An art reception to highlight Ekphrastic: A Celebration of Fabric and Poetry a traveling show from the Fibre Art Network (FAN) was held at the Godfrey Dean Gallery Sunday.
The show, which has been at the gallery since Jan. 7, pairs the winning submissions of twelve poets with a quilted work.
“The visual works you see here in textile form are directly inspired by the poem, and thusly paired. The visuals come from the artist’s interpretation of the poet’s text,” said Don Stein, Executive Director of the Godfrey Dean Gallery in an article previewing the show done in January.
FAN artists come exclusively from the Western provinces of Canada, with the distinct variety of outlook covering the cultural range of Saskatchewan, Alberta, and Manitoba. Among the FAN members in the show which will hang at the Godfrey Dean Gallery until Feb. 23 is Jayne Himsl of Weyburn.
“The world we live in, the prairie skies, my garden’s cycle of life - these natural elements inspire my work,” writes Himsl in an artist statement on her website at www.jayniehimsl.ca
“Using yarns, crochet cotton, embroidery floss and fibres I interpret nature in macro and micro dimensions. By melding realistic and abstract images, I offer my vision of the environment.”
During Sunday’s reception Himsl it is always exciting to have a piece in a show and to see her work hanging in a gallery.
But what sets Himsl’s work and that of other FAN members apart as art?
“They are completely original designs, not working from a pattern,” she offered. “They’re creations from each artist’s imaginations.”
For Himsl the artistic aspect is still relatively new, although she said she has been “sewing since I was six-years-old.”
While sewing has always been part of her life, it was about a decade ago Himsl said she saw the work of Martha Coles at a gallery in Weyburn.
“I hadn’t really imagined using a sewing machine to make art before that,” she said.
And since then she has been exploring the possibilities of art.
“It’s a learning curve. I’m still learning and improving I hope,” she said, adding that is where being a member of FAN helps. “… We learn from each other within the group,” she said.
Himsl said while some fibre artists write out a rather detailed plan for a new piece, she gets an idea and gets to work, adding that does mean a piece may evolve on her through the actual creation process.
“That’s what works for me. It’s not what works for everybody,” she said.
The Yorkton presentation of the Ekphrastic exhibition was curated by Donald Stein and Edith Skeard, assisted by Nickita Longman of Winnipeg. It contains 48 pieces by 48 different artists.
For more information, visit the Godfrey Dean Gallery at 49 Smith St. East.
