Welcome!

Together is a collaborative project between pairs of Canadian artists – one working in fibre and the other in their chosen media. This exhibition has brought together a group of textile, quilt, and fibre artists working in a wide range of styles and paired them with are painters, woodworkers, mixed media artists, potters, and glass artists. Each pairing of artists chose their own  theme and their themes are as diverse as their media. 

Artists present at the opening

Some of the artists began with a word or words as inspiration: “Orchid”, “Stone Threads”, or “Runes, Wings, & Keys.” Other artists were working from an inspirational photo or painting. Many artists sought inspiration from the world around them:  organic and abstract patterns found in nature and landscapes. The issues facing nature also appears in some of the work:  “What’s happening in the oceans”, “Pine beetle devastating the forests”, and “Clear cutting of forests.” While many of the artists are working in their own media, some of the pairs have decided to work on one project using their combined talents to interpret a theme.

All in all, a well-rounded grouping of artistic works made by an eclectic group of artists working in their respective media to bring you a brilliant collage of works. Vivian Kapusta, guest curator.

Note: The first two pages of the blog are the pieces in place in the museum. (Be sure to click on 'older posts' to see the entire show)

The pages after that are the process that happened as the pieces were made.

Janet Bednarczyk and Lynn Green

Theme / concept        
An orchid in Don Bednarczyk's collection

Janet Bednarczyk

Fibre Art Piece:           Cockle Shell

Lynne Green

Painting:                      Moon Light Orchid

Sorry, no photo of artist.

Joint Statement:  We both were drawn to the same orchid but for different reasons.  Janet loved the color and Lynne was captivated by the shape of the bloom.  Janet's process was to gradually develop the lines and colors over several months by first working in paper and coloured pencil mock ups and then painting onto old linen and finally moving to hand and machine stitching. Lynne worked spontaneously painting with mixed media onto canvas over several months.  She says she needed to let the piece speak to her and the appearance of the moon in her piece was a surprise.  We mostly completed our pieces independently of each other.

Emilie Belak and David Milton

Theme / concept        Every Cloud Has a Silver Lining

Emilie Belak

Fibre Art Piece:           Denim Wood

 Formerly green pine forests of the Pacific West suffer extensive damage by pine beetles. Dried up trees are ready fuels for forest fires. Salvaged logs are a prized material for wood craftsmen who create beautiful utilitarian and decorative pieces.

Dave Milton

Turned wood projects: Chair and Bowls

Stained bluish-grey in the sapwood by the fungus introduced into the tree on the mandibles of the mountain pine beetles, the wood is thought by many to be inferior; we beg to differ. Pine trees, literally starved to death by the fungus, present us with yet another way to express ourselves in art, culture and our buildings. The cool of the blue and warmth of honey-hued heart wood  make for lovely contrasts as shown here.

Paulette Cornish and Diane McCarten

Theme / concept        Vancouver Island  Environment   

Paulette's fabric art on the left and Diane's painted art is on the right,

Paulette Cornish Fibre Art Piece:           
Spring on Vancouver Island

Diane McCarten

Multi Media Painting:  "A Sense of Place"  Quintych

Joint Statement: The opportunity provided by this FAN exhibition "Together" inspired us to collaborate after we recognized a mutual admiration for the other's creative process and abstract work.  We both felt that "Together" is such an important theme in the world today.

Gloria Daly & Deb Clay

Theme / concept        Runes, Wings and Keys

Gloria Daly and Deb Clay worked to create a joint multi-media project:  With One Voice

Gloria Daly

Sorry, no photo for Deb

Joint Statement: We were almost strangers, yet as artists in different disciplines we shared the common voice of creation. To initiate our project, we chose three words: Runes, Wings and Keys for the way they resonated with us. This is a first experience in collaboration – we find ourselves – truly TOGETHER!

Robin Fischer and Adele Samphire

Theme / concept        
Examining a design in both soft and hard materials.

Robin Fischer

Fibre Art Piece             Stone Threads

Sorry, no photo.

Inspiration for theme: Adele & I have known each other for many years through my parents who were potters. We have exchanged ideas, fabrics, lace, patterns & clay pieces. We have incorporated these elements in our respective works.

Adele Samphire

Clay Relief Panel         Stoneware Quilt

Robin & I chose “STONE THREADS” as a theme with the intent to find connections between quilting, fabrics and clay relief.

Leslie Forbes and Barbara Boldt

Theme / concept        Landscape

Inspiration: The watercolour by Barbara Boldt was chosen because it was exactly like the creek behind our former home in West Vancouver.

Leslie Forbes

Fibre Art Piece            After the Rain

Landscapes are the emotional barometer of our lives. They evoke places of our action and reaction. All our senses are empowered with the memory of place. Even from a great distance in time, a landscape has only to be mentioned to have our emotions and hearts engaged.

Barbara Boldt

Painting:                      After the Rain

Nature, unspoiled by human intervention and wild things growing where they are, give me endless inspiration and material for my landscape art. I feel close to the earth - her cycles and natural design. I am a realist in life and in my work, being guided by Henry David Thoreau’s words in ‘Walden’, “The more the painter invents, the further he takes us from the world which actually exists; and to that extent, he may even encourage us in the alienation from the real.”

Vickie Grey and Cordelia Ann Bates

Theme / concept        Nature, summer, our mutual love of flowers and gardening.

Vicki Gray

Fibre Art Piece                        Iridescence

Both Ann and I derive inspiration from nature and things around us.  Our mutual love of flowers and gardening influenced our selection of irises as a subject.  In keeping with the “Together” theme, I have used a sketch of Ann’s for one of my irises while the others are my own creations.  Thread and fabric, both commercial and hand-dyed, have become my palette.  As a fibre artist, I have the added option of using a third dimension which I have done by adding and stuffing the iris petals and stiffening the leaves, allowing them to protrude and extend beyond the edge. 

Ann BatesWatercolour Painting             Iris

 "During the summer of 2010 my friend Vicky Gray contacted me and suggested we enter the show, she submitting her quilt work and I, my watercolor work.  We decided on a theme of Irises.  I waited patiently this spring for the Iris to bloom and finally found some in a neighbour’s yard and made some preliminary sketches.  The cold, rainy spring weather delayed my work but finally a beautiful Iris bloomed in our yard.  The color was wonderfully vibrant and there were so many blooms.  Between rain drops I finished the painting.   I work in "plain air" and spend much of the good summer weather sketching wild flowers, roaring creeks, lakes and old buildings in the area of my home, Clearwater, BC.   

Judy Greenwood and Laury Ravenstein

Theme / concept        Still Life

Judy Greenwood

Fibre Art Piece            Red Pot with Eggs

Laury Ravenstrein      

Painting                       Red Pot with Eggs

Sorry ... no photo of artist.

Joint Comment: In the beginning, I saw a still life painting by Laury and we discussed the Together show. I was interested in working with a still life and incorporating fabric folds and texture in a plaid. Laury arranged the still life and we both worked fro that – she did a painting and I reproduced the image in fabric. It was a challenge to work with the folds and the shadows. The fibre art piece is layered to look 3-dimensional with fabric paint enhancing the highlights and shadows. It is framed similar to a painting.


Please click on OLDER POSTS to see the remainder of the show!