The Pulling Strings Reference Library

There's lots of amazing stuff brewing with my textile-based collective, Pulling Strings.  A few weeks ago our newest project, The Pulling Strings Reference Library, had its soft launch at Needlework.  A growing collection of eclectic textile-related publications have been installed in Needlework's window along with a cozy chair for browsing and lounging.  After April, the library will become an ongoing fixture at Needlework as a semi-permanent community reference of textile art, theory and how-to books, zines and catalogues both old and new, weird and wonderful.

There are other great library goings-on happening until the end of April as well.  Every Tuesday and Thursday, our blog will feature reviews of books from the personal collections of some of our textile heroes.  This series kicked off last week with reviews by Robyn Love, Kate Jackson and Grant Heaps with many more lined up (previews of a few of the books that will be featured above!). At the end of April, we'll have a reading event at Needlework where an impressive group of textile enthusiasts will read aloud from their fave textile books.  More details to come soon!

http://pullingstringshamilton.blogspot.ca/
https://www.facebook.com/pullingstringshamilton

Market Value

Last weekend, I was one of nine artists that participated in Market Value, an initiative of the Hamilton Arts Council and the Worker's Arts and Heritage Centre.  For Market Value, artists from a variety of disciplines were invited to make work in public at the (beautiful and light-drenched) Hamilton Farmer's Market for a seven hour shift.  There were paid for their day of "work" at the market with the help of the OAC funding the project received.  The project was part exhibition and part advocacy initiative that puts the hours of work that artists spend producing art in plain view.  My work was performed/made over one day, and five other projects took place over the course of the previous week-- participating artists included Jim Riley, Trevor Copp, (F)NOR (Andrea Carvalho, Svava Juliusson, Donna Akrey and Margaret Flood), Mary Dyja and Laura Bromwich.

I had a lofty idea for a new work to produce for this exhibition that didn't end up happening.  The reason for this is complicated, and though I am very tempted to unpack the saga here, I will not.  Luckily it was not that difficult to change my concept at the 11th hour because making work with food has been my bread and butter (*GONG*) for a number of years now, and dipping back into a older body of food-related work (though not ideal) would be a good fit for a day of performative art-making in the Farmer's Market.

Last summer, I continued my The End body of work by making an installation for Gallery 1313's window box gallery.  This installation, called The End (Seven Samurai) was irreparably damaged by the heat and sun over the course of the exhibition, so I've been meaning to make a framable 2D version of the installation for several months now.  I decided that Market Value was as good a time as any to take this on.  For my market day, I screened Seven Samurai on my laptop while I recreated the end title of the film in dried foods associated with Japanese cuisine-- black sesame seeds and white rice-- a portion of which was purchased at the market.  For those who don't know, Kurosawa's film is about a team of samurai protecting bandits from pillaging the annual harvest of a very poor village in feudal Japan.  I thought that the film and using food as material were both interesting ways to address the issue of food (in)security across history.

 Food for art-making and food for eating over the course of my shift.

 The product of five hours of work...!?!?

Photo: Jen Anisef!

It is always a pleasure to show my work, and I was happy to have the chance to exhibit my own work (after a flurry of curatorial activities and projects since moving to Hamilton) in a very public space, and for the first time in my new city.  Feedback is always so interesting and varied and it's a pleasure to learn how open people are to engaging with art and artists-- especially those who do unusual things with unusual materials.

For me, the most challenging part of participating in this exhibition was casting a critical eye on my own practice, and coming to realize that in having someone else advocate for my work, I maybe haven't been the best advocate for my own work.  I was recently a visiting speaker about my other life as an independent curator in a class at Sheridan College, where I emphasized to a cohort of students-- most of which were about 10 years younger than me-- the importance of being re-numerated for their work.  I remarked that in not being mindful of being compensated reasonably (or at all) for their work, they were not only jeopardizing their own economic health, but they would ultimately have a detrimental effect the livelihoods of their fellow artists.  Pretty ironic, as I haven't practiced as I preached for the vast majority of my art career.  The lesson to be learned here for all artists is to continually step away from your art and look at the big picture of a life in art that involves goals, negotiation, economic exchange and critical thinking, both for one's own sake as well as for the sake of other working artists.

I'd like to thank Stephanie Vegh of the Hamilton Arts Council, Andrew Lochhead of the WAHC and my volunteer Ariel Bader-Shamai for all their help on my market day, and through the entire process of developing and carrying out Market Value.  I'll wrap this post with this cartoon that speaks volumes!

For more on Market Value, look here and here and here.

Justseeds Artists' Cooperative in Hamilton this Friday!

If you're in Hamilton (and even if you're not!), don't miss the multi-venue event Celebrate Women's History with Justseeds Artists' Cooperative which kicks off on Friday, March 14th at the James Street North Art Crawl!  Thanks so much to the local exhibition partners for helping make this happen-- Homegrown Hamilton, Hammer City Records, Centre3 for Print and Media Art and SACHA.

RSVP on the event Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/events/701873419870645/?ref=br_tf

RSVP to Celebrate Women's Herstory at Hammer City Records on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/events/533030836816430/?ref_newsfeed_story_type=regular

Celebrate Women's History In Hamilton with Justseeds Artists' Cooperative

It's amazing to see so many events cropping up around Hamilton for International Women's Day on the 8th.  I'm adding one to the pile that I've had up my sleeve since the beginning of this year-- a two-venue art event showcasing the work of the Justseeds Artists' Cooperative, a collective of print artists from across the US, Canada and Mexico.  I was introduced to Justseeds' work at Printed Matter's NY Art Book Fair at PS1 in 2012 and fell in love with their punchy, passionate prints that tackled topics such as climate change, feminist heroes and war resisters.  It's my pleasure to have a hand in bringing their work-- with the help of Justseeds member Mary Tremonte, a former Pittsburgher (is that a word?) now based in Toronto-- to the Hammer.  Read on for more info about Justseeds, the exhibitions, our partners and the opening party at art crawl on March 14th!

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Celebrate Women's History In Hamilton with Justseeds Artists’ Cooperative

In honour of International Women's Day 2014-- 20+ Artists!  Two Venues!  Print Media!  Gender Justice!  Rock’n’Roll!

Exhibition #1:
This is an Emergency!
At Homegrown Hamilton, 7 King William Street, Hamilton, Ontario
March 14th - April 10th, 2014; opens at Art Crawl, March 14th, 2014, 7pm. Presented in association with SACHA
http://www.homegrownhamilton.com/
http://sacha.ca/

This is an Emergency! is an exhibition of a print portfolio organized by Meredith Stern of Justseeds in 2012 which focuses on reproductive rights and gender justice. In response to all the bullying, legislative measures, and the horrifying statements filling the media against women, 2-LGBTQ, and non-gender conforming folks, the project brings together a collection of voices responding through visual art and interviews. This project brings together the voices of people most affected by these issues-- women, queer identified, and transgendered artists.

Exhibition #2:
Celebrate Women’s Herstory: A collaborative printstallation created by Justseeds Co-op members Mary Tremonte and Jesse Purcell, including selected posters from the Celebrate People’s History poster series. Posters and prints will be available for sale.
At Hammer City Records, 228 James Street North, Bsmt @ Rear; opens at Art Crawl, March 14th, 2014, 7 pm
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Hammer-City-Records/144221478929997

Other Events:
Art Crawl Opening Night Party! DJs Mary Mack, Donna Lovejoy, Carla Coma and Tara Strange spin a lady-hero playlist at Hammer City Records, 228 James Street North, Bsmt @ Rear, March 14th, 2014, 7-11pm

Artists’ Talk with Justseeds’ Mary Tremonte and Jesse Purcell at Centre3 for Print and Media Arts, Saturday, March 22nd, 2014 @ 5pm, PWYC
http://centre3.com/

*****

Justseeds Artists’ Cooperative is a decentralized network of 24 artists committed to making print and design work that reflects a radical social, environmental, and political stance. With members working from the U.S., Canada, and Mexico, Justseeds operates both as a unified collaboration of similarly minded printmakers and as a loose collection of creative individuals with unique viewpoints and working methods. We believe in the transformative power of personal expression in concert with collective action. To this end, we produce collective portfolios, contribute graphics to grassroots struggles for justice, work collaboratively both in- and outside the co-op, build large sculptural installations in galleries, and wheatpaste on the streets – all while offering each other daily support as allies and friends.

Mary (Mack) Tremonte is an artist-educator-DJ currently living in Toronto, ON where she is a Masters student at OCADU. Her vibrant silkscreen prints explore queer animal sexualities, amplified possibilities, and signifiers. As a DJ and party organizer she strives to create temporary safe spaces for expression, as well as to raise funds and awareness for grassroots causes. She is consumed with printmaking, totally teens, collaboration, communication and the politics of social space, particularly the danceparty.

Jesse Purcell is a multi-disciplinary artist and professional printmaker. After many years of working in Montréal’s vibrant screen-printing mileu, he has recently relocated to Toronto. The roots and current drive of his practice derive from the global DIY underground poster and art scene, which confronts issues of social and environmental injustice. He has a 20-year history of working in and with socially engaged artists’ collectives with the goal of using art as a tool of social transformation. His current work experiments with scale and pushing the parameters of the serigraphic medium.

Celebrate Women's History in Hamilton with Justseeds Cooperative is organized by Hamilton-based artist and curator Tara Bursey in collaboration with Homegrown Hamilton, Hammer City Records, Centre3 for Print and Media Art and SACHA.

Justseeds Artists' Cooperative, 2012

Réchneek in Broken Pencil Magazine

Réchneek, the publication that grew out of my thesis project last year, received a very classy review penned by Chris Landry in the latest issue of Broken Pencil Magazine.  How suitable that it was included in an issue that also featured a piece on aging zinesters.  To learn about what type of zines aging zinesters make, read on:

Depka Bursey, in collaboration with her daughter, Tara Bursey, has created a record of a Macedonian dialect in dictionary form.  The language, as it was spoken in the first half of the 20th century, contains many dialects and was traditionally passed down orally from generation to generation even as it was suppressed by Greece's repressive, anti-communist regime.  If reading a zine in dictionary form seems dull, don't worry, it's not.  That's just the first half of Réchneek.  In the second portion there is a transcript of an interview between Tara and her mother.  The discussion covers Greek political unrest, the military coup, language policy, food shortages, immigration to Canada, and perhaps most importantly, the personal connection to the Macedonian language.  Apart from the political history you'll get a compelling glimpse into a family history which, as someone whose grandparents fled a different kind of repression in Poland, I found really affecting.  Depka and Tara even include reproductions of old photographs adhered with photo corners.  I also appreciated descriptions of what certain neighbourhoods were like in the '60s and '70s.  Queen and Broadview, Pape and Danforth, Gerrard and Parliament, and others have all gone under tremendous changes and it is fascinating to hear a first-hand recollection of the fountains and drunks in Cabbagetown or how the Goodwill store used to be called "Crippled Civilians."

This project was put together in a style that is consistent with previous zines by Tara: half-letter size format, a heavier, textured cover with start typeface; and an interview format based on the subject's personal experience.  There was a notable difference as well-- the absence of illustrations.  I found myself wondering why Réchneek begins with the dictionary and then follows with the interview and not the other way around.  I think it is because language is the focus with this project.  Depka says to Tara, "it would be wonderful if people had the interest that you seem to have.  It's so sad that all these languages are dying because they have a history behind them."  I think that's the definition of a worthy project: capturing a unique story that would otherwise perish in the void. (Chris Landry)

Market Value at Hamilton Farmer's Market

This just in! This great thing will be happening at the Farmer's Market over a week in March.  I have something in store for the Saturday, but will be spending time at the Market in the weeks preceding the event interviewing market vendors in order to make the work that will be produced on my market day.  

For more on this project and the participating artists, see this post on the Hamilton Arts Council's blog.

Winterlore

 TH&B Collective, Bay Man

Floyd Elzinga, Silver Cones

Jacqui Oakley and Jamie Lawson, Awakening

 Thea Haines, Blanket Fort

 Tonya Hart, Phantasmagorical Nights

 Kosa Kolektiv

Hitoko Okada, Lotus Lantern

Winterlore was an overwhelming success at the Hamilton Winterfest kick off event yesterday. Thanks to the all the amazing participating artists (Floyd Elzinga, Hitoko Okada, Jacqui Oakley and Jamie Lawson, the TH&B Collective, Thea Haines and Tonya Hart) for making the exhibition what it was. I'd also like to thank Werner Plessl, NJT Productions for the lighting, Jamie and Ryan of the Waterfront Trust, Alex (security guard extraordinaire), Ken Coit, Ben Needham and my friend and collaborator Jen Anisef, Cultural Projects Specialist at the City of Hamilton for being a huge support through the entire process.

Hamilton Winterfest is a city-wide initiative that runs until February 9th.  For more information on what's happening, look here.  Also, the Winterlore-associated exhibition Meryl McMaster: In-Between Worlds runs until the end of March at the AGH Design Annex.  Don't forget to check it out!

Winterlore at Hamilton Winterfest 2014

 Tonya Hart

 Thea Haines

Since a mere three weeks after moving to Hamilton in August, I've been working on this exhibition of outdoor art for the 36th annual Hamilton Winterfest at Pier 8.  I am proud to be a part of the first year that Winterfest has had an increased arts and culture focus, with an amazing roster of events happening from February 1st - 9th.  See below for details on Winterlore, affiliated arts programming at Lister Block and the AGH Design Annex, and the Winterfest website for more details about the events at the kick-off and the programming happening across Hamilton for nine whole days.

*****

Winterlore, an exciting exhibition of outdoor art, is on view for one day only as part of the Hamilton Winterfest Kick-Off event at Pier 8 (47 Discovery Drive) on February 1, 2014, from 3:00-10:00 pm.

Curated by Tara Bursey, Winterlore features the work of six artists and collectives who have drawn on winter folklore, stories and symbols from Hamilton, Ontario and around the world to create dynamic installations. In line with the Winterfest program, this exhibition serves as a celebration of the diverse cultures of Hamilton and the beauty and magic of the wintertime.

Winterlore features the work of visual artists:

Floyd Elzinga (Beamsville)
Hitoko Okada (Hamilton)
Jacqui Oakley and Jamie Lawson (Hamilton)
TH&B Collective--Simon Frank, Ivan Jurakic, Tor Lukasik-Foss and Dave Hind (Hamilton)
Thea Haines (Hamilton)
Tonya Hart (Toronto)

The Winterlore Facebook event page can be found here.

Though the Kick-Off event will feature the majority of Winterlore artists in a temporary display at Pier 8 on February 1st, there are two longer term opportunities to see winter-inspired art offsite:

Presented in association with Winterlore by the Art Gallery of Hamilton’s AGH Design Annex, Meryl McMaster: In-Between Worlds runs from February 1st to March 22nd, 2014 at 118 James Street North. In-Between Worlds is an exhibition of work by emerging Canadian photographer Meryl McMaster, curated by Melissa Bennett and Tara Bursey. The artist’s Aboriginal and Euro-Canadian heritage are explored in her works through photographs of a lone figure in the winter landscape, where identity and myth are intertwined.
http://merylmcmaster.com/home.html
http://www.artgalleryofhamilton.com/da_index.php

A whimsical winter village is on display for a month in a heritage vitrine on the 1st floor of the Lister Block as of January 10, 2014 featuring work from thread artist Amanda McCavour (courtesy of Lonsdale Gallery, Toronto) and the Beehive Craft Collective.
http://www.amandamccavour.com/
http://www.beehivecraftcollective.ca/ 

For more information, visit www.hamiltonwinterfest.ca, email jen.anisef@hamilton.ca, or call (905) 546-2424 ext. 7612.
http://www.tourismhamilton.com/festivals-events/winterfest-2014

(becoming) The Logic of Memory at Hamilton Artist's Inc.

Image: Corinne Duchesne, Sybil, 2013. Mixed media drawing on mylar.

I'm unbelievably excited about the following exhibition which opens at The Inc. next week, featuring the work of Corinne Duchesne, Peter Horvath and one of my textile art heros of all time, Anna Torma.  It was an honour and a privilege to be asked to write the catalogue essay for this show.  Don't miss this one, folks!

*****

[becoming] The Logic of Memory
Corinne Duchesne, Peter Horvath, Anna Torma

January 23 – March 1, 2014

Opening reception: Thursday, January 23, 7:00 – 9:30pm

Art Crawl: Friday, February 14, 7:00 – 11:00pm

To paraphrase Deleuze, we can only function in the present, but we are always in motion, always becoming. Our past makes up who we are, but by contemplating these moments of the past, we are no longer remembering, we are constructing something new, in turn effecting our future understanding of the present.

Each of the artists in this exhibition explore the concept of memory. Their diverse perspectives weave together and encourage visitors to consider notions of memory, nostalgia, time and loss. Corinne Duchesne’s layered mixed media drawings on mylar philosophically consider loss as a locative site of memory, using grief as an anchor to merge anthropomorphic forms with objects. Peter Horvath’s 2-channel video installation, Memoir, compares and juxtaposes the biographical similarities between his mother Eva and friend Denise, who both emigrated to Canada from Hungary, albeit decades apart. The installation is structured to reflect upon the nature of memory, manipulating the space between truth and fiction, past and present. Anna Torma’s technically rich textile installations reflect on the nostalgia of home, her immigrant heritage, the natural environment and maps the human body recalling the synapses of the brain.

Combined, through the use of these personal assemblages, the works in this exhibition reflect on the location and constructed nature of memory and it’s ability to influence and shape our understanding of ourselves in the present.

A catalogue essay by Tara Bursey will accompany the exhibition.

Hamilton Artists Inc.
155 James Street North, Hamilton
http://theinc.ca/

Supercrawl 2014 Call for Submissions

Sarah Beck and Shlomi Greenspan, Untitled (It's almost a one liner), 2013. Photo: Harry Gils

Speaking as a Curatorial Committee member of Hamilton Supercrawl, I'd like to present the following PSA.  Hamilton Supercrawl wants YOU to submit proposals of art for this year's event.  Supercrawl is a breathtaking art and music extravaganza-- see below for more information on the festival if you are not familiar.  In addition, if you'd like even more info as well as tips on applying, the Curatorial Committee is holding a free info session tomorrow at the AGH Design Annex for potential applicants. See details about that below as well.

Supercrawl 2014 Call for Artist Submissions
Deadline: January 31, 2014

Supercrawl is a free annual outdoor art and music festival in Hamilton. The Curatorial Committee invites artists working in a wide range of creative disciplines to propose works for installation as part next year's event, taking place on September 12-13, 2014. Supercrawl celebrates the unique mix of arts organizations, cultures, businesses and creative people along James Street North in Hamilton. Last year Supercrawl attracted 100,000 attendees and will continue to grow in scale in 2014. The Committee is interested in seeing proposals in the following media:

Installation art
Sculpture
Video (projection-based is preferred)
Performance art
Public interventions
Storefront window installations
Murals
New media
Dance

Please note that a priority will be placed on that which can be safely seen, performed, or executed outside, and will remain impactful during both the daytime and night hours of the festival. Each project selected will be allocated an artist’s fee and modest budget.

Submission Requirements:

Please send via email:
1.     Artist's statement—conceptual statement on the work (150 words maximum)
2.     Practical explanation of the work—i.e. Scale, materials, methods, etc.
3.     Three images/stills/sketches of the proposed work, supported by 3-5 images of previous work relevant to the proposed project (jpeg, max. 72dpi, no larger than 768 x 1024 pixels)
4.     A clip, link or digital copy of any video (10 minutes max), if applicable
5.     Title, year, medium, dimensions for all images
6.     Complete installation plan including details of time needed for installation and removal of work as well as tools, equipment and number of assistants needed
7.     Location suggestion for your work (optional)
8.     A statement as to whether the proposed work has been exhibited before; if it has, please include details as to where and when
9.     CV with mailing address, phone number and email contact information

The Supercrawl Curatorial Committee is open to creatively diverse work that has visual impact and responds to the streetscape of the event. Artists and their work will be identified and publicized as official Supercrawl curatorial selections during the event, on the Supercrawl website and in select media releases. The committee will contact selected artists within six weeks following the deadline.

Artist information meeting: Wednesday January 8, 2014, 7-8 pm, AGH Design Annex, 118 James Street North, Hamilton. The Supercrawl Curatorial Committee will provide information about the event and answer artists’ questions in preparation for their submissions.

Send submissions to supercrawlart@gmail.com
Subject Line: YOUR NAME, SUPERCRAWL  ART
Deadline for submissions is January 31, 2014

About the Supercrawl Curatorial Committee:

The Supercrawl Curatorial Committee presents a wide variety of artistic projects at the annual James Street North Supercrawl. The goal of the committee is to curate public art installations and performances in keeping with Supercrawl's diversity, energy and scale. The committee selects projects by local, national and international artists based on artistic merit, originality, and ability to engage our diverse audience. This committee reports to the Supercrawl Board of Directors. Since 2010, the committee has curated works in a variety of media, including works by BGL, Kelly Mark, Kim Adams, Max Streicher, Elinor Whidden, Shayne Dark, Adam David Brown, Marie-Jeanne Musiol, Gareth Lichty, the McMaster Cybernetic Laptop Orchestra, Chris Shepherd, Shake-N-Make Collective, TH&B, Adad Hannah, EN MASSE, Brandon Vickerd, C.R. Avery and others. Current committee members are Melissa Bennett, Tara Bursey, Amy Kenny, Courtney Lakin, Dane Pederson, Alana Traficante, Stephanie Vegh and Matthew Walker.

www.facebook.com/Supercrawl
https://twitter.com/supercrawl
http://instagram.com/supercrawl
http://supercrawl.tumblr.com/

Meryl McMaster: In-Between Worlds at the AGH Design Annex

Meryl McMaster, Wingeds Calling, 2012, digital chromogenic print. Courtesy of Katzman Contemporary

While things have been a little quiet on this blog as of late, I've been working away behind the scenes on two exhibitions that both open on February the first.  The bulk of the preparations have been for an exhibition at Pier 8 in Hamilton called Winterlore, a series of outdoor installations that draw from international folk symbols and stories that will animate the pier during Hamilton Winterfest's all ages kick-off event.  More to come here on that exhibition shortly.

A satellite exhibition of the incredible work of emerging photographer Meryl McMaster will, as part of Winterlore, be showing concurrently at the AGH Design Annex.  This show will give the Pier show a presence on James Street North during and after the kick-off event.  Meryl's show was recently announced on the Design Annex's website. Many thanks to the Design Annex and my collaborator Melissa Bennett for drawing Winterlore (and me!) into their 2014 exhibition program!

***


Meryl McMaster: In-Between Worlds
On view February 1 to March 22, 2014
Curated by Melissa Bennett and Tara Bursey
Presented in association with Winterlore,
A Hamilton Winterfest exhibition
hamiltonwinterfest.ca

In-Between Worlds explores bi-cultural identities through photographs of a lone figure in the landscape. Identity and myth are intertwined here, in dialogue with the codes of photographic representation. As self-portraits, these images expose the vulnerable subject, inviting viewers to consider themselves as characters in this theatrical yet open-ended narrative. McMaster’s Aboriginal and Euro-Canadian identities have informed this work, wherein she incorporates ideas of liminality. For McMaster, “In-Between Worlds is a sequence of moments that appear out of the ordinary and can be interpreted as being in a state of suspended belief.”

This exhibition is presented in association with Winterlore, a Hamilton Winterfest exhibition that runs as part of the Winterfest Kick Off event on Saturday February 1st, 3-10 pm at Pier 8. Curated by Tara Bursey, Winterlore features dynamic art installations by ten artists. The works draw on winter folklore, stories and symbols from around the world, in celebration of the diverse cultures of Hamilton.

The Design Annex exhibition space features experimental contemporary art installations by artists from Hamilton and farther afield. Exhibition receptions are held on the second Friday of each month during the James Street North Art Crawls. 

The Design Annex provides artists with a new location in which to present works in all media, including new media. The space welcomes Hamilton residents and visitors to engage with contemporary art in a highly visible and accessible venue in the heart of Hamilton’s James Street North Arts District.

Fear of Punk//Fear of Art in Hamilton

Fear of Punk//Fear of Art at Hammer City Records came down yesterday!  Huge thanks to Craig, Leah and Brett at the shop for hosting the show.  We had a great time, and are thrilled with the awesome feedback and enthusiasm about the show we received.  Merch (stuff above) by Matthew McGarry, Weird Luke, Dustin McChesney and myself will be available at the shop until the end of this week, after this Friday's Art Crawl.  Christmas gift alert!

We want to mount this show again at least once more in Canada.  If you're interested in Fear of Punk coming to your town or gallery, get in touch!

The Hamilton Sign Register

New project alert!  I've started a new blog called The Hamilton Sign Register-- the product of many recent aimless, unemployed person wanderings around my new city.  It is an outlet for my love of old signs and typefaces as well as a way educate myself more about them and get to know Hamilton a little better.

http://thehamiltonsignregister.blogspot.ca/

Toronto Hyperbolic Crochet Reef at Gallery 1313

December's Window Box installation at Gallery 1313 is well-timed considering it was a topic of discussion during Shannon's artist talk at the inaugural Pulling Strings event in Hamilton.  The Toronto Hyperbolic Crochet Reef is an ongoing community project originally conceived by four Toronto artsy crafters closely connected to the amazing City of Craft fair (also happening in December just down the street from Gallery 1313!).  Read on for details about this inspiring, growing installation.  The exhibition reception is tomorrow night!  Also, check out the THCR blog for info on how you can contribute your own hyperbolic forms to the reef.

Also, a reminder: only 3 more days to check out the multimedia works of another Gallery 1313 project, Telling: An Audio Survey of Parkdale before the disappear on the 30th.

*****

The Toronto Hyperbolic Crochet Reef
Gallery 1313 Window Box
December 2013

Reception: Thursday, November 28th, 7-10pm

The Toronto Hyperbolic Crochet Reef is a collective project of endless crochet for the city of Toronto. Inspired by the pioneering work in hyperbolic crochet of Dr. Daina Taimina and the artful modelling projects of the Institute for Figuring in Los Angeles, the Toronto Reef is just one in a great confluence of reefs worldwide that use craft and community art to address the problems of global warming and plastic oceanic trash. The reef is run and mostly built by Angelune Des Lauriers, Shannon Gerard, Kalpna Patel and Becky Johnson but it remains open to coral contributions from anyone in the city.  The Toronto Hyperbolic Crochet Coral Reef has been exhibited at City of Craft, Roadside Attractions, Fly Gallery, The Knit Cafe and at White Elephant as part of Hamilton Supercrawl.

http://torontohyperbolicreef.blogspot.ca/








1313 Queen Street West
Toronto, ON. M6K 1L8
Hours: Wed – Sun, 1:00 pm – 6:00 pm
Phone: 416-536-6778
http://www.g1313.org

Artscape Youngplace

 Heather Nicol

 Debbie Adams in Stairmasters

 Hanging tapestry in the SKETCH Admin Hub

 UnArchive exhibition title wall

 David Adam Brown at the Koffler Gallery

Vacant studio on the 2nd floor

Gorgeous visuals abound at the grand opening of Artscape Youngplace on Tuesday night.

Introducing Pulling Strings!

In the middle of the whirlwind of exhibitions happening this month, this little golden nugget is launching and I am very excited-- it's a project that has been in the works for a while.  Pulling Strings is a collective and quarterly event series organized by Jen Anisef (who I worked with on Toronto Craft Alert), Thea Haines (who's art I've always admired) and I.  The aim of Pulling Strings is to "investigate contemporary cultural themes through textile-linked lectures, panel discussions, exhibitions, workshops, and fieldtrips.  Motivated by a belief that textiles tell us a lot about our culture, and inspired by Hamilton’s creative community’s contribution to downtown renewal and civic engagement, Pulling Strings aims to create an accessible and dynamic space for people of various stripes to come together and engage in the exchange of ideas."

I'm really proud and excited to continue my critical work with textiles through this project, and to situate it in Hamilton, my new home.  Our first event is a talk and workshop with artist, educator, publications maven and crochet fiend Shannon Gerard, and it's happening this Saturday.  Don't miss out-- details about the event and pre-registration below.

AND an additional side note for Torontonians-- the Hyperbolic Crochet Coral Reef project (Shannon is a contributor) will be showing in the Gallery 1313 window box for the month of December!

*****

After months of coffee shop scheming and logo napkin doodles, we are pretty dang excited to be getting Pulling Strings off the ground with a talk and workshop led by Shannon Gerard! Shannon was a natural choice for a first speaker in the series – her playful approach to her practice is never stuffy or alienating but always makes you think about things not previously considered – exactly what we are trying to achieve with Pulling Strings.

Next Saturday (November 23) Shannon will give a talk and Q&A at the Hamilton Artists Inc, followed by a hands-on workshop at Needlework. We are super grateful to both spots for giving Pulling Strings, a roving series, its first home.

Recognized for her engaging teaching and speaking style, Shannon will share the evolution of her crochet practice from recognizable objects with a decorative or educational function to forms that graph concepts of hyperbolic space or chart biographical and emotional journeys.  Following the talk, anyone is invited to push the boundaries typically associated with crochet as a functional pastime in a conceptual crochet workshop - no crochet experience necessary! As spaces are limited, we'll need you to register beforehand by emailing us at pullingstringshamilton@gmail.com.

Here are the details:
Who: Shannon Gerard (http://shannongerard.tumblr.com)
When: Saturday November 23, 2013; Talk and Q&A (2:00-3:30pm); Workshop (4:00-5:30pm)
Where: Talk and Q&A – Hamilton Artists Inc. 155 James N Hamilton, ON (@ Cannon); Workshop – Needlework, 174 James St N Hamilton, ON
Cost: Talk - FREE; Workshop - $10
Registration: Talk – all are welcome, no RSVP required; Workshop – contact pullingstringshamilton@gmail.com to register.

A bit about Shannon: In addition to teaching courses in print media and nano-publishing at OCAD University in Toronto, Shannon Gerard makes artist's books about magic, hope, faith and human frailty and produces large-scale installations that incorporate stop-motion animations and digital print. Shannon spends at least 50% of her waking life crocheting soft sculptures, which include Boobs and Dinks, Plants You Can’t Kill, and contributions to the Toronto Hyperbolic Coral Reef.