Colour Unboxed Exhibition

Colour Unboxed Exhibition

January 14th was the Vernissage of the Colour Unboxed exhibition at the Mississippi Valley Textile Museum in Almonte, Ontario. The museum has an amazing exhibition space which the fiber art work of members of the Out of the Box group filled up nicely.

I attended the opening but there were a lot of people and my camera battery was dead - so I socialized a little bit, had a quick look around and vowed to come back with my camera at a quieter time.

Details of the Lone Tree 2: Tired or Overachiever?

I went back this Saturday to enjoy the art works at a more leisurely pace. I also wanted to take a photo of my Lone Tree 2: Tired or Overachiever? Although I wasn't originally thrilled with the piece, I got some suggestions from an artist friend and a couple of Out of the Box members and made a few changes.

I learned a valuable lesson about colour value while making this piece. Turns out that even if red and green are complimentary colours, they don't necessarily have much contrast if they have the same value. Who knew? Not me!

Details added to the foreground

Lone Tree 2 - before the changes

I added details to the original piece, especially in the foreground. Here's the before and after.

Lone Tree 2- the final piece

I would also like to show you some pictures of the works of another member of the Out of the Box fibre artist group. Her name is Caroline Forcier Holloway. We both come from Kirkland Lake in Northern Ontario and worked in the same organisation a few years ago. She does some amazing felted work and really went outside of the box, and her comfort zone to make these three pieces for the exhibition.

Arctic Tundra Mosaic depicts the delicate ecosystems of the tundra - the flora forever adapting and competing with permafrost.

Arctic Tundra Mosaic by Caroline Forcier Holloway

Details of Arctic Tundra Mosaic by Caroline Forcier Holloway

Arctic Tundra Mosaic is a mosaic of felted tiles affixed unto metal frame and painted canvas. Natural materials include fur, bone, antler, lichen and moss. Other materials include found objects.

Next is one of Caroline's two installations. They come from her love of audio and video.

The Art of Memory, Part 1 - Ode to Oral History

In the Art of Memory, Part 1 - Ode to Oral History, Caroline explored the boundaries of the natural fibre of wool and the man-made medium of audio tape. She writes that "The narrative of a generation (is) woven into wool using audio tape to guide silent play back and recording equipment." Her second piece is the Art of Memory, Part 2 - Ode to Home Movies. I'm not going to spoil your fun - make sure that you see her work as well as all of the other artists' in the Colour Unboxed exhibition at the Mississippi Valley Textile Museum. It's well worth the trip.

What I learned:

• Never underestimate the value of "colour value". I really hope never to forget that lesson!
• I am grateful to have artists around me for encouragement and insight. It's really great to be able to exchange ideas.
• I love looking at art and quilt exhibitions but I get overwhelmed very quickly. That's why I take so many pictures. After the show, I'm able to look and study the pieces - to see what works, why I like them as well as the details of the pieces for inspiration. I find that I learn so much from the work of others and I'm glad that I can go back to them when I want to.

Features Links: Colour Unboxed exhibition at the Mississippi Valley Textile Museum; details of the making of Lone Tree 2: Tired or Overachiever? (Nov. 6 2016)

Lone Tree 2: Tired or Overachiever?

Project Details:
Lone Tree 2: Tired or Overachiever?
12" x 10"
Materials: fabrics - commercial cotton and batiks, silk thread, embroidery floss, beads, fabric markers
Techniques: Free Motion Quilting, appliqué and hand embroidery



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