Propagation: a SHIFT dress

 In the creation of Propagation, I build up layers of strata using my shadow felting techniques. This layering adds visual depth, emphasized by the dark line crevices. Cracks in our soil that allow for opportunity. Seed forms rise up above the surface, each with their own colour, pattern and potentiality. Repeating, but never the same. There is some awkwardness in the composition, echoing our own experience as we stretch into personal growth.

 Adding extra dimension to the dress was important to emphasize the potential of breaking through our own crusts and also the delicacy of balance required to inhabit this new and tenuous space. I took these pictures years ago...and held them, waiting for the right time...Propagation is the dress that brings to life the inspiration they provided.



The single leaf carried by a tall, narrow stem... a floating island anchored to the forest floor.



This is my drawing for this dress. It is not complicated...a simple sketch with some notes that outline my direction....This is how I start every piece I make. The gestalt is captured, so even if it takes a year or more to actually come to life, as this piece did, it is easy to slip back into the thought process and chose design elements that will build into the imagined whole.

 

The layers in this piece are built up slowly, like the composition and textures of soil... Soil, as formally defined in the Soil Science Society of America Glossary of Soil Science Terms, is:

1. The unconsolidated mineral or organic material on the immediate surface of the earth that serves as a natural medium for the growth of land plants.
2. The unconsolidated mineral or organic matter on the surface of the earth that has been subjected to and shows effects of genetic and environmental factors of: climate (including water and temperature effects), and macro- and microorganisms, conditioned by relief, acting on parent material over a period of time.

There are many, many layers in this piece....each one laid out with awareness of how it will be affected by the previous one, and also impact the next layers.

 

Propagation is a part of the SHIFT exhibition, a shared exhibition with my sculptural dresses and Barbra Edwards' striking abstract oil paintings. It was a shocking and delightful surprise to see these two pieces together for the first time at the gallery. We don't work off one another, but have similar palettes, and use of form and line. We often don't see one anothers new work, until we meet at the gallery for installation. These two pieces together just astound me.... Strong connections like the black lines, the red pods, the striated yellow at the bottom...the pebble like patterns in grey in the centre of Barbra's work and on my projected seeds....these were amazing revelations in connection....


Barbra and I gave artists talks discussing the inspiration of our work, and the connections that exist between our work, for the opening of this exhibition at the Seymour Art Gallery in North Vancouver. We only see one another 3-4 times a year, and it is always a pleasure- and deepening of resonant links...

 

The shadow felting techniques I use in the construction of this piece, are some of those I will be teaching later this year in Australia:
 October 31-November 1 Shadow Felting
 Canberra Region Feltmakers, Australia (FULL)

November 7-8 Shadow Felting
 FeltWearAble, Melbourne, Australia

 November 13-15 Shadow Felting
 Bunbury Feltmakers, Western Australia (FULL)

These classes are mostly full, but there are spaces in the FeltWearAble class in Melbourne. This is a shorter, 1.5 day class, covering the techniques in an accessible timeframe. I appreciate having the opportunity to deepen these techniques through my own work, and also to share them in these classes. The workshops are always evolving and exciting for me to present!

Warm wishes,
Fiona

Respiration: an Outdoor Felt Installation

One of my big summer projects is an outdoor felt installation created for the juried exhibition LandArt @ ArtCraft.

I have been fascinated with Land Art for many years, and allowed the whisperings of a felt installation to roam around in my imagination...When the call for entry for this exhibition came up, I knew exactly what my proposal would be...I was juried into the show, but given a different location to the one on which I had based my proposal. I didn't think much of this until many months later when I was ready to approach this new work, and started to spend time in the space. My original idea just did not respond to the environment.   So I visted regularly, observing and sketching and thinking...until the new work presented itself. (I will tell you sometime about the original idea, as I still plan to make it and present it in a different location this summer!)
 

In Land Art I see two distinct relationships. The artist meets the site and responds to it's characteristics, developing a relationship and then a concept for that space.  And then the artwork meets the site,  and it too responds to it's characteristics. How will the artwork react with the changing seasons, weather patterns, growth of plant material, animal behavior, movement of the light, and wind? There are so many components to be aware of  and potentially respond to. It is a very exciting and dynamic "gallery"!
  It has been a fascinating process,  immersing oneself in the space, observing it's seasonal nuances: the light, the wind, the foliage, the earth...

 In the late spring when I saw the strong leaf patterns, emerging on the trees, I knew this would be the right form for this work. A collection of felt leaves, connecting the trees with the earth, filling in the air in between. When we started the installation, I was amazed to see the leaves moving in the breezes, coming up from the harbour. I had no idea until that moment that there would be a kinetic aspect to the work. But it is perfect. The air movements change the relationship each leaf has with the sunlight, illuminating the surface patterns in new ways, with each viewing.

 My artist statement on the work sums up where my planning went within the space... 

As an environmental art sculpture, Respiration relates to air and light. The soft, wool felt forms stand in relationship with the strong vertical lines of the trees, grasses and plants within the garden.  The white felt leaves have delicate surface textures, telling a story of  movement; of air currents and rhythm. As the sun moves, the felt leaves are backlit and illuminated, showing their patterns with different intensities, casting shadows and being cast upon by shadows of the surrounding foliage. Air movements catch the leaves, changing their relationship with the light and the viewpoint of the observer.  Respiration is constructed in natural, untreated, white wool and bamboo, primarily from local sources.

Respiration: the act of breathing, the conversion of oxygen (air) into energy....we do it...the leaves do it...The leaves have an inbreath and outbreath, an empty side and a full side depending on the position of the sun. They catch the breath of the wind and move and change... 

 I've been making and installing one or two leaves everyday. This continues my relationship with the space. Everyday I visit, and change it a little...changing the space, and also adding to my vision of the sculptural work, as it grows.  The last pieces go up tomorrow and the exhibition opens on June 26th. 

If you re in the area, I hope you can join us for the opening!

LandArt @ ArtCraft
June 26 – September 20 2015


Mahon Hall 114 Rainbow Rd, Salt Spring Island, BC

Opening w/ Artists on Site: June 26     5:30-7:00pm

Warm wishes, 
Fiona

SHIFT travels to Vancouver

‘SHIFT’ includes oil paintings by visual artist Barbra Edwards and sculptural feltmaking by fibre artist Fiona Duthie. Both artists use local, natural materials and subject matter in their work with a focus on texture, layers, and colour relationships. Although the artists feel a deep artistic connection, their works are produced autonomously in their respective studios on separate Gulf Islands. In bringing their pieces together, the artists invite the viewer to draw connections between the works and notice their mutual perspectives.

Barbra Edwards’ paintings use dialogue between form and line to interpret her view of the environment on a cellular level. She explores sense of place and how each of us sees things from our own perspective. Edwards cites the natural environment as a major influence on her artwork, and her new series is textured, with vibrant colours surrounded by calm, atmospheric space. She lives and paints on Pender Island.

Fiona Duthie‘s sculptural felt garments employ geological surfaces created through fabric manipulation, stratified textiles and mapping imagery to explore biography and individual perspective. There is a sense of movement in each piece, inferring a geographical, emotional or mental shift. Fiona Duthie is an internationally recognized feltmaker known for her dynamic sculptural clothing and fibre artwork. Felting since 1996, Duthie has a full-time studio practice based on Salt Spring Island.

July 8 – August 8, 2015 Artist talks: Sunday July 12, 2 p.m. Reception: Sunday July 12, 3 p.m.

Seymour Art Gallery 

www.seymourartgallery.com

North Vancouver, BC