this time on a volunteer basis. He managed to raise over $20,000 this year, with which to support 90 widows in renting sufficient land (3 plots) to grow crops for their families, and to sell enough to pay for the rent next year. In other words, it should be totally sustainable. The goal is that by the end of 4 years, there will be 360 widows with the land they require to be self-sufficient.

Of course after the Widows Gardens Project had been announced and the first 90 widows chosen, there had to be a feast. Here are a few of the women preparing beans, and below, there's one mighty fine pot of "posho" (corn porridge) being prepared.

And after the meal was finished, the dancing began. So hard to capture this in a photograph, but perhaps you can feel the sense of celebration and almost hear the clapping and singing.

And here's the drum that keeps everyone dancing and singing in unison. Although David is now retired from his work with ACTS, it feels very right to both of us that he continue to work with these people who have been so much a part of his life for the last 20 years. It always was so much more than a job to him, and I'm so proud that he continues to bring positive change to some of the poorest people in that part of the world.