Renewal: Inside a National Fibre Art Exhibition by Sue Sherman

This past Sunday, July 7, I was thrilled to attend the opening reception of a new fibre art exhibition called Renewal at the Homer Watson House & Gallery in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada. The exhibition looked a treat in this beautiful old gallery, which was once the home and studio of pioneering Canadian artist Homer Watson.

Artwork left to right: Poet in Love by Judy Martin, Frosty Fronds by Margaret Inkster, First Blooms by Marie McEachern, Forest Hope by Lori Everett, and Leaving the Dark by Toni Major 

Although I’ve been involved in my share of fibre art exhibitions, this has been a new experience being part of the team putting together a new art exhibition under the umbrella of Studio Art Quilt Associates (SAQA). Many of the members of Art Cloth Network are also members of SAQA – there is a lot of overlap between “art cloth” and “art quilts”, but let me start by telling you the differences in case you are interested:

• Art Cloth Network defines art cloth as “cloth transformed by adding or subtracting color, line, shape, texture, value, or fiber to create a compelling surface”. It may or may not be stitched. 

• SAQA defines an art quilt as “a creative work that is layered and stitched or references this form of stitched layered structure.” Art quilts are usually made at least partially from cloth, but could equally be made from paper or sheet metal; stitching could be done with a sewing machine, a staple gun, twist ties, cufflinks – anything that will hold layers together. 

SAQA has over 4,000 members around the world, with around 300 of those in Canada. The organization has been growing from strength to strength over the past 30 years, and has amassed a great deal of expertise in the creation and exhibition of art quilts. The three Canadian regions of SAQA joined together to assemble and exhibit a juried exhibition of art quilts made by members from coast to coast to coast, on a theme of Renewal. Renewal is:

• rekindling, looking to a new future, finding hope
• resuming an activity after an interruption
• repair or recycle of something worn and used
• recovering strength
• renewed cycles of life 

This exhibition asks its audiences: how you observe and experience renewal? 

Renewal was juried by gallerist David Kaye, curator Leona Herzog and artist/curator Brandt Eisner. The exhibition includes 33 pieces of contemporary fibre art selected from over 200 submissions. 

As a regional committee we were responsible for all aspects of the process – writing and issuing the Call for Entry, fielding questions from artists, engaging the jurors, supporting the jurying process, designing and printing catalogues, contracting with the selected artists, finding venues to display the exhibition and contracting with them, arranging for shipping of the pieces to and from the artists, and organizing packing, shipping and unpacking of the artworks as they move from venue to venue. The list goes on – the committee is responsible for pretty much everything about the exhibition. 

As a first-timer working on a nation-wide exhibition, I wasn’t really sure what to expect, but was impressed by how well organized and professional the committee was. The committee had already been going for several years and had previously mounted a very successful Canadian exhibition called “Colour with a U”. A few original members are still there, and the committee itself had been carefully curated by the very capable past chair, Tracey Lawko. Tracey was actively involved in passing the baton to the new members, getting the new Renewal exhibition up and running, and coaching incoming chair Susan Selby.

As a new member, I was impressed by the dedication, expertise and team spirit of all the committee members. Although I didn’t personally have much specific experience in organizing art exhibitions, I found that the project management experience from my earlier career was quite helpful. Like with so many things in life, a committee works best when its members have a variety of backgrounds and skills to bring to the table. We don’t all need to be curators! 

It was also a comfort to know that the SAQA organization was there to provide a framework for everything we did. They provided a dedicated space on their website for our Call for Entry and other information about our regional exhibition. They provided software for members to submit their artwork, and marketing vehicles for getting the word out to SAQA members. In short, SAQA provided the systems needed for us to operate within, a great deal of support to facilitate our success, and the brand recognition of the SAQA name. 

When it all finally came together, it was great to see 14 of the 33 participating artists at the opening reception at the Homer Watson House & Gallery. And many of the other guests were also SAQA members who had come to see the beautiful exhibition and support their friends whose work was featured.

One of the participating artists (not at the reception) was Lynda Williamson who, like me, is a member of both SAQA and Art Cloth Network. Lynda’s piece Passing On, pictured below, was a gorgeous, airy creation of rust dyed organza and linen.

I have long been a fan of Tracey Lawko’s work, ever since the day in 2017 that I saw her inspirational solo exhibition at this same Homer Watson House and Gallery, when I was debating whether to become a serious art quilter. Tracey’s piece Harbingers, shown below, is exquisite, and the image is completely made of thread!

This next photo shows two pieces. Rise Again by Susan Avishai is a pair of wings you can stand in front of for a great photo op. They are a great interpretation of the Renewal theme, being made from pieces of cast-off men’s shirts. Tri-colour White is by Kit Vincent. You may have seen and admired her fabulous work in photographs, but in person it takes on a whole new level of interest with its texture and dimension!

Below is Find Your Way by Maggie Vanderweit. It depicts the sea wall at Galveston, TX, which was being put to the test by Hurricane Beryl around the time of the exhibition opening. Maggie added a window to entice us to look up into the sky, in her inspirational interpretation of the Renewal theme.

This adorable piece is Bovinity, by Mita Giacomini. It is made from a variety of fibres using her unique surface weaving technique.

These are just a few of the pieces in the exhibition. If you want to see the rest, you may wish to consider coming to see it for yourself. You can find a list of all the artworks, along with a schedule of participating venues at Renewal (SAQA Regional) | SAQA - Studio Art Quilt Associates

For more about Homer Watson House & Gallery, you can check out their website at Homer Watson House & Gallery