Thematic Group Shows

Being part of an active community of artists stimulates a constantly shifting entry point to my art practice. I have been honoured to collaborate in several Hornby Island Group Shows, which have inspired some of my most innovative work. How to incorporate pebbles into a dress? How to make wings? How to use diverse materials with textiles? How to meet the deadline? Above is illustrated—How to get a poem into a dress?

Small Series Accessories

I am drawn to and fascinated by the intricacies of Victorian jewellery—but—working as a textile artist I need to approach ornamentation in a very new way. How can I wear history? How can I bring my home with me? How can I honour the hands of the women of the past who have embroidered so finely? How can I use the things that folks are throwing away?

The Machinery

Well, if you want to wear it—there are industry standards. I have been sewing my own work for the entirety of my work as a designer/maker. I worked slowly before “Slow” was a movement. I design my one-of-a-kind clothing on the dressform with upcycled fabrics, then piece by piece I undo the design and construct the piece. I also occasionally will work out a small series—something that really works—during these times I am very grateful for my industrial machines and their reliability and functionality.

Photo of the Artist by Melissa Moore

This series began with a collection of breezy cottons in Red. I wanted something familiar and comfortable with 1950’s lines and 1920’s detail. In a private collection. Sculpture in background by Veronica Lynn Graham also in a private collection.

The Studio

I am currently working in a studio on Hornby Island, BC in a little rose garden and forest. It is my favourite place to be.

The Process

I work in three dimensions with the element of movement. I am often to be found at play, creating something unexpected and new. I let things happen, and follow the work around.

Studio Process: Sculpture and Collage

Collage

I am interested in the importance I assign to the meeting of diverse elements—here we have the fragment of a poem, a deteriorated beaded and sequinned scrap, bark, seed pods and leather on driftwood. Somehow, for me it is the same hand of nature that grows the trees and moves the hands over the loom—the same force with which the sea transforms wood, and the hand moves beads into silk.

For Articulate Ground 2018, a Group Show curated by Rachelle Chinnery on the theme of text. In a private collection.

Collage in Process

This is part of a solo show from 2016 in which I worked with a large team to create an installation of cedar boughs for a High Noon Tea mise en scène fashion show and art show.

Early Work

c.1999 in a private collection.