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.