Please send us your reviews of shows seen, art you have viewed at a friends' or art you have purchased.

Last night I was fortunate enough to be invited to the Pre-Sale at ACAD and now I can insist you go over there and take a look at all the wonderful work by the students and learn - because they are a great crowd who are very keen to talk, share their passion, and teach us about their techniques and inspirations.  Seems like there are excellent tutors in that place bringing out the character of the students and adding a little spice of technique as these, our future artists, mature.

The star of the show for me was Geoff Genge who is registered as a Jewellery Major (I believe you call it here in Canada) He told me he loves looking into the way things are constructed and he clearly has an interest in de-construction too.  He studied weaving with Mackenzie Frere from the Fibre Dept. and learnt the basics and then he told me cheekily with a grin, how he then decided to (in my words) take the kid gloves off and do something  a little more complicated.... I got him to take a mirror-wise selfie... scan down to see more details of the piece - Earthen Shroud.

Photo credit  and Artist Geoff Genge
Earthen Shroud

His piece is in predominantly wonderfully aged and rusted metal.  Check out the components...with natural fibre as warp and he has re-used things like a fire screen which he painstakingly took apart.  It supplies the tension in the work.  You weavers will understand this far better than I.
See if you can get a sense of his humorous character as you inspect the images below.
(Forgive non-editing of the images... but I think they do the job - please click to enlarge - and sorry I didn't get the right angle to view the piece in its entirety.)

Earthen Shroud

Artist Geoffrey Genge

Photo: karin millson

The top of the piece (not shown) is a large scale metal pipe - giving perfect balance to the entire work.

Earthen Shroud

Artist Geoffrey Genge

Photo: karin millson
 Look at the way the warp has been affected by the springs

Earthen Shroud

Artist Geoffrey Genge

Photo: karin millson
The lower portion is certainly dramatic

First Alberta SDA exhibit!

See you at the opening reception on April 11th!!!

Thanks and More...

Thanks to everyone who has looked into the blog in the past week.

Please let me know if you have established a 'Follow by email' system, so I don't need to send this bog entry to you via an email...  otherwise you will receive it twice!

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Just an Idea - Banff on Wednesday 11th January

Image: Barbara J. West, Faux Fedora (A Detail of Drinking Games), textile, 2011

If you can make it to Banff this Wednesday 11th January, I am suggesting an outing so that a group of textile folks descend on the Whyte Gallery in the morning to look at the textile exhibition there.  Talk to your friends and arrange a car pool but I hope to see you there around 11/11:30 am providing the weather is good.
If you have work on show there feel free to show some of us around, if you are comfortable with that.

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Exhibitions around the Globe

From time to time I will add an entry on art from somewhere around the world... Send suggestions in if you like... I will include them in later posts... or add a comment of your own in the comments box.


Barbara Sorensen Dwellings V Installation 2010
Click here to read more about this exhibition in the Orlando Museum of Art

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For our Calgary-based members 

Thanks to Bobby for suggesting this for the Blog, check out the Artist in Residence (Air) Program:-

Connecting Calgary Calgary’s arts community connects our city to the rest of Canada and the world. Connecting Calgary is a grant program that will provide financial support to activities occurring during Calgary’s year as Cultural Capital of Canada (April 1, 2012- March 31, 2013). If you are planning a project where you travel to share Calgary’s unique creative voice across the country and abroad, host renowned national and international artists here to inspire our community and draw others to our contemporary, diverse city, or involve Calgary artists as equals in creative partnerships with the world’s best, we want to hear from you. This grant program is meant to assist in the development of artistic interactions between Calgary and the rest of the world by supporting high-caliber outbound and inbound artistic activity, presented in high-visibility contexts, as well as collaborative exchanges of exceptional merit. DEADLINE: FRIDAY, JANUARY 27, 2012 - 4:30 p.m. Click here for more information on Connecting Calgary. Artist in Residence (AiR) Program Calgary 2012 is requesting Expressions of Interest (EOI) from: professional artists of all disciplines, historians and residency hosts interested in participating in the AiR Program during Calgary’s year as Cultural Capital of Canada. The Artist in Residency (AiR) Program is designed to explore the Calgary 2012 themes of Looking Back, Calgary Now and Looking Forward and connect artists and historians with other aspects of Calgary’s diverse identity such as: commerce, sports, agriculture, science, technology and other urban and suburban experiences. Wherever possible, residencies will take place in unexpected, everyday spaces to engage and delight the public. Residency locations may include: community gathering spaces, places that are part of City-wide celebrations, sporting events and public transportation. The AiR Program matches artists and historians with residency hosts to establish residencies, for up to 3 months, that fall between April 1, 2012 and February 28, 2013. Highlights of this program will be presented as part of the Calgary 2012 Closing Symposium in early 2013. DEADLINE: FRIDAY, JANUARY 20, 2012 - 4:30 p.m. Click here for more information on the AiR Program. Cultural Ambassador Program Are you connected? Do you know what's happening? Become an active part of the Calgary 2012 team as an arts and culture communicator, connector, instigator and facilitator. Throughout your one-year term (March 2012 - March 2013) you will be offered the unique opportunity to join a movement to champion Calgary’s creative voice internationally and solidify our significant voice in the Canadian cultural landscape. DEADLINE: FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2012 Click here for more information on the Cultural Ambassador Program. About Calgary 2012 In 2012, Calgarians will celebrate the city's collective cultural achievements as Cultural Capital of Canada. Calgary 2012 is an independent, non-profit organization that helps showcase Calgary’s culture and create legacy projects to encourage future cultural achievements. The goals of the organization are to raise awareness of the richness of Calgary’s cultural assets, empower cultural celebration and participation in every community in Calgary, to build a stronger sense of identity and have local and national impact. 2012 marks the centennial anniversaries of the Calgary Stampede, City of Calgary Recreation, Calgary Public Library, Theatre Juntion GRAND and Pumphouse Theatre. For more information, visit Calgary2012.com.