A Well-spun Prairie Yarn

What a pretty exhibit...and intriguing, too.  The gallery is new and very spacious, and when I visited, I was the only one there.  I asked for and was granted permission to take photos, so click away I did.  First, though, word from the Curator:

(You'll notice this was taken through the gallery window, which was where it was displayed!)

Although I took photos of all the pieces, I'm just going to give you a sampling of my favourites, so that you might be inspired to stop in to the show before it closes on April 23.  All the pieces related to manipulating fibre, whether through felting, weaving, or hooking (rugs).  The pieces were whimsical, beautiful and/or thought provoking.

"Tree-in-Half" - Helge Schulte-Schroeer
Wool on Silk Nuno Felt

This one was my favourite for it's delicacy, elegance and beauty.  I want to stitch that tree!

" A Peace Project" -  Amy Loewen
Rice Paper, Ink, Jasmine rice (floor component) 

In addition to the large installation shown above, on the opposite wall was a piece of wire 'mesh' with squares approximately 1/2" x 1/2".  On an adjacent table was a basket of paper strips and several pens; viewers were asked to write something on the theme of 'peace' on a strip and weave it into the mesh.  There weren't many bare spots left, but I managed to find a wee space for my contribution.

Upper shelf: "Winter Poppy Pod"
Lower shelf: "Allium"
Both wool and silk felt, sculpted by June Jacobs

I just love these organic shapes!

And now for something completely different:

"The Unlikely Ascent of M. Musculus" - Bek Wells

The Curator had this to say about Ms. Wells installation:

"[It] invites a playful but overwhelming infestation of childlike, fantastical coloured felt mice.  Abandoning the conventional good taste and 'high art' seriousness, Wells' piece instills humour and lightness in an art world prone to self-importance and pretension.  Surrealist attributes, the work alludes to metaphors of human fear and vulnerability, childlike in play, but as in Georgio de Chirico's  "Mystery and Melancholy of a Street", an awareness of something other than play..."  She goes on to liken the work to that of Sandy Skoglund ("Radioactive Cats").  While I know that some might find this work kind of creepy, I'm more inclined to agree with Rose Fyleman:

I think mice are rather nice;

Their tales are long, their faces small;

They haven't any chins at all.

Their ears are pink, their teeth are white,

They run about the house at night;

They nibble things they shouldn't touch,

and, no one seems to like them much,

but, I think mice are rather nice.

Whatever you think of the photo, I inivite you to get out to the Strathcona Art Gallery (Art@501) and see for yourself.