Textile and Colour Intermission

In between projects, I took a trip this weekend with my family. It was filled with colour, textiles and good food with family – all the best that life has to offer!

Chihuly Exhibition at the ROM in Toronto

The Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) in Toronto has an amazing exhibition of glass by Chihuly (until January 2, 2017). It’s a symphony of light, colour and form. I’ll let you judge for yourself!

This is the first installation you see as you come into the exhibition. It may look like a bowl of glass beads in this photo but it’s actually a full-size boat filled with glass balls. Wow!


This is one of my favourites. It’s a glass ceiling filled with translucent glass shapes of myriad colours. They actually have mats on the floor for visitors to lie down and look up at the ceiling – which is how this picture came to be.

A truly beautiful glass ceiling by Chihuly

Reflected light from the 
glass ceiling by Chihuly

The reflected light is almost as beautiful as the light coming through the glass.

One of the calmer pieces is a row of old images of first nation people and a representation of glass baskets beneath them. Stunning.

Glass bowls by Chihuly based on Aboriginal baskets 

Toronto is also home to the Textile Museum of Canada. This weekend they had two exhibits - Bliss: Gardens Real and Imagined (until September 18, 2016) and Worlds on a String: Beads • Journeys • Inspirations (until October 23, 2016)

Original fabric designed by William Morris

Bliss explores flowers and gardens in textiles throughout history while the Worlds on a String explores the history and significance of beaded objects.  My favourite exhibition was the garden and flower themed textiles. Since I’m a huge fan of the Arts and Crafts movement and William Morris, it was great to see the original fabric designed by Morris.












The colours are particularly tranquil and muted after the Chihuly exhibit.

Silk embroidery from China

Here is a beautiful embroidered piece from China.













Last but not least is the Worlds on a Bead exhibit. There were many beaded objects from all over the world, but I was struck by the colours and composition of these pieces by Ubuhle Beautiful Beads, a beading community established in rural KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.

Beading by Ubuhle Beautiful Beads

Beading by Ubuhle Beautiful Bead

Beading by Ubuhle Beautiful Bead

What I learned:

• My daughter just finished a course on the history of modern architecture. She took me through the ROM’s gallery of The legacy of European style through the ages (from the Middle Ages to the 20th century). Since I quizzed her for her mid-term and exams, it was great to see for myself the differences between Renaissance, Baroque, Rococo, Neoclassical, and Victorian periods in different countries.

• When looking for a particular location in downtown Toronto, it’s important to get more than the street address – I missed the Textile Museum by one block and got very frustrated and hot. The upside – I found the wonderful Mi Taco Taqueria on Queen Street West. I love eating home-made foods from around the world! 

• There are drawbacks to visiting more than one museum in one day. I was both hot and tired when I arrived at the Textile Museum. I took many photos since I knew I would appreciate them more when I was rested.

I've linked this eye candy post to the following links: Off the Wall Friday, MOP Monday, Monday Making,