Quilts for Quest III

Practicing for my tandem entry in the 2017 Yukon River Quest.

This piece Mondrian Paddlers was juried into the Canadian Quilters Association's 2017 National Juried Show. The original photo was manipulated with the Prisma app on my phone, then translated into textile.

Mondrian Paddlers

Detail of Mondrian Paddlers

Original photo by Betty McLeod

Here I combine photographs and print to cloth to ask the rhetorical question, "Where IS the gold in Yukon?"

Yukon Gold

Detail of Yukon Gold

Photo transfer plus arashi hand dyed fabric... C'est L'aviron qui nous mene en haut.. It is the paddle that leads us on.

Canoes en haut

Detail

Quilts for Quest II

I learned to hand stitch at an early age, and still enjoy some projects.

Here I play with hand stitch and a paddle motif.

The Red Paddle

Detail of The Red Paddle

Paddles #4

Detail of Paddles #4

Three Paddles

And some more paddles... Apparently I need to go somewhere. These are stenciled with oil stck over a pieced ground.

Two Paddles

More play with the paddle motif. India ink and acrylic on cotton.

Paddle On

Quilts for Quest I

Here is a summary of the pieces I have made on the theme of Quest... I seem to be looking for something...

A Day at the Race

The Yukon River Quest begins with a mass start. One has to duck between other canoes and kayaks without causing interference yourself. There is no time to notice much more than glimpses of other boats.

Detail from A Day at the Race

By the time you get to Lake LaBarge, the crowd of canoes has thinned out considerably. And hopefully there won't be wind and waves.

A Day at the Lake

Detail from A Day at the Lake

The Yukon River Quest is an ultra-marathon race. Not only is it a difficult race physically, it's also difficult psychologically. Teams often have a tough time staying friendly during the race. This piece illustrates the stresses that usually come with the race. Adapted from a photo on the cover of the Whitehorse Star in June 2015.

Fractured Team

Detail of Fractured Team

Ekphrastic showing in Merritt now

From FAN's Ekphrastic exhibit, showing in Merritt, BC until the end of September, 2017

This is an interpretation of a poem by Tracy Hamon

Cherry Blossom redux

Yet another piece for the annual Cherry Blossom Festival, a Textile Translation to be at the Silk Purse Gallery in West Vancouver from March 21 to April 9, 2017.

Thickened dye and paint on thermofax from a photo of mine, pieced improvisationally.

Detail

More in the Quest theme

The theme of Quest recurs in my life, and in my art....

Here are two entered in the up coming show (in)finite: exploring the finite limitations of humanity and the ineffable, infinite nature of the Divine.
the Divine.
May 25 to June 4, 2017
Christ Church Cathedral, Vancouver, BC (in)finite

Stitching is meditation for me.... something like paddling is meditation.

Here is a handstitched vision of canoes on the river,
My Fraying River

Yes, the edges of the fabric are not finished. The current carries me on, following my sense of urgency.




























And a detail of the stitching.

 

And the Red Paddle, and especially meditative piece for me. 

India ink on cotton, hand stitched with a variety of threads.

Detail

Mondrian Paddlers

Some simple playing around with the Prisma app on my phone gave a photo from a friend a new interpretation... here's the Mondrian version of the photo. The app makes the original photo into a take-off in the style of P Mondrian. see http://www.piet-mondrian.org/composition-c.jsp for an example.

the original photo, by Betty McLeod. December 1, 2016