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The summer art show at the Port Alberni Museum is a group show featuring artsits from southern Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands. 

We took a little road trip over to Port Alberni to visit this show, the town and the surrounding area. Beautiful show, interesting museum, friendly town and stunning scenery. Port Alberni is well worth a visit next time you're driving out in that direction.

I have two hand dyed layered silk pieces in the show. They are from my Museum series and are Erato. Love Poetry and Euterpe. Lyric Poetry.

Here are some photos of the show.

I was thrilled and honoured to be chosen as one of 52 finalists for the Salt Spring National Art Prize 2021. 

52 pieces were selected by a panel of 4 jurors out of almost 3,000 submissions from artists all across Canada.

The SSNAP 2021 Finalists Show is up and open at Mahon Hall in Ganges on Salt Spring Island, BC. The show runs until October 25, 2021.

I was lucky enough to be able to attend the Opening Gala on Friday September 24. It was a lovely event. Covid restrictions made this even more precious. The show is stunning - beautifully hung - and each and every art work is worthy of a lengthy investigation. None disappoint.

Here is an image of the piece of mine in this amazing show...

Save Our Souls| 72″ x 18″ | Handwoven, hand-dyed mercerized cotton

I used a traditional Summer and Winter block pattern to weave the message “Save Our Souls” in morse code. I dyed the warp and weft threads with natural dyes (madder, cochineal, brazilwood, logwood, chestnut, pomegranate, myrobalan, cutch, walnut, marigold). The message can be read both vertically and horizontally and is picked out in the pink/orange/burgundy blocks. I am fascinated by non-verbal, antiquated modes of communication like morse code and semaphore. I love the slow, haptic nature of hand dying and hand weaving. The message in this piece silently screams the fate of our endangered species.

And me standing proudly by its side at the opening:)

A covid-style Zooislander will be online this year.

Here Zeb and I are modelling our Fibonacci sequence inspired outfits.

I am in Terrace, BC setting up my show, Arteology, at the beautiful Terrace Art Gallery.

I love this town. What a gorgeous location. The surrounding landscape is stunning. No wonder so many artists live here!

Go to the Arteology page for images of all the pieces in the show.

This piece started life 18 years ago. It had become rather moth eaten and had recently found a new owner. I arranged to add new life to the tired old piece and it became this colourful and vibrant hanging.

This is how the original looked.

On 29 February the 4th annual ZooIslander took place at the community hall on Pender Island. This year's event featured runways by Wendy Lopatecki, Deb Katz, Kate McNairn, Shelley Sarakannas, Shelley Easthope, The Nu to Yu and Jojo Spaxman. I was in Jojo's runway which gave space to Pender's fibre artisits to show their stuff. I adapted a medieval cope made out of melted painted bubble wrap in a Tumbling Cube quilt pattern, which I made way back in 1999. It tells the story of the disappearing salmon stocks off the coast of BC. 

Photo by Kelly Irving.

The sun came out yesterday afternoon and lit up MacKinnon Road on Pender Island. I have always loved this sleepy little road and am so happy to call it home.

There are some lovely weathered buildings on Pender Island. They speak of another time, of promises made and broken, of dreams yet to come.

On MacKinnon Road.

At the end of MacKinnon Road.

The Boathouse at Clam Bay.

Grimmer Bay.

Brooks Point.

Roesland.

I am so happy to have my piece Broken Promises. The Politician's Armour. After the Election, included in the Salt Spring National Art Prize Parallel Show at ArtSpring in Ganges, Salt Spring Island. I was lucky enough to be able to go and see this show last week and it is a beautiful, vibrant show. Gorgeous work, artfully hung in a lovely space.