One Sentence Summary: My installation Floating Garden is paired with Jannick Deslauriers’ Phasmes to explore humanity’s journey from botanical abundance to environmental devastation.
Date: September 2023
This fall, I had the privilege of exhibiting at the Peel Art Gallery, Museum and Archives (PAMA) in Brampton, Ontario as part of In Her Garden, a dual exhibition that explores humanity’s complex relationship with the natural world. Running from September 30, 2023 through February 20, 2024, the show pairs my work with that of Montreal-based artist Jannick Deslauriers, creating a powerful narrative contrast between flourishing beauty and environmental devastation.
The Exhibition
In Her Garden presented two radically different visions, each filtered through a feminine lens that imagined hybrid realms between reality and fantasy.
My contribution, Floating Garden, filled the gallery with a romantic, vibrant garden suspended from above. Using only thread, I created stitched drawings of flowers that sprouted mid-air—each bloom soft and slight, swaying gently as visitors moved through the space. The flowers responded to the disturbance of bodies passing by, gracefully shifting in unison with their neighboring blooms, creating the illusion of a living garden complete with an imagined fresh scent permeating the space.
In stark contrast, Jannick Deslauriers created Phasmes (Phasmids), a world drained of colour and life. Her mixed media installation evoked an abandoned amusement park, a nuclear disaster zone reminiscent of Chernobyl, or a war-torn landscape. Visitors entered this “contained space” through a plastic curtain, confronting the sad conclusion of environmental tragedy—whether caused by human neglect, error, or explosive aggression. Where my work celebrated botanical abundance, hers mourned its absence.
Together, our installations created a narrative arc from happy beginnings to potential devastation, asking viewers to consider their own role in this ongoing story.
Community Engagement
One of the most rewarding aspects of this exhibition was the opportunity to share my practice directly with the community through hands-on workshops.
Kids Workshop: Embroidered Creatures
In this workshop designed for young artists, we let our imaginations run wild, creating all kinds of animals, bugs, and plants. Children started with drawings, developing characters and inventing entirely new creatures. These drawings were then transformed into soft sculptures. Participants learned to make patterns on cloth and used both stitch and drawing to create their own unique plush creatures—bringing their fantastical visions to three-dimensional life.
Adult Workshop: Embroidered Botany
This workshop offered adults the chance to explore the techniques I’ve developed to create ethereal sculptures. My work examines an often-overlooked aspect of embroidery: the structural possibilities within the inherent fragility of thread. I shared how I translate environmental phenomena like clouds, flowers, and ice into embroidery.
Participants worked with Sulky® water soluble stabilizer—a magical material that allows stitching to exist without a permanent fabric backing. Each person created their own botanical design from reference drawings, translating their vision into textile by collaging threads, wool, and yarns with stitched line. We explored texture, pattern, and line using hand embroidery techniques including couching stitches, French knots, and seed stitches to create one-of-a-kind pieces.
Teaching these techniques and watching participants discover the structural possibilities of thread was incredibly fulfilling. There’s something special about demystifying the process and inviting others into the technical and conceptual framework behind the work.
I’m grateful to PAMA for hosting this exhibition and for creating space for these pieces. Art has the power to make us pause, to make us see familiar things—like gardens and flowers—with fresh eyes.
In Her Garden: Amanda McCavour and Jannick Deslauriers
Peel Art Gallery, Museum and Archives (PAMA)
Brampton, Ontario
September 30, 2023 – February 20, 2024
