Purpose

Material Witness will focus on extreme textile process. Images will be posted here showing the history of my work, new work, developing projects and inspiration.

Sunday, January 10, 2010

Under the Belt

The Double Vision, Morphos Inquiry show at the Numen Gallery opening was just great. It was a good trickle of people through the whole event. Lots of other artists arrived and so did old friends and comrades from other parts of my life.

Anna arrived and brought her doll stroller. She was a little shocked that I would sew bugs. She and I are friends and spend time sewing together. She just turned five and is now learning to use the sewing machine. I think my next collaboration will be with her. She can focus on a project for more than an hour at a time and never drinks all my wine!

Celine, the Numen Gallery owner and curator for this show, did a great job. Everything takes on a hazy, zen, ethereal presense under her hand. She can be fiercely strict over what is included in the show but always ends up being right in the end. Her editing ability comes from this sophisticated aesthetic and a film making background.

I am always surprised to see my work sitting in a gallery. I still get the "I made that!" feeling.
It is exciting to hear what other people think about the work. Sometimes I pretend not to know the artist and just listen to comments about the work.

Hilary's work was perfect and the combination of her vision and my vision feels coherent. We worked on the project for months and spent tons of time ready and considering the Victorian era and thinkers of the time. Darwin, Nabakov, Jung, Victorian erotica, and the writings of A.S. Byatt
helped to create a darker vision. Hilary researched typical Victorian plantings, the symbology of insects and took some of the images from the peeling walls of Barkerville in her work.

The evening ended with the gallery clearing out and packing everyone left into East is East for a celebratory supper. Spicy chai, Lassi and amazing food polished the day off nicely. The music was from a Romany band and dancers in a room that was filled with beautiful rugs and little benches.

Get down and see the show if you are in Vancouver. It will be on until just after Valentine's Day.

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