Hi and welcome 😎 I'm enjoying the Spring weather and learning to rest the hard way - not listening to your body will do that! I did manage to rest enough to take the two hour train for a day trip with my girlfriend to Montreal. It was the last day of the retrospective, "Heart On", of the art work by Joyce Wieland at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. It was absolutely amazing - what an artist!

Joyce Wieland, Artist and Activist

The introduction to the exhibition states: "Celebrating the radical art-making of Joyce Wieland (1930-1998), this large-scale exhibition offers an in-depth look at one of the most influential Canadian artists of her time." A lot of her art was done in the 1960s and 70s, so you might imagine what "radical" at that time meant.😉 She lived in Toronto and for a short while in New York. 

Here are some textile art pieces/quilts that she designed/made. The first one below, "Defend the Earth / Défendez la Terre" is Wieland's largest wall mural at 16' long.

Defend the Earth / Défendez la Terre (1972)

Along with feminism and nationalism, Joyce Wieland was very concerned with environmentalism, particularly the Canadian North. At the time of the Cold War, there was a fear that the US would encroach on Canada's North for its resources and its proximity to the USSR.

Another of her larger quilts, Barren Ground Caribou, was unveiled on the Spadina subway station in Toronto in 1978.

Barren Ground Caribou by Joyce Wieland

One of my favourites is the Water Quilt, stitched in 1970-71. This huge quilt depicts botanically correct embroideries of Arctic flowers on off-white fabric. Underneath each flower is a stitched excerpt of a page from the late Canadian economist James Laxer's book, The Energy Poker Game (1970). In his book, Laxer outlines plans by an American corporation to seize control of Canada's northern waterways.

The Water Quilt by Joyce Wieland

Details of The Water Quilt by Joyce Wieland  

There were so many art pieces, but one of my favourites is still Reason Over Passion. If this piece looks vaguely familiar, it may be because you saw it on this blog in 2017 as part of the Art With Fabric Blog Hop. At the time, I had photos and a postcard of the piece but this weekend, I finally saw it in all of its glory at the exhibition. It did not disappoint! 😁

Reason Over Passion by Joyce Wieland

This is my much smaller version of the quilt, which is called Reason & Passion. If you want to read more about this quilt, go to the last two bullets in "Related links" below.

Reason & Passion by Andrée G. Faubert

What I learned

• It's a little scary to see how Joyce Wieland's art is still so relevant today. One of the curator's wrote that it's rather sad because Joyce hoped for a better world.
• I've only talked about Joyce Wieland's textile art, but she loved working with many forms and techniques: film, paint, collage (before it was a thing!), making art with plastics and found objects.
• There was so much art to see. Most were very colourful while others softer and subtle.
• In writing this post, I found some really great articles about the artist and the exhibition. If you're at all interested, you may want to go down that worthwhile rabbit hole.
• I have to admit that I don't always get Joyce Wieland's art, especially her non-textile pieces. The articles and discussion with my girlfriend helped me understand it better.
• If you've noticed that this post is late, it's because I've since been spending some quality time at our local hospital. It turns out that I now have a rather serious eye infection. I now have meds and drops but I'll be going back for more tests and consultations. I am SO GRATEFUL to my daughter and girlfriend for making me go to the emergency. I am also amazed by the team of doctors who have taken an interest in my case... they love to see new things and puzzle out what's what! I'm glad that I could oblige but I hope that this will be resolve soon 😁
• UPDATE: it looks like my issue is a side effect of the radiation from a year and a half ago...and NOT serious. Phew!
• I'm sorry that I don't have the time to feature some great quilt from last week but this is about as much as I can manage. I'm so happy that I started this post before going to the hospital!

• UPDATE: If you're in the Toronto area, you will be able to see Joyce Wieland - Heart On show at the Art Gallery of Ontario starting June 18, 2025. 

Related links

• Montreal Museum of Fines Arts, Joyce Wieland - Heart On 
• In a sprawling retrospective, artist Joyce Wieland's true patriot love suddenly feels like prophecy: CBC Arts
• Joyce Wieland, a Tragicomic Canadian, Offered Cues to Live Larger, Art in America
• The Craft and Activism In Joyce Wieland’s Visual Art, Art & object
• Barren Ground Caribou, Art Canada Institute
• The Water Quilt, Art Canada Institute
• The Water Quilt by Joyce Wieland 1970-1971 in Judy's Journal (2018 blog post by Judith Martin, Canadian fibre artist)
• Joyce Wieland and Art with Fabric, May 14, 2017
• Art with Fabric Preview, May 10, 2017

Linking parties

I'll be linking to many fun linking parties. You might want to check some out. Remember to link up below! Put your foot down, Needle & Thread Thursday, Off The Wall Friday, Finished (Or Not) Friday, Monday Musing,  

Free Motion Mavericks

Welcome to week 530 of Free Motion Mavericks! Last week was a very productive week! Thanks for linking up. I'm afraid that I'm back in the hospital system getting tested for my eye. I didn't have a chance to prepare the featured posts, or visit some of them. I will be visiting soon and I hope that you'll be linking up below. I'm confident that things will get back to normal again soon.😊

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