More peeks...

Here's the other hand stitched piece in my show. Well, only  a peek into it. Come to the show to see the whole thing!

It's about 42" long, so this is only maybe 6" of it...

Sneak peeks...

I have been asked, "What quilts are in your show?" and "Put them on your blog!"

So I will post a few pics of what to expect...
All of my pieces are outdoors and or paddling related, as that is my way to nirvana...
Here is a shot of "The Red Paddle," on display right now in the LaConner Quilt Festival.

 18" x 45"

It is completely hand stitched, over hand drawn India ink paddle outlines. The red is paint!

A real live show!

My friend Karen Johnson and I are putting together a textile art show.
October 18 to November 13, at the Unitarian Church of Vancouver,
at 49th Ave and Oak St, Vancouver.

The Artists' Reception is Sunday, Oct 23, 3 to 5 pm. I hope you can come!

Soul Journey Artist Statement

For much of my life I have heard a call to adventure, an invitation to try new things, a need to move beyond my comfort zone. When I was younger it was whitewater canoeing, with some physical risk, and much canoe camping and guiding wilderness trips in French. I have been led into the Unitarian ministry by this call and have consequently moved from coast to coast and abroad to work with a variety of congregations. Three years ago, after retiring from the ministry, I was called to participate in the Yukon River Quest, a 715 kilometer ultra-marathon canoe race, as part of a eight person voyageur canoe team. I have subsequently organized similar teams for that race for the following two years.

I realize now that this quest is a spiritual journey, a quest for spiritual completion. This journey takes me through fear, through the trials and tribulations of a difficult challenge, and leads to me that ephemeral focus of mind that is at least part of the spiritual experience of finding and knowing what some people know as god, or completion.

Yukon River Quest--in textile art

Last summer was busy, what with the Yukon River Quest and more. Now to show some pieces inspired by the ultra-marathon canoe race...

Day at the Race

Glimpses of other canoes are all you see once the race has started....

Some details













And in contrast, A Day on the Lake







and a detail

In a voyageur canoe, a team is really stretched out, front to back. The world you paddle in depends on where you sit in the canoe.

Fractured Team

Adapted from the photo on the cover of the Whitehorse Star in June.

Clinging to the Edge

My latest, although not so recent, is Clinging to the Edge, shortly to go to Newfoundland and the Craft Council meeting there in the fall. It's already shown in three shows in Ontario. see http://edgeoftheforest.ca/?project=katie-stein-sather for more pics. But this is my piece:

Clinging to the edge

“Clinging to the Edge” started as a photo taken on Alouette Lake, a natural lake dammed into a reservoir many years ago. Most of the trees in the reservoir footprint were cut at the time of the dam construction in 1928, hand sawn with cross cut saws. This one survived the cutting, but erosion from high water wave action leaves it precariously clinging to the edge. This quilt bears witness to its struggle.

Cherry Blossoms: A Textile Translation

Once again, I have a piece in the Vancouver Guild of Fibre Arts' exhibit on cherry blossoms. It's always a challenge to create a new way to think about cherry blossoms.



And again I went to red purple...

"Cherry Sunday"

I attended the opening earlier this week... It was a full house at the Silk Purse Gallery in West Vancouver.

Canadiana--Yukon Gold

The FibreArt Network has a new show opening soon, at the New Zealand Quilt Symposium....

The theme is Canadiana.

This is my entry in the show. Yukon Gold

Artist's Statement

Where IS the Yukon’s gold? In the gold mine slashed into the hillside?  Or has it already mostly melted away like the snow of early spring, disappearing as quickly as the once innumerable cariboo are doing? Perhaps the treasure is in the Yukon River itself at sunset.

Detail