I’m excited to share that my first permanent installation is now up at Harbourfront Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
I participated in the Artist In Residence Program at Harbourfront Centre from 2007-2011 in the Textile Studio. Harbourfront Centre will always have a place in my heart and to be invited back to this special site to create a work that will welcome visitors into the Centre has also been a gift. I’m exited that this piece will be a permanent part of the site for years to come! Here are some pictures of the completed installation along with some photos from opening night!
The circular pieces in this work were created by wrapping around round objects to create lines that looked like coiled spring and then flattened these sculptural lines. I then used a lashing technique common in basketry to attach these flattened loops to a circle with a fine wire. Botanical shapes were made by twisting long wires into leaf shapes and then filling leaves in with finer wires by lashing thinner wire to the thicker outline. After the wire was shaped, it was then powder coated to add colour.
This piece, commissioned for Harbourfront Centre’s main entrance foyer is conceived as both drawing and sculpture. Hundreds of units are hung from single points creating a tactile setting filled with line, colour and movement that activates this passageway and gathering place. The accumulation of multiple units of formed wire, ranging in size creates a large expansive canopy to envelop the viewer, creating an environment of moving light and shadow. Through the repetition of floral imagery and circular motifs, the cumulative presence will be both delicate and substantial.
I am interested in finding connections between scientific research and decorative patterns found in textiles and wallpaper in my work. Lace-like pieces inspired by geometry and flora are created by sewing into a material that dissolves in water so I can build up stitched lines on a temporary surface. The crossing threads create strength so that when the material dissolves, the thread drawing can hold together without a base. My interest in embroidery began with a desire to create lines that exist in space. In this work, I have shifted my materials to create lines in space from colourful wire instead of thread.
